Sorry about that

Yes, it's been a while since I posted anything. I've been struggling with an injury to my knee. It's got me thinking about medical issues post-shtf. We tend to focus a lot on injuries involving bleeding, or at most a broken bone. However, the more likely injury that doesn't involve bleeding is a sprain. It's a lot more serious than you think.

A sprain leaves us in pain. In fact, it's more painful than a break (personal observation). In some instances it's a lot more painful. My injury was a sprain of a knee ligament and it made life difficult, to say the least. A trip to the bathroom was torture and included a knee brace bandage, a walker, and post-trip heating pad. Just trying to sit up was something to be avoided. At some point you have to make that trip and then grab some kind of pain pill.

Now, there's no chance at all that you're going to bug out with a walker strapped to your BOB, so we need to consider alternatives. I plan on adding a pair of knee braces. Not the cheap kind. They need to be ones that have some kind of metal structure that will keep the knee aligned in its normal position, yet allow the knee to bend. We also need to think about the elbow and wrist. Each will have its own specialized appliance (as they're called). Throw in a dozen heavy-duty wrap type elastic bandages and that should be enough to keep you and your group able to move. You'll be screaming in pain, but able to walk, as long as the terrain isn't too rough.

That is about as much as you can do while maintaining mobility. You can't carry a walker or crutches and move through the woods and over streams. It's not an ideal solution. If you're bugging out solo and a sprain happens, you may not be able to stand this level of pain. It's been 4 weeks and I still can't move my leg normally. There are certain spots that are painful to the touch. The only treatment that did any good was to stay put in bed. The less stress you put on the leg the better. Usual healing time is 6 - 8 weeks. I wish you luck in figuring out how to deal with this scenario. About the only thing I have come up with in a bugout situation is to travel with a group and be prepared to have them drag you on a travois. This is going to leave one hell of a track and ruin your average speed, but I don't see a lot of alternatives other than abandoning the injured party. Probably not an ideal solution, especially if that's you.

Good luck in this scenario and may you never have to deal with it.