Back in late January this year, whilst I was attempting a double smear bridging move on a problem at Mile End Climbing Wall ( I did the move but I could not hold it – low core strength/body tension), I fell from a short distance and damaged my right knee. After the fall I could hardly walk on that leg but I managed to leave the leave Mile End Climbing Wall and get home safely.
The following morning my dad phoned the doctors and at around 17:30 my dad accompanied me to the local GP. After I described the doctor what had happened, I lied on the examination bed for the doctor to examine my knee. After the examination he came to conclusion that there was some soft tissue damage, he then booked me at Mayday Hospital for X-Rays to be taken, gave me a prescription of Sodium Diclofenac along with an exercise to do he which straightening and bending the knee whilst sitting down and putting ice on the knee. That evening, my dad popped to the local Chemist top collect my prescription. The next day we went to Mayday hospital were I had X-Rays taken of the injured knee, the funny thing is, the doctor asked for X-Rays of the wrong knee.
A few weeks later – I think it was two weeks – I went back to the doctor for a check up appointment and after examining my knee visually and with movement tests told me the swelling had gone down and I could do more movements without pain. He also had the results of the X-Rays, told me that I had a patella infusion and that there was no ligament or bone damage. At the end I asked him if I could start do again – as I read that yoga stretches and strengthens the knee – he told me I could as long as I wore a knee strap.protector. Two weeks after this appointment I had another follow up where the doctor told me there was no more swelling and the knee I had full movement and motion. I asked him if I could go back to climbing and he said I could….
The following week I went back to the Mile End Climbing Wall for a some gentle low level traversing during the following weeks I was going to the wall once a week to start of with but after a few weeks, just before Easter, I found out something was still not right as I my knee felt a bit week still and I had some some fluid on the other side of the same knee so I booked an appointment with the doctor and at the appointment he told me that I had a bursitis of the knee which basically means an enlarged bursa. To resolve this, he gave me a prescription of Naproxen, a different knee exercise and told me to put ice on the knee. I took the Naproxen, put ice on the knee and did the recommended exercise as a result everything was well again – till the bursitis returned – so I decided to see a physiotherapist. A few days later I returned to the GP and saw another doctor who said told me that I wouldn’t need surgery but physiotherapy and or an MRI, told me to go swimming and booked the physiotherapy appointment at Mayday Hospital.
Leading up to the physiotherapy appointment in late summer I was swimming twice a week and there was quite a lot of improvement. At the appointment the physiotherapist examined my knee and looked at the X-Ray from before he told me that I had a little bit off excess water on my knee and I was almost back to normal.
Update:
Not go on and on to much recently I had my knee X-Rayed again, the doctor told me all I had was a bit of wear and tear and told me to loose weight. I decided to loose weight and it has happened – I was more than 15 stones a while ago now I am 14 stones 2lb I will continue this weight loss whilst building strength and power.
SavClimbing 