Another Setback, Soon I’ll Be Rehabbing Again…

On Wednesday I was out for my first longer ride standing up to pedal since my Urolift procedure. It’s been about a week and a half with no more side effects, so I’m feeling great about that. I’m still not cleared to do strenuous exercise till the 2-week mark which will be next Wednesday.

But even taking it easy, it felt great to be out and I was riding on local unpaved paths because it’s fun and closer to nature. I was doing great for over an hour when I decided to explore some paths in Anderson lake park I hadn’t been on previously. One of these had a large pothole I didn’t see because it was full of leaves. I was standing with my right foot on the pedal and my leg happened to be locked, not a good position for impact, when I slammed into it. It felt like an electric shock up my lower right leg. Surprisingly, I didn’t fall off the bike but I did stop and step off to assess the damage. It turned out I couldn’t put weight on my right leg. I probably could have limped home in a lower gear but because of the Urolift, I’m not supposed to be seated in a saddle yet.

So I called the cavalry and my wife came by and got me, with my bike going home in the trunk. The symptoms were very specific, no swelling, no pain resting, no pain no matter how much I manipulated the ankle or used the lower leg muscles. No pain despite how much I probed the area with my thumbs. Just considerable pain trying to bear full weight. Also, this leg had felt a bit sore for a couple of weeks. I suspected a minor stress fracture had probably gotten aggravated by the impact.

I saw my Doc Thursday morning about it and she agreed this was likely, then sent me for an x-ray. I’ll get those results today and then we’ll proceed, probably seeing an ortho specialist next. She also put me in a boot to minimize further damage until we know what’s going on.

If I’m right, rehab will probably be a few weeks, with easy spinning on the stationary bike only, and gradually increasing load on the right leg. I’ll also use this time to work on my upper body fitness. It’s two steps forwards, one step back sometimes but I’m experienced at it!