The year has started as well as last year ended... Having battled with a right hand index finger pulley most of last year, I went and did my left hand ring finger pulley straight afterwards. As a result i had a slow start to this year, feeling it was better to consolidate and heal than rush in and over train like I did at the beginning of last year. My routine was easy bouldering and sport climbing with some conditioning (rather than strength) training at home on my Beastmaker and Systemsboard. And things were going well!
At the end of last year, while setting the SA National Rockmasters competition routes at City Rock, I twinged my knee doing a rock on. At the time I didn't think too much of it, writing it off to getting old. This year it was still bothering me slightly and I had started stretching to try to alleviate the situation. Then, while doing an easy route at City Rock, things went completly pear shaped. I did a high step in to a rock on and my knee went snap, crackle and pop. The dull pain told me that this was serious but in complete denial, I dismissed it in my head suggesting to myself that it would be fine tomorrow.
That was Thursday the week before last. Fast forward to Monday this week - I finally go to see a knee specialist (after Mark the physio tells me a probably have a torn meniscus). Taking one look at my MRI scan, he informs me that he needs to operate that afternoon and whatever i do until then, don't straighten my leg!!! Well its done and dusted now, all went well, and I have 6 weeks rehab to look forward too.
Pic: My MRI scan - the red ring shows the torn meniscus which shouldn't be bunched inbetween the leg bones compared to the right which shows a clear black line between.
I still appreciate the irony of it all -
golden rule: easy vertical routes at climbing gyms are dangerous!
