RunningAHEAD - Topic: I felled down and go boom! :-( Do I keep going?

rururunner

posted: 4/26/2008 at 3:41 PM

Wah!

I tripped over a @#$%^%$# wire on the sidewalk at the end of my run today, landing - oh no! - on my knees. Blood minimal, but now I have two skinned knees, one of which is black and blue and swollen all around and the other which has a big fat bump underneath the patella. I can walk relatively okay, feels just sore. Can I still run? I have a 10k race next Sunday - am I out? Any help you can give would be much appreciated.

Suffering Benefiting from mature onset exercise addiction and low aerobic endorphin release threshold. Hoping there is no cure.

BadDawg

posted: 4/26/2008 at 4:13 PM

Well that sucks. Murphy's Law too, because a race is just around the corner. I can only recommend the usual RICE, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. I'd definitely rest for a couple of days before testing with short loops near home. Hope you can make your race, but if in doubt I would bag it. There will be lots of other races, as long as you don't make things worse by pushing to much too soon.

E.J.
Greater Lowell Road Runners
Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

dnephin

posted: 4/26/2008 at 4:50 PM
modified: 4/26/2008 at 4:58 PM

Seeing as how you've run decent mileage this year, I'd ditto the above advice, but, if things feel OK on a test run in a couple days, but not 100%, or whatever is "managable," then, I'd suggest not racing it, but running it, or walking it/jogging it. Tell 'em it's a recovery run. Above all, don't do anything that will hurt yourself further. Post pix and earn some HTFU points! MTA: A wire? Are you running in a minefield? Count your stars. And/or look where you're going Wink

(This coming from a guy who twice fell w/in 10 yards of the same spot rounding a corner on sepatate runs. OK, once, the construction crew had up this orange "safety" mesh/netting that was on the ground. Thought I broke my hand. Hurt for weeks.)

DWARP
Marathon Madness Mob

rururunner

posted: 4/28/2008 at 7:05 PM

Thanks for the advice. I went for a real slow run on Sunday and felt pretty good. I had to walk the downhills because I was nervous about the effect on the injury. I'm still all black and blue on the one knee and the other is badly scraped and is still oozing a bit. I've been using antibiotic cream on it. The hip hurts, though, not sure what that's about. Anyone know how long I should be putting ice on my black and blue knee? I am going to take dnephin's advice and run the race easy on Sunday. It's my first 10k, so I'll have a PR that might be easy to beat. Big grin

Got to get some pictures! I have no idea where the wire came from. I was just running down the sidewalk along a busy street - it probably fell off a truck.

Suffering Benefiting from mature onset exercise addiction and low aerobic endorphin release threshold. Hoping there is no cure.

Ringmaster

posted: 4/28/2008 at 8:33 PM

I had a dumb fall recently too--off a bike--and I was noticing new pains a couple days later. So I'm not surprised to hear you say that you're now finding a sore hip, too. Sometimes these things take a couple of days to show up. You've gotten good advice. I hope you heal up soon and can get back on the road quick. Nothing like sore knees to slow you down. Take pictures, though--scars, bruises, and bumps sure make you look tough!

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Heb. 12:1b)
Mile by Mile

Hiker Chick

posted: 4/29/2008 at 3:44 PM

I did the same sort of thing years & years ago - I was running at top speed away from my DH (he was chasing me... stupid silly things we did while dating) and my foot slipped and I landed smack on both knees on the concrete. They were swollen, black and blue, and I couldn't bend them for a few days. I rode the bus then, and had to use the handicap lift Blush

. That was about 12 years ago. Since then, I can't kneel on hard surfaces (carpet is OK if I'm just on my knees - but I can't "walk" on my knees, ever - it hurts for HOURS afterwards). My kneecaps don't track properly - lots of folks have this problem - I have a bone spur and slight arthritis in my left knee but oddly after a run it's my right knee that I get a stabbing pain in (but only after the run is over). They're sort of a mess. When I fell 12 years ago, I didn't see a doctor, cause I didn't have insurance. Oh well. Long story short - I still run. They hurt, but it's not that much of a deterrent. I do quad strengthening exercises all the time, and I ice both knees after every run, just for fun. Wink

Michelle

rururunner

posted: 5/4/2008 at 1:36 PM

Just to let you guys know - I continued very light running which didn't hurt at all and ran the 10k this morning without problem. Apart from the scrape that hurts like H****L when anything touches it and a really ugly bruise all around the other knee, nothing seems worse the wear. I think it was important though to back off a bit - lucky I was in pre-race week, so it might actually have worked out for the best. Thanks for your help, as always.

Suffering Benefiting from mature onset exercise addiction and low aerobic endorphin release threshold. Hoping there is no cure.

Ringmaster

posted: 5/4/2008 at 2:03 PM

I'm glad your race went well. I was actually thinking about you because I remembered talking to you about how sore spots were still showing up after my own fall--and indeed one hip still develops a numb spot when I sleep on it. Crazy how our bodies can conspire against us. Glad your race went well. Looks like your race pace was actually pretty good! Congrats on the new accomplishment, and here's to continued good recovery.

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Heb. 12:1b)
Mile by Mile

I felled down and go boom! :-( Do I keep going? (Read 773 times)