I'm a blue collar worker. I work as a tech, but the job requires me to pass a physical and be able to bend over, lift, etc.
The job is not hard, but at times I spend a lot of time on my knees (
). In April, my left knee decided to stop working. It didn't lock, but it hurt like hell, and on top of that swelled up into a nice softball shape.
Since this happened at work, I was sent to our clinic and got an X-ray done. According to the doc, no water in the knee, so here is some 600mg anti inflammatory pain killer and was sent on my way.
I skipped the next two days of work, since it hurt like hell and the swelling wasn't getting better. I began physical therapy and was put on "light duty" at work. Long story short, the physical therapy didn't make it better, and eventually I got an MRI. The MRI was inconclusive but it did show the agitated area (muscle) and showed that I did in fact have some water in my knee
Started seeing a specialist and ended up in round two for therapy. The therapy again failed to work, and the doc basically is at a loss. We came down to two options - a steroid shot or an exploratory surgery where he sticks a camera and pokes around hoping to find something to fix.
We did the shot and there was some initial improvement but my knee is still weak and feels 60-70%. Other than taking the two days off after the injury, I have been working 5 days a week. Now I can do 80% of my job as is, but I refuse to get down on my left knee, so I am not able to a few things.
Anyways, since I've had two different doctors, and a few rounds of therapy, now works is doing their own independent inquiry - sending me to a different doctor.
My knee doesn't hurt / swell up when I ride or walk (as long as the walking is kept to under an hour or so). I haven't ridden to work since this happened with the fear that they will try to blame it on my riding.
What do you guys think? Should I be staying off the bike?
The job is not hard, but at times I spend a lot of time on my knees (

Since this happened at work, I was sent to our clinic and got an X-ray done. According to the doc, no water in the knee, so here is some 600mg anti inflammatory pain killer and was sent on my way.
I skipped the next two days of work, since it hurt like hell and the swelling wasn't getting better. I began physical therapy and was put on "light duty" at work. Long story short, the physical therapy didn't make it better, and eventually I got an MRI. The MRI was inconclusive but it did show the agitated area (muscle) and showed that I did in fact have some water in my knee

Started seeing a specialist and ended up in round two for therapy. The therapy again failed to work, and the doc basically is at a loss. We came down to two options - a steroid shot or an exploratory surgery where he sticks a camera and pokes around hoping to find something to fix.
We did the shot and there was some initial improvement but my knee is still weak and feels 60-70%. Other than taking the two days off after the injury, I have been working 5 days a week. Now I can do 80% of my job as is, but I refuse to get down on my left knee, so I am not able to a few things.
Anyways, since I've had two different doctors, and a few rounds of therapy, now works is doing their own independent inquiry - sending me to a different doctor.
My knee doesn't hurt / swell up when I ride or walk (as long as the walking is kept to under an hour or so). I haven't ridden to work since this happened with the fear that they will try to blame it on my riding.
What do you guys think? Should I be staying off the bike?