Knee ligaments – please cheer me up

Yesterday I bent my knee sideways and have knackered the medical collateral ligament. I heard and felt something pop/snap. I went to A&E but was just given painkillers and told to rest it. I can weight-bear but bending normally is pretty bad and even the tiniest sideways load is horrible.

Roughly how long is this likely to take until I can ride again? Couple of weeks, months?

I bought a new road bike on Sunday – looks like it'll be gathering dust for a while yet. Gutted.

Depends how much damage you have done. Who gave you the diagnosis?. You need an opinion from an orthopaedic surgeon IMO and then spcific exercises and physio.

Ligaments take months to heal I'm afraid depending on how severe the injury

did the same thing at gisburn sunday .told a similar thing 2 weeks rest should do it.

2 days off work with feet up & i player has helped loads.

I really can't justify time off work I don't think.

A&E people sent me packing quite quickly. They said it was an MCL tear. I've done it before only this time it's a lot more painful. I didn't have the "pop" the first time either.

if its proper ligament damage then yes months, not weeks. and rest alone wont fix it.

knee ops and consequent rehabiliation on proper knee injuries will see you off your bike for 6months+…

Tore mine properly in my mid-20's.Full recovery despite an interesting scar.I climb,ride bikes,even played rugby for another 15 years,so even the worst case in an embuggerance for about a year.I was a self-employed plasterer so didn't rest it as well as I should have.Sorry if that makes you feel worse,but it is meant to show that even the worst case scenario isn't the end of the world.

You need an appointment with an orthopaedic bod then IMO. gp and ask for a referral.

I guess no-one read the "please cheer me up" bit.

Sounds even worse than I'd feared. I'll try to see GP tomorrow.

i did mate, but knees are not to be fecked with. if you dont sort it out then feel free to multiply all recovery estimates by 2 or so…

on the cheering up side…

had my second and final op on dec 15th, since then have ridden around 700 road miles and 200 off road. just got back into riding my bmx at the track (limited jumping etc so far)

im at 7 months, and am not far from full capability. still hurts to walk down stairs, and at the top of each and every pedal stroke, especially at high torque, but can ride, run and swim. so im happy.

If it went pop it may well have snapped and not torn. I have a mate who is playing rugby with no MCL, its not as vital as the ACL but you should get a proper diagnosis and see a physio if it keeps you out more than a couple of weeks.

As Nicko said, rest alone isn't the best option, it will improve quicker if you do some rehab and build up muscle around the knee. Cycling alone can't sort out the imbalances that injuries cause.

On the plus side, physios actively encourage cycling for knee rehab so you should be able to get out for gentle spins on the road bike when the swelling goes down, spin a nice high cadence and build up gradually.

bust several ligaments in my right ankle 3 and a half years ago. ankle still hurts like hell at times.

NHS drop in didn't have a clue… so they told me to go to a&e… first hospital I went to after I did it said it's a sprain, use as much as poss (I'm like 'use it'???!!!). Second hospital a week later after it's no better and I convince tri-age nurse that I do want a second opinion… they put me on crutches, don't use it, keep in air as much as poss with frozen peas, & booked me in for physio straight away. I do wonder how much extra damage I did that first week…

so, go get another opinion straight away and aim to get some recovery exercises…

One of the ACLs is missing in my right knee. Snapped it when I hyper-extended around my knee joint whilst dropping off a box-grind on my snowboard. I had to have arthroscopic surgery to clip it back and tidy up inside my knee joint by clearing some debris and scarred cartilage out from my knee. This was a couple of years ago now and I got back into cycling as a result as it was a 'low impact' sport 🙂

I still get pain if I run on a hard surface for long periods, but I can ride a bike all day without any pain at all.

"If it went pop it may well have snapped and not torn."

That's what's worrying me. I felt something go tight then suddenly slack.

Seeing GP on Friday, hopefully for private physio at the least.

If it is just MCL then it should be able heal as it does get adequate enough blood supply. The feeling and sound of "popping" are more often associated with cruciate ruptures. Worth getting the damage assessed again once the swelling goes down.

I partially detached my MCL (took a bit of bone with it weirdly, that you could see on xray) but it wasn't a complete tear. I can't quite remember, but I think it took a good six weeks before I could walk properly, and was sore for a long while. Sorry!

Would suggest that you need to see a specialist though I think most MCL treatment tends to be conservative (physio etc. rahter than surgery).You may find that some light cycling on the road or a turbo would be recommended by a specialist…

Have a look here, too: http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/

Well you could always buy a scalectrix 😀 or a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

If it's likely to be a big deal, i'll have to invent a more gnarly explanation than "I slipped in the snow on the way to the bus-stop".

🙁

doh! better that tho than it being something scary.

having had 7 months to think about smashing my knee into tree stumps, they now give me the fear as i pass by on my cycle…

You have my sympathy – I tore my MCL a couple of years ago:

Grade I tear and you should be ok after a couple of weeks of 'Rest Ice Compression & Elevation'

Grade II tear and it's more like 6 weeks – sound like this is what you may have done if 'sideloading' is so painful.

Either way my advice is to get yourself to a decent [private] sports physio. Sadly (but perhaps somewhat understandably) you can forget about the NHS if you are interested in getting back on the bike etc as soon as possible.

A decent sports physio should be able to do a full evaluation (first visit), and then perform treatment and recommeded rehab exercises for you to do daily – 2 years on and I still do regular 'knee-dips' on a wobble board as I also sprained my ACL. If you don't keep the strength & flexibility up it can become a recurrent injury ultimately requiring surgery

Good luck & a speedy recovery

My ACL went "pop" – went to A&E and was given the same advice as you.
Had two weeks on crutches and then I could walk lightly.
However , the next time I played played football(few weeks later) or even moved my leg to a funny angle the ligament gave way- you'll need to look out for this- it hurts,alot, and the result for me was falling down.

Anyway to cut a long story short…keep hassling the gp for referal to
knee specialist and when you see him emphasise how active you are.
They will try to fob you off with physio when what you really need is a
MRI scan to conclusively prove how damaged the ligament is.

I eventually got the MRI and needed a new ligament.
Not what you wanted to hear but it is something you need to get treatment for.Best of luck.
J.

I managed to stretch my medial and the outside(lateral?)ones in my 20's.
I have had a lateral release and some cartilege removed on another occation too since then – for the fun of it.

I couldn't kneel down for about 7+ years as they'd pop over the bone on he outside of my knee (I never did get a satisfactory explaination) which made me yelp somewhat.

I guess no-one read the "please cheer me up" bit.

Cheryl Cole's single.

Adam Craig is out after surgery due to slipping in the snow so you're in good company. It's worth a read of his blog while you've got your feet up.
Hope you start to feel better soon and it's not too long a path for your recovery.

please cheer me up

This will be the last few months where you can get out easily before the young one comes along. Ah…. right sorry errrm. Hope you get well soon.

A "pop" suggests a more significant disruption of the ligament tissues, however it does not guarantee a full tear so don't panic. However, with any real damage to a ligament (Grade II onwards) you are looking at a minimum of 8 weeks for healing to occur fully and longer if the injury is particularly severe or complicated. Get it checked as soon as you can.

I'd suggest Rest Ice Compression Elevation and anti-inflammatories if you can. Ice the knee for 10-15 minutes per hour (when possible) to minimise inflammation and pain. As for assessment an orthopod would be good (essential for a full tear) but unless your private the referral time will cost you a lot of time. See your GP for pain control and referral and in the interim wait seriously consider seeing a qualified musculoskeletal specialist – Chiropractor, Sports physio, Osteopath or similar. Early diagnosis and treatment is the key to a full and fast recovery.

Wish you the best 🙂

Cheryl Cole's single

Her music isn't going to cheer up anyone! ba-doom-tish.

IGMC…

I'd get straight to a physio, personally. The one I use has a 10 minute free drop in clinic for diagnosis (mostly) so maybe somewhere round your way does something similar?

Thanks for the advice everyone.

GP tomorrow and hopefully private physio on Monday. Will emphasise the "pop" and see if he'll send me for an orthopaedic opinion. Would be nice to know that I'm not wasting time on conservative treatment for a total rupture that isn't going to heal. If it's definitely a grade 1 or 2, then it'll be reassuring.

I really could do with some crutches – how do I get some? Walking about is really not good at all.