Rehabilitation Update :: 7th April, 2012

I must begin this post by once again extending my thanks to all those who have offered their support and extended best wishes for a speedy recovery since my accident on Tuesday morning. It's not been an easy week to say the least and I have been attempting to do what I can to minimise my time off the bike. I hope to be able to track my rehabilitation through my blog so, as with my recovery from over-reaching, it might serve as a means of reference should a similar recovery be required by me or anyone else.

Details of the collision on Tuesday morning are still a bit sketchy and I am still unable to recall the actual impact but I have been sent photos of the aftermath and I am almost glad that I am unable to recall exactly what happened between point of impact and coming back down to earth again. I can only piece things together through what I have seen of the photos and what I have been told along with my memories of before and after the incident.

The knees were clearly the recipient of the majority of the landing force with the left knee seemingly making contact before the right knee. The resulting injuries to the knees were rather gruesome with significant bark taken off each kneecap. What remained was a bloody mess and it was not until some time later that I realised that my head must have come into contact with the road at some point as I began to feel blood on the right side of my face coming from a gash on my right cheekbone. It appears that my helmet took most of that impact.

The remainder of the day was not comfortable and as time wore on I could feel that soreness and pain in the knees was setting in making it more and more difficult to walk. I felt that if I did not keep the knees moving, the recovery process would take significant time and the ability for the knees to function would be limited but rest would also be important and I was forced to remain off my feet until Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday was ultimately the "second day" and the soreness was intense.

Having spent enough time resting, I was keen to get the knees moving again and started the rehabilitation with an uncomfortable 1km walk to my local park. It was difficult to get the knees to bend through 5 degrees which made walking a rather awkward exercise (try walking without bending your knees - looks and feels bizarre). Toward the end of the walk, it was clear that it had helped and it was the right thing to be doing. I felt less discomfort at the end of the day than I had experienced throughout the morning and afternoon and the movement I had regained in my right knee the next morning was significant.

I continued to ensure that I maintained movement in my knees at regular intervals and continued short walks each day to maintain greater mobility in the knees. The right knee was responding well and by Saturday had regained the ability to bend enough to allow the calf muscle to come into contact with the hamstring without any real discomfort but required slow movement so still had a way to go.

The left knee is not responding as well and I still feel significant pain when bending to 70 degrees from straight but as of Saturday morning I am able to get the knee to bend to 90 degrees before I experience significant discomfort. The left knee clearly took more of an impact than the right knee and has bruised and swollen far more and will require more work to rehabilitate. But with each day and each walk returning more mobility to each knee, I am sure the process will not take as long as I might first have anticipated.

I have an impending flight to London on Wednesday that I am sure will not be the most comfortable flight I will take so it is not one I am looking forward to in the least. I will be in London (including transit) for 8 days, returning on the 19th of April so will endeavour to brave the cold conditions and continue to keep the knees active as best I can. I expect walks along the Thames and/or Hyde Park will be the order of the day unless I can find a heated gym somewhere that will afford some time on a treadmill or perhaps a spin bike if the knees allow me.

For now, I will continue to extend the duration of my walks in an attempt to try and rehabilitate the knees to a point that will make my flight more comfortable and check in with my physio on Tuesday for his assessment of my injuries and how best to stay comfortable while away.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me through my recovery to date and I look forward to getting back in the saddle and regaining my previous strength and form and hopefully return with some easy group rides.