I started bike riding as the result of a gentlemen’s agreement. I playfully told my Dad if he dialed it back – and only rode in one 100+ mile bike race a year- then I’d ride in that race with him. I was surprised when he said yes, but I dove into the hobby with reckless abandon. One new bike, numerous pieces of ugly riding clothes and many air pumps later, I was hooked. I cycled away. I’ve been slowly building and last weekend I rode 70 miles in one go, something that was simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating.
But at the end of my 70 mile ride my right knee swelled up. Just like it had done after the 50 mile ride the week before through hill country. For the past few months it has been nagging me, getting stiff at the end of long drives and generally causing me irritation and annoyance. To take care of it I went and saw my doctor. I had thoroughly convinced myself that they’d tell me I’d pulled a muscle, hand me a brace and recommend some physical therapy. When they told me that my knee cap wasn’t tracking properly and was floating all around, willy nilly like, and that I required weeks if not months of PT, some taping strategies and some significant rest I was dismayed.
Then the doctors dropped the bomb that my distance cycling days are over for the near future. My first 100+ mile race is September 18, directly after the end of my training program…..and until September 20th I’m in physical therapy and under orders to not ride more than 5 miles in one stretch. My next race isn’t until November, but the time leading up until November is now slated with physical therapy, swimming and light cycling. It seems that a distance ride isn’t happening again this year.
I’m …pretty disappointed. November was supposed to find me with my Dad and his friends, riding through Tucson, conquering a 109 mile course. Instead I’ll be swimming, strengthening and working towards the one and only goal of “not getting arthritis in my knee.” Somehow that isn’t nearly as much fun, nor is it a bonding experience with me and my Dad. I’m looking at my bike, wondering what went wrong, wondering why my knee cap decided not to move up and down properly.
There isn’t an answer to that, beside luck of the draw and fate. But it doesn’t mean I’m not sad that this Sunday I’m going to the dog beach and they gym instead of heading out for a 75 mile ride. As crazy as it sounds….I was kind of enjoying my new hobby. Conquering fears, riding through mile markers and talking with my Dad about my training.
Have you ever been sidelined? Did you make it back?
Because my ugly green shorts, they miss me. I can tell.
My daughter dislocated her knee in gym lasst freshman year (2009). She lost a 1cm pice of bone/cartilidge and had that removed. She was a chronic dislocater after that. In December 2009, she had a patellofemoral ligament replacement using a donor ligament. After 6 months of physical therapy, she had some residual pain. One of the screws holding the graft in place had worked itself out, catching on all her ligaments and tendons (ouch!) We had that removed in March 2011 and she is completely pain free.
She is a cheerleader and is back at it this year (her junior year) with absolutely no pain. She wears a knee stablizer brace for all activities, but she is doing all her tumbling passes with ease.
It will get better, but make sure you follow EVERY direction the therapist/doctor gives. Megs tried to skirt PT because she just didn’t like it and her quad muscle atrophied 4 cm! That was a long hard thing to fix in the end.
It sucks, but in the end, when she followed all directions, she came out stronger. She will always have to wear the brace whenever she wants to run/cheer/tumble/any physical activity, but at least she is pain free!
Oh Daisy, I’m so sorry. How disappointing!
I used to love running – I wasn’t a racer or anything, but it was a way I de-stressed. But my right knee started swelling up and sending sharp pains down my leg if I ran, so I had to give it up.
I still miss it.
Hopefully some PT will help you get your knee back into shape so you can get back on the bike!
I am sorry to hear about your knee, it sucks to be on the DL.
I was sidelined earlier this year, missing what should have been my second and third half marathons because of bronchitis, surgery for a pacemaker implantation and then complications from that surgery. It sucks to be sidelined especially for something like my heart not doing what it should be doing all the time. Didn’t need to feel any older (turning 40 this year).
I have made it back, and actually better than ever. Second and third half marathons are right around the corner. I feel better than I have in YEARS (at least 12 years). Everyone told me that it would be easy to bounce back, and that I wasn’t starting at ground zero with training again. I doubted, they were proved correct. I have bounced back, even better than before. The only thing that my sidelining ‘stopped’ was completing 4 half marathons before I turned 40 (started training after my last birthday). But I figure the feeling better than ever can stand in for one of them. (Yes, I am a type A and was beating myself up my sidelining.)
You will bounce back, I am sure that the sidelining will make you stronger. Follow the doctor/PT’s orders. Don’t push yourself until they say you can. But most importantly, you will bounce back, the DL is not permanent.
Oh gosh, that sucks. You’ll bounce back though!! I’ve been sidelined many times in my life due to a broken foot (same foot, 3x); juvenile diabetes; a broken back; and horrible shin splints. That being said, endorphins are addicting and I think you’ll find it easy to get back in the game once you are healthy! Good luck!
Really sorry about your knee
I like Lori’s advice. My FIL has run marathons all of his adult life, until a series of knee injuries and subsequent surgeries forced him to cycle instead of run. He still runs shorter distances regularly as cycling is just not the same for him, but every couple of years he will decide to push it and run another dang marathon…and then have to have another knee surgery. Don’t be like Jim! Get well soon 
Oh no! That’s disappointing, but happy to hear you’re stopping to take care of your knee now before it becomes a bigger problem.
I tore my ACL in the middle of a dance performance in college, just a month before I was to start my summer job as a dance instructor and performer. I found out it would take a few weeks to get a MRI and a few months to get the surgery. So after a short rest, I went back to dancing, getting to know my new limitations and worked through the summer. I had my surgery at the end of the summer and started PT immediately thereafter. The doctors were surprised how quickly I bounced back and attributed a lot of that to the fact that I maintained my muscle tone in my injured leg prior to surgery. Similar to Lori’s daughter, I experienced a lot of atrophy immediately after the surgery. It’s so important to treat PT seriously–I have full range of motion and haven’t had pain or problems since, but apparently some folks never get their full range of motion back. A week after the surgery, I taught another dance camp (but didn’t perform that time around). Before long I was right back at it. For me, the hardest part of coming back is the fear of injuring myself again.
oh no, i’m so sorry about your knee!!
i have always had a goal to run a half marathon. i started training and then MY knee acted up and my physical therapist said no more running long distance for months (if not years). it’s hard to give up the training. not only do you give up that goal but also the exercise high.
not sure what advice i’d give except to abide by what the doctor says and hopefully you’ll get back on your bike!
I found out a couple years ago that my knee cap didn’t track properly either – apparently it was going off on a diagonal to the outside instead of up and down. I saw an ortho, was prescribed PT, and didn’t play soccer or run for 4 months. (This was bad news because that left one month to get ready for a half marathon in February.) But with stretching my IT band (apparently a tight one contributes to pulling the knee cap out of whack), taping to keep the knee cap on track and specific exercises to strenghten my inner thigh muscles, I started a boot camp in January and ran the half in February with no problems! Yay for therapy! Good luck to you!