jtslalom Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Wednesday late afternoon I was coming down a trail at my local mountain and arrive at the bottom. The snow was pretty good for making 360 carves so like usual I went in toe side. About 3/4ths the way around I feel my knee pop as if I was cracking my knuckles but it was my knee. No big deal. I finished the carve popped out of my bindings and gingerly applied some pressure to my knee. I really didn't feel any pain just a mild discomfort. Well the next day I wake up to my knee stiffer than it ever has been and a mild pain felt directly under my knee cap when ever I step onto my toe. All day long this happened. Today (Friday) it feels some what better. At my work we have a physical trainer who took a look at it and after some investigation he believes it could possibly be a tear in my miniscus. He can't say for sure but he says to take Ibuprofin every 6 hours and give it a little rest. I don't know what I should do. It doesn't really hurt when I get into my riding position. I simulated driving turns with my knees as if I was riding and I didn't really feel any discomfort. I don't know if it is a good idea to ride or not but today I'm going to ride after work and see how it feels. Any one with a similar problem or heard of one like it please post what you did to remedy the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seraph Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 No one likes bad news, but seriously go to an orthopedist, he will probably have your get an MRI. At least you can then make an informed decision. If its a tear, or other knee related injury that requires surgery, the recovery times on those surgeries today are really quick. They may have you doing rehab in less than 48 hours. With a few months back to full strength. If you have a problem and you ignore it and don't correct it, well, speaking from personal experience, you pay now, or you pay with interest later. And in the mean time you will worry about it, it may not be as strong, and you might create bad habits by compensating. My own experience with knees is that I had a recurring tendonitis in my left knee from a sports related injury. I had it looked at by trainers and doctors who suggested rest, and also an MRI. As an amateur athlete making enough to get by and train full time, I decided to forgo the MRI, and my coach and I came up with a recovery plan. It took a few months for me to recover, I entered a few meets (long track speedskating btw) and finished out the season, but limping. Rehab over the summer, everything feels good, next season starts, knee falls apart again. I decide to retire because I dont have the money for an MRI or surgery. Several years later, knee not great but not bad, I'm working out, and I hear what sounds like a gunshot and the next thing I know I am down on the floor. My tendon had become so weakened over time, it finally gave out, with a full ruptured quadricep tendon. All those years I compensated and wasted not being at full strength, and I eventually had to get it fixed anyway. The surgery sucked, the rehab sucked, had to take leave from work, had to stop playing in all the sports I liked. Moral of the story is if I had it checked out earlier, maybe I could have fixed it at the first opportunity rather than let myself slowly degrade into a state where it was ripe for major surgery rather than a minor fix. Good luck with it and I hope its not as bad as expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Sorry to hear about the injury (yes, you have an injury). First off, don't believe any of the crap we tell you on the web. That goes for the following info, as well as anything anyone else tells you. Believe your doctor. Here's my armchair Dr. perspective: You tore something. Either a ligament or some cartilage. Or both. You are going to end up getting arthroscopy to fix/clean/repair it. Here's how its going to play out: You'll go to your doctor. He/she will refer you to an Orthopedist. Ortho will do an X-ray which will show nothing (why they do this, I have no idea - I'm guessing that insurance companies require an x-ray before they'll authorize an expensive MRI). Then Ortho will send you for an MRI. MRI will show the tear to your ACL/MCL/PCL (I'm guessing ACL - although tearing that usually requires a rearward twisting fall, not forward pressure) or to your cartilage. Ortho will schedule you for arthroscopic surgery where they'll either clean out the f'd up cartilage and/or repair or replace the torn ligament. I'm not a doctor, but I've torn up both my knees a number of times. Pop usually means ligament, and swelling w/out much pain would be indicative of either ligament or cartilage damage. Definitely get thee to a doc. I ignored my first one and its never been the same. Your season may be over, but the good news is that if its a ligament, they're really good at fixing those these days. Oh, and icing it as frequently as you can is a very, very good idea. It will keep the swelling down and accelerate the recovery - whether you end up having surgery or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik J Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 NOOOOOOO! Damn jt, sorry to hear that. I'm trying to imagine how this happened, you ride like gumby on a board, all flexy and stuff. Lemme know where this happened, I'll go and pee on the snow just to show the snow what's up. I hope it's nothing too serious. Keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtslalom Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I made an appointment to see my doctor on Monday afternoon. I don't think I'll by riding this weekend or until he says it is ok. I guess I'm kidding myself on thinking this injury is no big deal. It may not be but I guess I shouldn't take any chances. By the way Eric J it happened at the bottom of Bear Peak on the flat part to the skiers left of the very bottom of the chairlift. This is what I get for showing off making a 360 carve allthough I really think I have had problems the last couple of years and this injury was inevidible. It just really sucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roman Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 well done dude! heal fast and come back soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I made an appointment to see my doctor on Monday afternoon. I don't think I'll by riding this weekend or until he says it is ok. I guess I'm kidding myself on thinking this injury is no big deal. It may not be but I guess I shouldn't take any chances. By the way Eric J it happened at the bottom of Bear Peak on the flat part to the skiers left of the very bottom of the chairlift. This is what I get for showing off making a 360 carve allthough I really think I have had problems the last couple of years and this injury was inevidible. It just really sucks! Sorry to hear about this. RICE!! Rest Ice Compression Elevate until Monday!! Low dose anti-inflamitory might be helpful. Good luck with this. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rammy Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 What is the definition of compression in the RICE advice??? Please and thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimo Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 What is the definition of compression in the RICE advice??? Please and thank you Wrap it with an ACE bandage or something to help keep swelling out of the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 If it is your meniscus, it may not be too bad. I tore mine riding, very painful, no sleep that night, had to have it drained the following day. Couldn't weight it for a few days. Orthopedist did an xray and range of motion test and determined it was a meniscus tear. No surgery, ice, IB and immobilization, took six weeks to heal. Still, go see a Doc fer sure. Knees are complicated, it could be a any number of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapster Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 That sucks dude. If you have the coverage, push to have an MRI if you continue to have problems and the doc doesn't initially send you for one. My cheapskate doctor only sent me for an X-ray, which tells you zilch, other than if you have a bone fragment floating around. Also, getting in to see the orthopedist was going to be a complete chore for me (one month wait--and they practically wanted to know my bank account number beforehand.) I'm in denial for this season, and will continue to ride my gimpy knee (injured two years ago.) But I'm going in to complain come Spring and bite the bullet. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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