Locked up knee....

[bentforlife]

Well the knee finally locked up on me Sunday morning at church. Monday the orthopedist drained about 200 cc of fluid from it and injected it with cortisone. I had just gotten back to riding(recumbent bike)!!!! I have an MRI scheduled and possible surgery at Spring break. My husband hung my bike back up on the wall, for now.

However even if I have surgery, my orthopedist is an avid bicyclist and he says he will "prescribe" bike riding, on a trainer, when I start physical therapy. He says biking is one of the best recoveries for knees he's ever seen.

I'll keep you informed. Guess I'll keep lurking for a while while I'm out of commission.

Donna

[Kathi]

Donna,

The bike is the best for rehab. I tore my MCL/ACL in a ski accident in Jan. and the only activity, besides my pt, is riding my bike on the trainer.

I'm scheduled for ACL reconstruction Feb. 28. If I also need a meniscus repair then I'm on crutches for 8 weeks. However, even with a repair my doc says I can start on the bike with no resistance 2 weeks after surgery.

Good luck

[CorsairMac]

Sorry to hear that Bent! Let us know how the MRI turns out and what the final decision is! The nice thing about bikes: unconditional love! Your bent will be right where you left her when you're finally through all this and can get back to riding!

[MomOnBike]

Wow, that knee must have been swelled up like a canteloupe!

You're going to want to take care of it.

One (spendy) thing you might want to consider is shorter cranks to keep the knees happy. If male 'bent riders are preferring 155-165c cranks, probably women should look into them too. You're poor knee won't have as much bending to do. It might help.

Oh, and never, ever mash. (Of course, you knew that, and never do anyway...)

[susiej]

Oh, and never, ever mash. (Of course, you knew that, and never do anyway...)

Um, what's mashing? Is it the opposite of spinning like a wildwoman to get up a hill?

Bent, good luck with that knee and here's hoping you don't need surgery! Biking is the best thing for my tricky knee, as long as the gears are low enough.

--SJ

[bentforlife]

I have the MRI scheduled for Saturday morning.

Actually I have a 31 inch inseam and have never felt any discomfort while biking. I know not to "mash" so that's not a problem. The gear ratio on the bent is pretty low, 24-123, 27 gears, so I have pretty good range of gearing. I may think about the shorter cranks, eventually. After the fairing and car carrier I want to get.

I think this is just an old injury lifting up it's ugly head. Both knees have been scoped in the past for torn cartilidge and I think that's the problem here. The MRI will tell all, hopefully.

I'll let you know something when I know.

Donna