torn or strained quad

[skypuppy 1]

coming in a little crosswind, felt something go when I put my foot down. Didn't fall, just ran it out, but it appears I've done something to my quad.

X-rays showed no bone damage, but they don't do mri's here unless, as the doctor put it, 'it's life or limb'

Feeling a bit like a chump now, who should have been able to know better. Or do these things just sometimes happen to us 50+ yr-olds?

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[BIGUN 1,050]

Quote

sometimes happen to us 50+ yr-olds?

Uh huh. {Jack Daniels]

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[jrjny 0]

take some Ibuprofen, ice it for a day or two and use a hard foam roller to stretch out the muscle. If in a week or 2 it's not resolved you probably have a more serious injury.

MRI's are dime a dozen around here - good of US of A.

J

[chuteless 1]

I hope it heals quickly and you get back in the sky.

For a jumper, there is nothing worse than feet or legs going out of whack.

Its not the jump that hurts, hurt usually comes from the landing part.

Take care, my friend

Bill

[TheCaptain 2]

I am not sure if my experience would apply here but here it is.

Last year I partially tore my Quadriceps tendon at the knee cap. It was barely visible on the x-ray. I was told not to do anything stupid and it should heal by itself( to the best of my abilty I tried to not do anything stupid during that time frame). Three months later it still had not healed and I had continual pain especially when trying to sleep at night. They then took an MRI and found it needed surgery to repair it. When the surgery was done they found the part of the tendon that was torn was 1/2" away from where it should have been.
The lesson I learned always get an MRI early on (and if possible request a 3T MRI machine too for better resolution of image). If I would have demanded the MRI at the beginning I would have saved myself going through 3 months of pain and would have been recovered from the surgery 3 month earlier too.

Kirk
He's dead Jim

[skypuppy 1]

what I don't like about our socialized medicine is that here in the great white north, you're actually held hostage to it.

I cannot get an mri unless I travel down to the states to do it. Private health care clinics are not allowed here.

That said, I am told that I get an assessment in about 3 weeks, at which time if it's not improving they will schedule an mri (note I said schedule it, not do it right away, who knows how long it will take.) Then, depending on the results of that, they would 'schedule' the surgery.

That said, there is not a whole lot of pain unless I'm trying to do something with the leg, and my first physio assessment and treatment (which is NOT covered by the socialized health services) is scheduled tomorrow.

Thanks for your reply.

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[jaitken 0]

Quote

That said, I am told that I get an assessment in about 3 weeks, at which time if it's not improving they will schedule an mri (note I said schedule it, not do it right away, who knows how long it will take.) Then, depending on the results of that, they would 'schedule' the surgery.

That said, there is not a whole lot of pain unless I'm trying to do something with the leg, and my first physio assessment and treatment (which is NOT covered by the socialized health services) is scheduled tomorrow.

I tore my pec several years back and was presented two options. One was to just let it heal, which would leave me with permanent weakness and unknown potential impact on future activities (no more bench press for sure). The other was surgery, which was what I chose. It went well and I was recovered fully in about 9 months. However, because I waited a couple weeks in between the injury and the surgery, due to being referred to several specialists and needing multiple MRIs to assess the damage, the surgery was more difficult than it would have been if I'd had it right away, and as a result I have less range of motion on that side. Not a big deal, but since you're talking about your leg, the impact might be more significant. FWIW my dad completely tore his quad at the knee two years ago and had surgery to repair it. Recovery took a little over a year, but given that he's in his 60s that was expected. Good news is that he has full use of the leg and no complications that I'm aware of (no lingering pain or soreness, essentially full range of motion, etc).

IMO, if it's anything more than a minor tear I would want it repaired. It may "heal" on its own, but you'll never have full functionality/strength again. Whether that matters to you is obviously a personal decision, and depends in part on the severity and location of the tear, your age and level of activity, etc. And while there may not be much you can do given your health care system, the longer you wait, the more the tendon (if torn) will retract, making surgical repair more difficult and potentially limiting your recovery. If you're young and/or moderately active, that could be a significant concern, but obviously you have to weigh that against the risks associated with any surgery: infection, blood clots, etc.

A few useful links if you haven't already researched it to death:

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00294
http://www.sportsmd.com/SportsMD_Articles/id/332.aspx

"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."
--Mario Andretti

[skypuppy 1]

Quote

Quote

That said, I am told that I get an assessment in about 3 weeks, at which time if it's not improving they will schedule an mri (note I said schedule it, not do it right away, who knows how long it will take.) Then, depending on the results of that, they would 'schedule' the surgery.

That said, there is not a whole lot of pain unless I'm trying to do something with the leg, and my first physio assessment and treatment (which is NOT covered by the socialized health services) is scheduled tomorrow.

I tore my pec several years back and was presented two options. One was to just let it heal, which would leave me with permanent weakness and unknown potential impact on future activities (no more bench press for sure). The other was surgery, which was what I chose. It went well and I was recovered fully in about 9 months. However, because I waited a couple weeks in between the injury and the surgery, due to being referred to several specialists and needing multiple MRIs to assess the damage, the surgery was more difficult than it would have been if I'd had it right away, and as a result I have less range of motion on that side. Not a big deal, but since you're talking about your leg, the impact might be more significant. FWIW my dad completely tore his quad at the knee two years ago and had surgery to repair it. Recovery took a little over a year, but given that he's in his 60s that was expected. Good news is that he has full use of the leg and no complications that I'm aware of (no lingering pain or soreness, essentially full range of motion, etc).

IMO, if it's anything more than a minor tear I would want it repaired. It may "heal" on its own, but you'll never have full functionality/strength again. Whether that matters to you is obviously a personal decision, and depends in part on the severity and location of the tear, your age and level of activity, etc. And while there may not be much you can do given your health care system, the longer you wait, the more the tendon (if torn) will retract, making surgical repair more difficult and potentially limiting your recovery. If you're young and/or moderately active, that could be a significant concern, but obviously you have to weigh that against the risks associated with any surgery: infection, blood clots, etc.

A few useful links if you haven't already researched it to death:

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00294
http://www.sportsmd.com/SportsMD_Articles/id/332.aspx

Thanks for the links. They actually had an opening at physio today, so I got in early for an assessment. The guy said he thought it was a grade 1 or 2, where 3 is a full tear. Not very serious he thought, although still painful in some applications since it only happened late sunday. I'm still icing right now, but hopeful that it will heal fairly fast. I'm 52, so hope don't know how that will work out. Getting in and out of the truck can be painful, especially in a crowded parking lot where you can't necessarily open the door wide.

Thinking about upsizing my main, though I really don't want to do so. But you could probably call me a bit of a weekend warrior, so it might be time. That would be a bitch, because my 145 only cost me a few hundred about 15 years ago.

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[riggerrob 558]

Try moving to British Columbia, where we have a four-tier health care system: rich, WSBC, medIcare and poor.
The rich have always gotten the best health-care they can affoRd, whether it be private local clinics (Dr. Witenhauser's cosmetic surgery), the best hospitals in the USA (e.g. Mayo Clinic) or surgery in India.
If you are injured at work, WorkSafe B.C. has an "easy-in, easy-out" system to get you back to work as quickly as possible.
If you are injured on your own time you may have to wait a while for regular medicare.
Finally, the poor get whatever health-care is left over (e.g. The Portland Hotel Society).

For example, four years ago I was injured in a plane crash. WorkSafe B.C. quickly booked a CT Scan and an MRI (at privately-owned clinics). I soon took those expensive images to one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the province. The surgeon decided that my achromium-clavicluar ligament (right shoulder)was only torn 3/4 of the way through, so he recommended two rounds of physical therapy. As soon as I completed the second round of therapy (5 months after the accident0, WSBC closed my file and sent me back to work.
The disadvantage was that WSBC sent me back to work long before my shoulder was strong enough for heavy lifting (e.g. 55 pound tandem rig), so I re-injured my shoulder and it was more than six months before I could pack tandems, at least eight months before I was strong enough to jump with tandem students, and a year before I could walk without pain.

This year I got a taste of regulAr health-care when I wanted to get my heart checked (age 55, and three male relatives recently had heart surgery, etc.) I had to wait more than a month for an echo-cardiogram (at the local hospital). Perhaps the lengthy wait meant that doctors were not overly worried about me dying while waiting????