I may have to limit my camino

[Agnogel]

I have been holding off posting this for the last number of weeks untill i knew more about my situation,
On my first post on the forum i mentioned i had old leg injurys mostly work related my two knees are not great the worst being my left one and i have been watching my training stopping for a rest every 4kms or so when i feel the pressure coming on, well four weeks ago i did a 9km cliff walk that is just a small path way wide enough in places for one or two people only with the cliff face on one side and a wire fence on the other with only a couple of places to rest, On the day when i arrived there was an attempt at a Guinness World Record for the longest unbroken ribbon in aid of cancer reserch taking part along the path way it was crammed with volunterrs and no place to rest i had to keep walking and at the last 3kms i knew i was in trouble not with the bad knee but the right one i had damaged one of the ligements may be 40 years ago i cant remember but it has come back with a vengence. I have been to the hospital who say they cant do anything for me as the injury is too old just pain killers, My GP arranged for me to see another doctor who specialises in these injurys and as luck would have it he is hoping to walk the camino when he retires in two years. He injected the ligement with steroids last thursday that has helped quiet a bit and will give me another injection when i start my camino at the end of August but he said i douth you will walk for forty days (my planned camino) on either of my knees, My friend as planned is coming out for the first 10 days with me so i may just have to get the plane home with him. If this happens i will take up were i left off next year and so on untill i get to Santiagio for me its not about the destination but the journey its self i knew it would be a huge challange for me to walk it all before i made my decission to go. I am not disapointed with the result i learned a long time ago that certin things are out of my control and i have to just except life on lifes terms i still hope to meet many of you on the way you wont miss us we will be the mad Irish men having the craic (Galige for fun) so you better have a good sence of humor when you bump into us, Buen Camino my friends.
Theres a lesson in here some were dont over do it,
Picture taken yesterday on one of our motor cycle trips myself on the left and my partener in crime Tony on the right the lovely lady in the middle is a good friend of ours who just happends to bake the best fruit scones in Ireland in her tea rooms.

 

[wayfarer]

Sorry to hear this, all you can do is give it your best shot, with Gods help all will work out ok.

 

[Tia Valeria]

A tubigrip (tube bandage) either double over the knee or trebled under the knee as support might help you. Sold in pharmacies and sized for comfort etc. and fairly cheap They need experimenting to find the best way to wear and cutting to the correct length for folding. i favour a shorter length trifold under the knee, and Terry a longer just doubled and over the knee. He gets 2/3 of the tube and I get the left over 1/3 as we both take the same size. They are easy to wash put but take a little time to dry so we carry a spare on the Camino as they are very light weight.
Hoping you can walk without too much difficulty
Buen Camino

 

[CaminoKris2013]

I just would like to say that the Camino is not going anywhere! Get your knees right first before investing at this time. Issy (who is somewhere on this forum and in Spain, maybe still???), has had knee issues and has pretty much been having to bus it along Spain. The conditions this year, have been harder than many have expected due a lot of wet weather. Even though it sounds you are much more prepared than I with walking on cliffs, you don't want to find yourself at too much of a handicap right from the beginning. Other suggestion, just walk a portion, if you really want to partake.


Sent from my iPhone using Camino de Santiago Forum

 

[cathal Ferris]

I back up what the above posters say but i know what the Irish are like (as i am one) and your post states no place to rest and we Irish have a way of going forward no retreat etc. You willl find there are plenty of rest stops drinking places (Nod Nod) where you will be able to cover your distance whats suitable for you as at the end of the day its your camino. Enjoy let the Camino do its work enjoy and may god bless you on your journey remember its not the destination.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, agnogel, wishing you good luck as you start out gingerly. I don´t know much about knee issues, and my knees may be very different than your knees, but I occasionally have knee pain when on the Camino. Years ago, I found that my knee brace, brought from the US, was just too heavy and tight and was making things worse. In a pharmacy along the Camino, a helpful person suggested a lighter "rodillera", which cost me several euros and has been great. I posted a picture of it on this thread, http://www.caminodesantiago.me/comm...-your-advice-as-i-prepared.19332/#post-143777 post #9. It may be worth a try. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Tia Valeria]

The tubigrip is about £3 (GB) and very similar to Laurie's knee brace (link above) but an unhemmed lightly elasticated knitted type tube.
Do you have Boots or Lloyds pharmacies near you? Ours came from Boots

 

[barber1586]

Hi, Agnogel. I just want to extend my sympathy and best wishes for you on your journey.

Buen Camino!
Mary

 

[clearskiescamino]

Sorry to hear this Agnogel. I hope you are fit enough to walk, but don't be afraid to postpone until you are up for it

 

[AudTrekker]

Hi Agnogel, hope you will be better before you set off. I know the cliff walk you are talking about. It's my local walk which if I'm lucky i get to do once a week. It's quite narrow in places so i can imagine it was a bit hectic that day.
Buen Camino,
Audrey

 

[Agnogel]

Thank you all for your advice and good wishes i have my flight booked and paid for no refund from ryanair if when the time comes to walk and i am not up for it i will still be going only i may hire a car and take in some of the sites northren Spain has to offer, I wear double knee supports when walking as it is and so far the injections i had last week have eased the pain and soreness the Dr who treated me ( I never met him before) gave me his personal phone number to let him know how i am getting on and if i need more injections, I walked about 1.5 kms this evening just to see how things are and all was ok considering i have walked very little in the last four weeks. I am very optamistic that i will get to at least walk some of the camino i tend to take things one day at a time as it is and i will apply the same attitude when the time comes at least i have three months to heal before i go< Thanks again for all your support Peter

 

[Agnogel]

Just an update knees has been pain free today so i went for a 3km walk this evening along my local canal towpath



and all feels good no problems

 

[AudTrekker]

Hi Agnogel,
That's good news.
Great photo - looks lovely there

 

[barber1586]

Great news. Glad to hear. And oh, my goodness, such beauty! You and @wayfarer are making me jealous with your pictures. I have visited Ireland twice (my roots are Irish) and your country is so beautiful. Sigh.

 

[Agnogel]

Just another update progress has been real slow just after my last post i hurt my knee again i have not trained for 10 weeks now i got three more injections in my knee last friday boy did that hurt as two were on the bone, I took a 3km walk in my local woods this evening just as it started to rain O it was so good to be out and about in mother nature, I cant get any more injections so i am going to keep the training to three or four short walks a week to avoid any more upsets when i come to walk my camino in late August i will be averageing about 10km per day with plenty or rest stops i antisapate i will be on the camino for about 10 days only insted of the planned forty as the doc can not see me doing more and i cant aford to come home a cripple as my work involves manual labour and i will still have to make a living no matter what happens, I am about to downsize my pack to the bare minium and as i foresee my self with plenty of down time i do a little watercolour painting so i may include a small paint box and paper to while away the hours my plan was to take lots of pictures that i can paint at a later stage i still intend to do this as i have just finished renovating my garden with a canopy over the patio so i can sit out on cooler days and reminace of my trip, Mentaly i am up for the chalange but the body has another story to tell, If you do happen apon an Irish man out of SJPdeP either panting or painting sitting at the side of the way no douth it will be me so do please say hi
Buen Camino
The garden all set to go

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Don't train after cortisone shots! It undoes their effect. Give yourself a few weeks of rest. (I hope your doctor mentioned this.)

 

[Agnogel]

To be honest i dont remember if he said that as i was in too much pain thank you

 

[AudTrekker]

Just another update progress has been real slow just after my last post i hurt my knee again i have not trained for 10 weeks now i got three more injections in my knee last friday boy did that hurt as two were on the bone, I took a 3km walk in my local woods this evening just as it started to rain O it was so good to be out and about in mother nature, I cant get any more injections so i am going to keep the training to three or four short walks a week to avoid any more upsets when i come to walk my camino in late August i will be averageing about 10km per day with plenty or rest stops i antisapate i will be on the camino for about 10 days only insted of the planned forty as the doc can not see me doing more and i cant aford to come home a cripple as my work involves manual labour and i will still have to make a living no matter what happens, I am about to downsize my pack to the bare minium and as i foresee my self with plenty of down time i do a little watercolour painting so i may include a small paint box and paper to while away the hours my plan was to take lots of pictures that i can paint at a later stage i still intend to do this as i have just finished renovating my garden with a canopy over the patio so i can sit out on cooler days and reminace of my trip, Mentaly i am up for the chalange but the body has another story to tell, If you do happen apon an Irish man out of SJPdeP either panting or painting sitting at the side of the way no douth it will be me so do please say hi
Buen Camino
The garden all set to go
View attachment 11315

Hope you will feel ok by August.
BTW I absolutely love your garden.
Good job!!
Audrey

 

[Agnogel]

A lot has been happining since my last post the old knees are just about holding up i fly out Wednesday morning to Birittz and start walking from Sant Jean on Thursday morning up to Orrison all packed and ready to go final ajustments have been made to my gear and all is tried and tested so looking forward to it now that the times is near i hope to meet some of you on your way you wont miss me the forum patch on my back pack will give the game away
Buen Camino to all

 

[Kiwi-family]

If you can remember what you have written on this thread (namely that you don't intend to go too far each day and will take frequent rests), you may go further than you expect! I hope so.

 

[wayfarer]

Hoping you have a great Camino, go gently and enjoy.
Buen Camino.

 

[Al the optimist]

I wish you well. To walk with your problems is a challenge and you will need to be sensible about it or it will be a nightmare. Think hard about skipping forward. That first day to Roncesvalles is not a good idea whichever route you take. Maybe you should really skip a good distance and find leveller walking. The mesetta even? Whatever you do, seriously think of sending your pack ahead. Why create problems you don't need?

 

[Arn]

I was sitting in a pub (isn't that unusual) and my hand complained it was empty. After a second, I thought, my hand must be lonely. So another pint appeared.
It seems my hours spent at the pub were many and the pints kept up the pace. My head told me I'd had enough, so instead of calling for a cab...I just made last call.
Not wanting to drive, I decided to walk home (10 miles/16km).
At about 1/3 of the way and obviously due to the clear skies and cool night, my head cleared up, and my hand stopped shaking, but my right knee was saying...slow down, rest a bit. I pressed on.
Half way, due obviously to favoring my right knee my left knee was saying...hey, why are you putting all the strain on me? Not wanting to show favoritism...I bucked up and raised the tempo. No pain...no gain.
Nearly home, I had to rest, so I sat down on a park bench. "Not far to go," said my head. "I'll give you a lift," said the hand.
My knees said, "we aren't moving, we're all locked up."
The moral is: If your head and your hand convince you that continuing your activity will turn out just fine and your knees say...not so much. It's best to listen to your knees, because you'll need them to get back to the pub to pick up your car.

 

[Agnogel]

Good evening fellow pilgrims well i made it to Zubiri the old knees are holding up its been a hard slog the walk from St Jean to Orrison was very difficult so much so i considered walking back to St Jean and taking the bus to Ronchesvalles but i asked my higher power the next morning for help and it came in the way of rain and mist that kept me cool with the added bonus of i could not see how high i had to walk i also took the hard way down the mountain as the information sheet supplied from the pilgrims office has a doggy picture of the way i was not alone in making this mistake. I am just finding my legs and very sore at the moment but tomorrow brings a new day. I have made friends with so many of my pilgrim family its unreal loads of incouragement in both directions Buen Camino

 

[wayfarer]

Excellent.
Buen Camino.