This is a little odd. I have a farm and I keep some goats. Three mornings ago I did something to piss one of them off I guess and it rammed me. I got hit and seriously injured by a teenage driver while on a bike ride two years ago. That’s the last time I felt pain like this. That little goat nailed me justs below the right kneecap, a shade to the inside of what I’d call the shin. It swelled up like half a baseball was stuck under my skin. But after a couple of hours it didn’t bother me much (and the swelling subsided). I did a hard 55 mile bike ride that afternoon. I did 45 miles yesterday. I’ve done a ton of walking (treadmill and farm chores). The leg aches a little, but not bad (on a 1 to 10 scale, I wouldn’t give it a 1). But it’s extremely sensitive to the touch with slight discoloration and a little bit of lingering swelling.
I have a very high deductible insurance policy and I live a long way from the nearest town, so going for an X-ray is a major hassle on many levels. But if this is fractured, what could happen? Is it OK to just watch it for a while, or should I dash to the doc? I don’t want to be doing any kind of long-term damage.
Oh how I wish I was good at jokes - there is just so much here to start with:
Sounds like infrapatellar bursitis - the swollen area will be sensitive to touch, reddened/inflammed and warm. If you were able to bike 55 and walk around, I doubt it is anything more.
Ice the heck out of it. Also, for home work, get some topical steroid (ala hydrocortisone) and rub it on the area liberally several times per day. Maybe have a local/friend who is a vet who can needle aspirate the bugger and inject a corticosteroid into it?
Despite my joke (please don’t take it seriously), I feel your pain. I had a similar injury several years ago while teaching one of my kids to hit a baseball off a tee. He swung around and hit me just below the knee with the bat. Same symptoms as you. It hurt for a long time, but no permanent damage as far as I can tell.
Never had any incidents with goats, but I used to get a similar injures all the time when I started kickboxing. Shin on shin contact would leave a huge lump on my leg. My trainer used to put Thai linament on it after the workout and rub the bump back in. Somewhat uncomfortable, but seemed to work. Short of that, icing, elavation and linament (anti-inflammion cream) worked wonders. Most were tender for a few weeks, like a deep bruise, but no discoloration and didn’t limit my activity.