Bike Shopping- day 3- the freak out (long)

[LadyinWhite]

Hey BadJuju-

Glad you found something that works!

Won't work for me, though. I fell in November (slipped on water in a studio at the gym while doing lunges) and banged the hell out of my knee. It is still pretty inflamed (I know it sounds crazy, but apparently contusions can take months and months to heal), although much improved, so doing too many hills right now just makes it swell up and HURT.

The only thing that has accelerated the healing is these weird chinese medicine patches my acupuncturist gives me- I'm getting some more tomorrow, so hopefully I'll at least be able to ride a bit this weekend.

I think the 40 mile hilly thing is definitely out for this weekend, though.

I second this. I crashed on the bike last fall and am still in knee pain. PT helped a lot but several docs and orthopedists say the same thing. Inflammation. It takes a LONG time and the more you continue to use it (i.e. ride, play tennis), the longer it's going to take to heal. My tennis coach has layed off the lateral movements and the running which has helped and I've used the winter months to baby it (very little riding, 3 hours a week, and all on a trainer, very controlled), plus regular weight training, exercises and stretching. All to get to a point where the pain is no longer excruciating & utterly crippling, but merely annoying and tolerable. (at least I'm off the vicodans now, my kids were starting to call me House)

Good luck with it and really, if you can, try to give it time to heal. I feel for you.

[ace]

Thanks, LadyinWhite- sounds like you can relate.

I am just keeping focused on my big goal (and reward for my suffering), which is a bike trip in Tuscany I'm going on at the end of May. I am planning on being much better by then

I'm glad you reminded me to baby it- I don't care what I do between now and then, but I'm going on that damn trip, come hell or high water. My ortho has said he'll give me a cortisone shot in my knee before the trip if I'm not better by then, but I think I will be....I've been progressively been improving. It's just last weekend I pushed too far with 3 days of riding in a row. Now I know not to do that

Unfortunately, I'm a very experiential learner.

[mimitabby]

I'm glad you reminded me to baby it- I don't care what I do between now and then, but I'm going on that damn trip, come hell or high water. My ortho has said he'll give me a cortisone shot in my knee before the trip if I'm not better by then, but I think I will be....I've been progressively been improving. It's just last weekend I pushed too far with 3 days of riding in a row. Now I know not to do that

Unfortunately, I'm a very experiential learner.

lol. hey, how come you can cuss and I can't.. (whenever i try i get ****** )
I've tried chinese medicine before too. It's always scary to try new / different things.

[ace]

Well, let me know if you need me to swear for you, Mimi, and I'll represent.

Chinese medicine doesn't scare me at all- none of it has ever hurt me. Now for Western medicine, I wish I could say the same. Having had surgery six times (once having a laser drill into the bones in my ear when I was awake), I am definitely much more afraid of the guys with the pills and drills (although I appreciate what they've done for me, painful though it's been).