Man, it seems like it has been non stop since I got to Louisville. I really haven’t had a free minute the last two days. But, that is all done now. I’ve done two PT sessions and one, actually two injections and now I’m free, sort of.
Backing up to yesterday, I got an email from Don Walker, the guru of the NAHBS and custom steel framebuilder. He invited us to come to his house and stay. It has been so enjoyable. He builds from his home in two double car garages. He has a full machine shop and lots of super cool custom bikes. He sure knows a ton more about the sport, especially from the industry side, than I ever will. He used to race track in California and still really follows that aspect. He told me that he had met me once before, in 1983, at Track Nationals in LA. He was a junior. Obviously, I didn’t remember that, but it goes to show you how small the sport is. Anyway, he’s a super interesting guy, one of the good guys of the sport. He now builds and sponsors a local team, from cross too. Talk about opposite aspects of the sport of cycling, track riding and cross. But there isn’t a track in Louisville, so he jumped right into cyclocross.
I went over to Stacie’s office and got the PRP and finger fixed. The PRP thing is super interesting to me. The rep of the company that makes the equipment, Jonathan Wolczyk, happened to be there and he was a cool dude too. He rides bikes, more than just casually, and told me a ton about the procedure. He reps the Arthrex equipment that spins the blood to separate the plasma/platelets and the rest of the blood. I don’t know a ton about physiology, but it makes total sense to me. Concentrating platelets around an injured area seems like a basic, no brainer to me. Anyway, I got the procedure done and hope it helps my shoulder heal stronger.
Tonight, Don Walker is inviting a bunch of guys he sponsors to come over for dinner. He said in the summer, it’s nearly most Friday nights. Sounds like a tight bunch of guys. Then tomorrow we’re going to the Body Worlds exhibit at the Kentucky Science Center and then driving back to Topeka. I can’t really see packing any more stuff into a 3 day trip.
My TradeWind team mates are racing tomorrow at Hillsboro Roubaix in Illinois. It’s a good, hard, early season road race. Again, I wish I was going to be doing it too. But, I am going to ride on Sunday. First day on a bike in over 6 weeks. Should be alright. Just a little heavy and out of shape, but that is to be expected.
Talking to Don in one of his shops.
Pretty exact miters.
The centrifuge that spins the blood.
The separated plasma and platelets.
Stacie injecting the platelets back into my shoulder.
They ever figure out how many of those Body Worlds cadavers were executed Chinese convicts?
Good luck with the PRP injection.
I had an injection into a chronicaly sore achilles tendon and got no relief. Hope it works better for you!
Steve,
I have had two sessions of PRP therapy; the first over two years ago for a degenerative medial meniscus tear of my right knee (from a lifetime of trail running). Almost a year later, my left knee developed the same tear: deep in the back of the meniscus, where, as I understand it, there is little to no blood flow.
When we shot the left knee, we also did the right knee a second time, since we had enough resources (blood) to do so. It has now been just over two years since my first PRP on the right knee, and I must say, the second treatment seemed to do the trick. It feels like I never had a tear. I have not had an MRI to conclusively prove this — don’t won’t to spend the money– but it sure feels good.
I think many folks expect this to be a rather quick response, but my experience seems to indicate that it takes a good deal longer, but can ultimately helpful in some situations. (The alternative for me would have been removal of more than 60% of each meniscus. When my doc heard that only running produced pain from the tear(s), he advised, “Put the running shoes away and go home and tell your wife you need a new bike.”)
Jeff B
Bar Harbor, Maine
Did you ever wonder how many places you would lose, if you were riding a modern steel frame, at your racing level??
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blood doping?
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