Help! Just a bruised knee? A fracture? Or a ligament tear?

[rva]

Sorry for the long post below, but just want some advice from you guys and hear your experiences.

So here's the story. Last Sunday, Im in my friend's draft coming in hot but then theres a tricky tight left turn approaching wherein I didnt want to overtake in, and a car on the other lane that doesnt give us any room. We both stand up but I couldnt bleed off enough speed with an airbrake, so I gently put my hand on his back shoulder, but my front wheels get caught in his back wheels (both dropthrough cutout decks)... then bam! We both superman onto the road. He was in a full leather suit, whilst I was in body armor with a pair of jeans (alas no knee pads). Glad that nothing happened to my friend.

I on the other hand banged my right knee quite hard on the road, tore my jeans and have some road rash on my knee. As far as I know, I dont think it twisted -was really just a superman with the knee impactng the road. I stopped riding for the day (I could still do so though), iced it down and for the next 48 hours iced it every 2hours for 20minutes. Today (72hours later), there's improvement in the pain, and the swelling has stopped. I can walk. Dont have full mobility yet though. There still is some pain (not excruciating) when I make the motion of going up steps. Is there any possibility that this is more than a bruise? Say a fracture and/or a ligament tear? Has anyone experienced this? How long did it take to heal? Will I be able to skate by next week?

I know I should see a doc (which I dont really like doing) if I really want to know, and I will this weekend if it shows no sign of improvement. Just wanted to get some peace of mind

Thanks in advance!

[Lucky_13]

Who do you think we are...? A collective Marcus Welby...? You may find a Dr. on the Fish, but come on man...! It'll heal up...Girls love scars...

[rva]

Who do you think we are...? A collective Marcus Welby...? You may find a Dr. on the Fish, but come on man...! It'll heal up...Girls love scars...

Sorry didnt know who Marcus Welby was. Had to Google him first, apparently it was the Dr. House show of the early 70's And yeah, chicks dig scars! That's the sticker I have on my first aid kit. But seriously just worried... anything that keeps me from skating sucks... and there's a race Im joining on May 1.

Thought someone must have had the same experience... that's all.

[Lucky_13]

Sorry didnt know who Marcus Welby was. Had to Google him first, apparently it was the Dr. House show of the early 70's And yeah, chicks dig scars! That's the sticker I have on my first aid kit. But seriously just worried... anything that keeps me from skating sucks... and there's a race Im joining on May 1.

Thought someone must have had the same experience... that's all.

I hear ya...I was just kidding with ya anyhow...A life of skiing and snowboarding have beat my knees up pretty good...Ice, heat, ice, heat...And rest...If you have a race on the 1st just take it easy till then...If you had a fracture you'd know it...A sprain, tear, bruise all hurt alot...! knees are slow to heal...Take a breather...Try and stretch it once the pain goes down, but if you get a flare-up stop, then ice, heat etc...Good luck...

[rva]

I hear ya...I was just kidding with ya anyhow...A life of skiing and snowboarding have beat my knees up pretty good...Ice, heat, ice, heat...And rest...If you have a race on the 1st just take it easy till then...If you had a fracture you'd know it...A sprain, tear, bruise all hurt alot...! knees are slow to heal...Take a breather...Try and stretch it once the pain goes down, but if you get a flare-up stop, then ice, heat etc...Good luck...

Thanks! Yeah, this knee injury thing is a first for me so dont really know what it feels like... I've been wakeboarding and doing other sports but never had anything happen to them yet (hope I didnt jinx it). And I know a ligament tear is a nightmare for any athlete.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

[SlyTX]

So your worried about injuries making you not being able to skate, but not wearing adequate safety gear?

Anyways, if the pain doesnt subside and your still unable to walk up the stairs by tomorrow, its likely theres something wrong more than bruising. You can get xrayed by a med center for cheap probably, but treatment if it is fractured could be expensive if you dont have insurance. Def dont be skating if the pain continues. If your not feeling close to 100% by may 1st, I wouldnt race. Thats up to you, but be smart about your body, and wear safety gear.

[mcgoon]

Do you go to the Doctor's for skate tips?

[Rouleau]

It's just a bruise and road rash. If you tore anything in your knee you would have a lot of liquid in there. So it would feel like jello and you touch it and would jiggle haha. No worries. Just ice/heat 20mins ice ten wait 20mins then heat 20mins then wait 20mins then back to ice. Only use her for the first 2 days and then If you think it's necessry use ice in that same pattern for anoter day or 2 and you should be set. My step-moms a nurse and that what she has me do all the time :/

[243racing]

I tore my ACL a couple years ago skiing. I skied on it the rest of the day. Sure it hurt but it just felt like I had sprained my knee. It did swell up but not to the extent Rouleau was talking about. What set me off was when it wasn't getting better and my knee feeling unstable (sometimes even twisting and giving out) when playing sports. Went in for an MRI and sure enough I had ripped the meniscus and tore the ACL.

[BDirthead]

I've torn multiple knee ligaments, have a couple cadaver ligaments installed, broke my tibia just below the knee joint, and have had a bone graft and hardware installed to repair this damage (see x-ray). Alot of the info stated below is correct. If its broken, you'll know right then, excruciating pain with no pressure. If a ligament is torn, you will lack stability in the knee joint. Make sure you learn from this lesson and wear protective gear. I healed up fine from my surgeries and actually won 2 gold medals at mountainboarding US nationals, in less than a year from each of my major surgeries (2002 & 2006). I followed the doctors instructions, and was serious about the rehab exercises. Learn to protect yourself!

[rva]

Thanks a lot guys. I hear ya all on the safety gear. I actually am embarrassed since I also advocate the use of proper safety gear all the time... But you know it's always that one time when you say "ah what the hell!" But in my defense, I had a fullface and body armor on, just no kneepads -which led to this predicament. I know its still my fault anyhow. I have a custom leather suit with pads being made actually so Ill be wearing that all the time when I get it

Well right now (5 days later) its healing up quite well There still is some pain but not as bad as yesterday. And I hope tomorrow it would be even better.

Just FYI for anyone reading this thread, here's a bit of info that I dug up and used to help heal my injury (this is not to be taken as medical advice though):

-Do basic first aid on all wounds
-Use the RICE method (google it) especially during the first 48-72 hours.
-Take a multivitamin, particularly one with a good amount A & C as this helps healing
-For my road rash, i apply neosporin as directed to keep away infection. And for the shallow burns, I use VANDOL ointment (works like a charm)

[surfermatt21]

a couple of months ago i had a pretty bad spill into an iron fence. my knee took most of the impact and i thought i seriously screwed it up too. i had almost exactly the same symptoms as you (except the road rash...the fence pretty much stoped all momentum i had). i went and had it xrayed and nothing was damaged although my knee swelled up about the size of a cantalope. i was told that it was effusion. extreme trauma to the knee will cause quite a bit of fluid to flood the area. so i just took it easy, the swelling went down, but was still painful to walk up stairs.

it's really going to just take some time. go about your day to day life and don't push the knee to the point of pain. that's your body telling you that it's not ready to do that yet. i can't tell you how long it took for mine to heal, because after two weeks i felt like it was good enough to go skate again and sure enough, had to baseball slide off the road. so it still hurts to a certain extent, but am still noticing that it gets better day after day.

good luck and just be patient. the human body is an amazing thing!

[rva]

a couple of months ago i had a pretty bad spill into an iron fence. my knee took most of the impact and i thought i seriously screwed it up too. i had almost exactly the same symptoms as you (except the road rash...the fence pretty much stoped all momentum i had). i went and had it xrayed and nothing was damaged although my knee swelled up about the size of a cantalope. i was told that it was effusion. extreme trauma to the knee will cause quite a bit of fluid to flood the area. so i just took it easy, the swelling went down, but was still painful to walk up stairs.

it's really going to just take some time. go about your day to day life and don't push the knee to the point of pain. that's your body telling you that it's not ready to do that yet. i can't tell you how long it took for mine to heal, because after two weeks i felt like it was good enough to go skate again and sure enough, had to baseball slide off the road. so it still hurts to a certain extent, but am still noticing that it gets better day after day.

good luck and just be patient. the human body is an amazing thing!

Thanks man! Yeah I will take it easy. If i feel Im up to it, Ill probably race.

It no longer hurts to walk up or down stairs. Now its only when I try to assume a baseball catcher's position i.e. as I go down to squat, there's a bit of pain right about at the point when my ass is as high as my calf. Was this the same for you?

[actitup7]

Hey, I also have a minor injury so I'm just gonna post here and see what I can get =P

I've been living in NYC for a while, and I got a longboard in December and have been taking it to the streets.... duh. I ride regular, and my right ankle/top of foot has started to get tight, probably from all the quick catches when I almost fall, but stomp down instead of breaking with the foot. When I stretch it out, a sharp pain runs along the top of it. I've been stretching it all the time... should be fine... but it's been hurting for... 3 weeks or so, but not to the point where I'm in extreme pain. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I be worried?

[rva]

Hey guys, went to the Orthopedic institute last monday just to put my fears to rest and get some peace of mind... turned out to be a severe bruise and the doc gave me 4 weeks for it to completely go away... so Im stoked!

And Im even more stoked now... won the race yesterday! SUPER STOKED... pain's gone already -well not really, but dont really care now

[feenixx]

generally i'd trust someone with medical training with this type of question....not a bunch of skateboarders who hang out on the internet. that's just me, tho.

[SlyTX]

Whos to say a skateboarder doesnt also have medical training? Even if they dont, its possible to get a good idea from someone who may have experienced the same symptoms as you. Theres no harm in asking.

Good to hear your knee isnt fuxored. And that you won. Pics?

[rva]

Thanks for backing me up SlyTX...

yup I do realize that it is not likely we have lots and lots of doctors here at the fish. But we do have lots of skaters here who in all likelihood have fallen down several times, hence could draw from their own experiences of banging their knees, and anyone with a similar experience later on could learn from if they chance upon this thread. So there.

Anyway, im stoked! Pain aint nothing! just another 3 weeks of it

some pics of the final heat of the race. i was lucky enough to get out ahead of the other guys. (im the guy in red).

cheers!

[oxford]

i got something similar yet less severe and i work a knee brace for a few days and it went away

[feenixx]

hahahaha i hope everyone knows i was just fuxing with rva.......glad to hear you aren't dicked.