Cycling with knee road rash?

DebLaBounty

I took a nasty fall the other day while hiking, and my left knee is really scratched up. The whole kneecap is pretty trashed. No muscular problems, though. The issue is that as it's healing it is stiffening up and the new skin pulls tightly and painfully when I bend the knee. I am sidelined from running, and can't weight lift because my right wrist is bruised up. Question: should I bicycle to loosen it up? Do I keep the wounds dry or moisturized the something like Neosporin? I don't want to slow the healing process.

canadianlbs

my kid had second-degree burns in that area once - knelt right on a hot water bottle that burst.

so nobody warned us he needn't/shouldn't keep the leg straight the whole time it was healing up, and he went through a little period of that rope-burn sensation until the new skin stretched out. that was all that happened though. i was a little afraid it would split and his kneecap would come spilling out or something, but i was feeling sort of twitchy by then.

for reference, he was almost 12. but, yes. the prescription he was given to move it freely, and i think use lotion or oil or whatever as needed if he felt like it made things more comfortable. it settled down in a pretty short time.


bike crashes are scary. glad it's 'just' the injuries that you ahve, but still.

DebLaBounty

Thanks! I'll take your advice, @canadianlbs

NEMom80

My son's left knee is all road rash from a bike spill he took last week and he says that swimming feels the best on his knee of all the activities he does. He's 10 so sitting still really isn't an option for him. He says once he starts to move around a bit it feels better but swimming is the best.

DebLaBounty

Thank you, @NEMom80. I'm 57 so it's been decades since I've had this type of injury. I appreciate your input!

BrianSharpe

I suspect that the benefits of staying active outweigh the discomfort you may feel (unless it's really painful). Keep it clean and apply an antibiotic ointment to keep the skin a little moisturized, leave it uncovered as much as possible.

sijomial

DebLaBounty wrote: »

Thank you, @NEMom80. I'm 57 so it's been decades since I've had this type of injury. I appreciate your input!

Same age - you get used to not falling over and become less good at it!
I managed to fall on a load of rocks on a beach on holiday, skinned my leg and knee quite effectively and also gouged quite a sizeable chunk of flesh out just above the kneecap.

Antiseptic first few days to make sure it didn't get infected then I've been moisturising to keep scabs supple. Hasn't interfered with my cycling. Healing nicely but the scar tissue is very tender - which I discovered when I banged it on the shower door. Same shower door I've had for five years and never banged my knee on before....
Harumph.

WickAndArtoo

Ugh I have been there too! I went to the doctor for mine (as it covered nearly 30% of my body, it was a 3rd degree burn and I got a systemic allergic reaction to neosporin). The doctor said to keep it covered and moist as much as possible (with triple antibiotic for those without allergies, for me I was prescribed a special bandage that isn't removed for the entire healing process-it's water/shower proof-and the body retains its own liquids to moisten and heal (duoderm bandage with aquacell I believe is what they were called) and to use the limbs as much as possible normally to avoid the discomfort of stiffness when healing. Like someone said above the scar will be tender AND delicate for a long while after the open wound has healed (i.e. If you brush against something it will cause a scrape very easily). I hope you heal up soon!

TimothyFish

Hydrogen peroxide works wonders at softening up scabs. Never pull off a scab that isn't ready because that can lead to infection, but hydrogen peroxide can help get rid of those that are.