I drew the short straw today

hehe my wife is elated because it's good till Feb 09 so xmas shopping will be awesome

 

Sorry to hear about the MCL, Foo......glad to hear that no surgery will be required, though. Get well soon!

 

It could be worse and is not, helmets work. Heal well and fast to you and your wife.

 

Update: Had my follow up appt w/ my ortho and we reviewed my MRI. Not only did i tear some of my MCL but i had some serious bone bruises which is indicative of ACL damage as well. He's scheduling me for a 3 week revisit to see how I'm doing. Told me to start working out the legs but nothing that would further damage my knee something bout closed loop leg exercises or something like that.

Anyway, Carl (Pho'd Up) generously let me use his trainer and i got on that yesterday and today and have been spinning to get that flexibility back in my knee as well as get some much needed seat time. My knees are a bit swollen still as is my back there's still this puffy part of my lower back but it's slow going.

My wife has been great the following week of my wreck she went out riding and have been pretty strong too. She managed to pull on 5 middle aged guys today and they couldnt keep up with her. hahahahahah

 

Going down is suk but I will trade injuries w/ you in a heartbeat.
Lets see who is back first. Heal fast bro...

 

holy hell i saw your xray

just know that your bone will heal and be stronger ligament tears are not as easy...i dunno what i would choose :-k

 

Foo just a little FYI... Yes you are very correct regarding soft tissue damage but there is hope, and although it would have been a tough decision I did not have that choice My Ankle broken with soft tissue tears/damage Dec last year, all good and back racing with no brace:clap:. It just takes time and I know you will be back stronger than ever...

Keep with that trainer:bang::bang::bang: it will pay off in the long run, if you need any mtb DVD's to keep you busy Pm me and I will drop some by...:wave:

 

thanks jefe, i am good for now i setup in the garage and turn on the music and have my neighbors drive by and look inquisitively wondering what's up w/ bike boy why is he riding on a trainer and not on the road LOL

 

Put a TV in the garage. I find that helps.

 

Short letter re: MCL injuries on cycling news. I never knew that Foo was a cat2 racer.

http://www.cyclingnews.org/fitness/?id=2008/letters10-01

MCL tear and cycling level

My right knee suffered a MCL tear level 2, about 4 weeks ago, inside of knee, the Orthopaedic surgeon did x-rays and decided, based on the fact that it wobbled like limp noodles, it was level 2 but no surgery.
I have a lateral stability brace w full range of motion. I started physio therapy with ultrasound, electric stimulation, ice and heat alternating.
Also I was allowed to ride the indoor trainer easy with no cleats so I wouldn't twist it getting in or out of pedals. Now I'm allowed to ride outside, with cleats, but only on the flats.
Neither physiotherapy nor the surgeon could tell me exactly what level I could train at.
I'm a cat 2 racer of 25+ years of racing. Normally I spin at 90-100 rpm on the flats but for some reason it feels more stable to ride at low rpm with this injury. I'm doing some walking, cycling and the PT exercises with leg straight, calf raises and leg curls as well as upper body weights.
So, my questions are:
1 How hard can I go in a seated position while allowing maximum healing? Length of ride?
2 if lateral motion is controlled by the brace, what can be damaged by cycling at high intensity? Why can't I ride uphill if I'm not even anaerobic?
3 Is it better to stay at low rpm or spin?
4 Is there any way that cycling can damage or slow the healing?
Ann
David Fleckenstein replies:

This question falls into the "ask 5 providers and get 10 answers" category, because treatment with MCL's can differ significantly. The good news is that, since the MCL is extra-capsular (as compared to your ACL and PCL), it has a good blood supply and generally heals without surgery.
Personally, I use the bike to maintain aerobic fitness for all of my clients who have MCL tears and I encourage them to ride as aggressively as they wish, provided they have a fairly neutral pedal stroke. If you were my client I would allow you to ride to your tolerance, including hills, maintaining a seated position. I would ask you to be respectful of the injury and, if there is swelling or pain with increased intensity, you should moderate so that every ride is a "successful" ride. At 6 weeks I would allow you into clipless pedals with the retention set to low resistance. This is also an injury that I think Speedplay pedals is good for - it allows relatively frictionless rotation and fairly easy entry/exit.


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thanks carl. i've been slowly increasing my duration on that awesome trainer you lent me and increased intensity. My knee feels good but does tend to stiffen up if it's in one position for too long.

I have my 3rd follow up my ortho tomorrow to see how i'm progressing and then he'll decide how much PT if any i'll need. thanks for that article!

 

Its never fun taking a digger. Hope you and your wife heal quickly.
Best wishes.