Knee injury advice...

[mrqwest]

So 8 weeks ago, I went to Milton Keynes with friends to learn how to snowboard at the snowdome there. It was an 8hour day course, and it was great fun until I stacked it and fell badly. Twisted my knee fairly harshly (heard 4 pops as it twisted) and properly damaged myself.

Anyway, consultations and MRI scans later, the prognosis is:

… there is a grade 2 strain seen on the MCL with fluid and haemorrhage seen in the peri-ligamentous region. The ACL, PCL and LCL are seen to be intact. There is further chondral injury and subchondral bruising seen on the posterior aspect of the medial femoral condyle. There could be a tiny microfracture in this region. There is subchondral infraction seen in the tibial plateau. Bone bruising is also seen in the fibular head. There is no meniscal tear.

So basically, its all ok. That was a few weeks ago. The Consultant suggested I should take it slowly and only run on grass for the moment as it cushions a lot better than the hard stuff!

No problems, I went out running twice this weekend and covered 2k & 3k respectively. I've not run for 8 weeks so this was pretty good for me!

My problem is this. The local fields are great however they'll be out of bounds come thursday as the funfair is in town. At what point (and I realise you're not medical professionals, so I'm asking from *YOUR* experience) can I start to run on pavements?

[spoonierunning Graduate]

You could try pavement I would suggest reducing pace and distance and testing it out, but is there not another field you could run in or perhaps a treadmill you could use? I would also use kinesiology tape to help support knee. Have you been offered physio at all? I had ultra sound therapy to help with the swelling when I damaged my knee

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to spoonierunning]

I *think* I may be ok. I ran the field this morning and some of the fairground trucks had arrived overnight. I can kinda get an idea of where they'll set up and should be able to run around it., hurrah!

Kinesiology tape? Is that like a over-sized plaster? My wife was offered a bunch of big plasters for when she visited her sports physio. I could always use those but don't know the proper application fo them.

Physio was suggested as an option, but I'd have to pay for it ultimately

[spoonierunning Graduate in reply to mrqwest]

Kinesiology tape is a type of sports tape, it's stretchy and allows for movement unlike other sports tapes, kttape.com is a good place to learn about application for various injuries. I use it to correct my patella alignment. But I buy the cheaper versions from amazon which work great rather than paying for an expensive brand name.

[swanscot Graduate]

Have you anywhere to run other than fields or pavements? What about a canal towpath or riverside path? Or even a road (tarmac is less hard than concrete) - is there a quiet industrial estate where you could go in the early morning or evening?

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to swanscot]

A canal towpath would be pretty sweet, but there's no rivers or canals near me. There are some quiet roads though. I'd be running at 6am so fairly early and the roads won't be that busy either.

As I mentioned to Spoonierunning, I think I can run around the fairground and still use the fields which would be pretty good going!