I'm taking tonight off any kind of training and am skipping out on bikram yoga. It appears that Spak isn't the only one going through some knee issues. Mine started to develop a couple of weeks ago. The outside part of my left knee sometimes flares up once I start back up with training, however this time it's the inside of the same knee. I don't remember hurting it, but it hurts nonetheless.I wanted to be proactive about this, so I contacted Mary last week to set up and appointment. Not only is she the best bike fitter in Ottawa, she's also a damn good occupational therapist. She's worked on my knee and elbow in the past.
I saw her first thing this morning. There's some swelling and she thinks it might be my meniscus acting up a bit due to perhaps the yoga and new funky moves I'm doing. Mary did some ultrasound, hooked me up to some alternating electrical stim and finished with some interferential electrical stimulation. In case you don't know what this stuff looks like, imagine using jumper cables to get your car going . . . . . same idea, but using electricity to make the muscles respond. (interesting article that explains it here)
Mary also gave me some muscle exercises to do at home. The injury, or flare up, doesn't sound serious and should be treatable with some muscle strengthening exercises. I'm glad I went - my knees always worry me when they start to hurt.
1 comment:
I have suffered thru many knee injuries throughout my many years on the bike & running. Here's the deal: Acute knee injuries are easy to treat by Dr's. But chronic knee injuries are a whole different story. Dr's, in most cases, can't do much.
Here's the plan: You need to rest. I mean active rest. Get off the bike for a while & rest. Maintain fitness by walking the dog and/or swimming. Ice 3 - 4 x day for 15 min a pop. Some folks will also take high doses of NSAIDs, but these drugs are rough on the liver & GI tract. My own personal experience is to just stick to ice to reduce the inflammation.
The key is to rest, otherwise, you are looking at Mr. Chronic Injury (and he's a friend for life). Once your knee feels better, then ease back into very slowly - don't rush it.
If you bike lots, most cyclists will always be dealing with some type of knee pain - that's just part of growing old. The key is to know when to back off & rest, and when to train hard.
Again, I can't stress the importance of resting the injury. Nature heals thyself if given enough time.
Good luck.
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