May Runs

Sprained the right knee

Sprained my right knee when scrubbing the bathroom floor on Friday, 7th April while showering after the morning run. I heard a ‘pop’ sound when the knee was sprained and immediately I sat down on the floor as it was very painful. Oh no.

The pain got worse in the afternoon and evening. I totally could not walk. Borrowed a crutch from MIL’s place and used it to visit the hospital the next day, Saturday morning at Mt Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Hip and Knee Orthopaedics, Dr Tan Sok Chuen. Also borrowed a wheelchair from the hospital entrance as I really had difficulty walking.

She examined my knee and when she touched the inner side of my knee (the most painful part), I burst out with: “ouch!”. She suspected medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear or meniscus tear. She said I need a knee brace and immediately put on the knee brace for me and sent me to do an MRI scan on the same day. Also, she said I need a pair of crutches as I only had one. So we got a pair from her clinic. She also said that she could give me an injection to reduce the pain if I need it. I said no, so she prescribed Arcoxia (NSAID) to take for 5 days. I only took the medicine 2 times and stopped as the pain subsided and I don’t think I need such a strong painkiller.

I went to review the result on Tuesday morning. The result showed no tear (luckily) but a grade 2 sprain. She said it may take around 6 weeks to recover with proper rest. By the 4th day, I was able to walk without crutches but still limping.

As of today, it has been 10 days since the injury. I developed a skin rash about 1 week ago due to contact dermatitis from the knee brace. So I had stopped using the knee brace since then. The sprain would get better day by day. Just need to be careful not to bend the knee too much or swing the leg too much. The knee is tight when I try to bend to recover the range of motion. I can’t return to running so soon, but I would like to go for a walk in the park.

Hopefully, I will get a complete recovery soon and get back to my regular running. We lose fitness faster than we gain it.

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