To Knee or Not To Knee
I share every other misery with folks so I can't believe I've not filled y'all in on this one.
Last August when I "retired" from competitive cycling I started running a bunch. One thing led to another and I had to stop due to a lot of knee pain.
I went to the biggest pimp of orthopaedic surgeons in Memphis, Frederick Azar. This guy is money. He's the team doc for our NBA team, a couple of local colleges and our pro hockey team. If anyone can fix me he can, right?
He shoots some x-rays, does an MRI and declares I have patella chondromalacia (aka ouchy on the knee). Basically, from 15 years of hard riding I've worn down some cartilage on the back of my knee cap and now I get some bone-on-bone rubbing when the patella does it bizness of sliding up and down.
His recommendation: glucosamine and maybe some PT. What we later find out is that PT actually made things worse because this was not a muscular problem (though my affected leg is nearly 1.5 inches smaller than the "normal" leg).
So hold up, this guy is the team doc for multi-million dolla NBA players... does he tell them to pop some Sam's Club Joint Health tabs and continue on? Unlikely, so I get a recommendation and go to another ortho doc.
His take? Sorry son, you're S.O.L. That's it? That can't be it. I cried like a 12-year-old girl who's puppy had just been run over. Thank goodness I was in no condition to mingle with people because I was on the verge of doing some serious shopping therapy-- and Best Buy and the local Chevy dealer had my name all over them.
So basically I am 36-years-old, have been super active for the past 15 of those years and now have osteoarthritis in my knee which the 2nd doc means I'll never enjoy pain free 100 mile rides or half-marathons (which I consider a "normal level of activity").
The good news....
I got a shot of cortisone in the knee and feel like a champ
There is the option of SynVisc which I'll be all over
My parents didn't let me play football growing up. Huh? How's that related? Obviously my body (also judging by genetics in my family) is predisposed to some knee problems. Currently, my tendons, ligaments and other cartilage is in great condition. That's prolly due to the fact that my parents would not let me play football (despite my desperate pleadings) growing up.
So repeat after me "Mom, I was wrong. You were right. Thank you."
My penance will be paid in the fact that now I'm a parent and I'll have about 20-30 years before my children realize that their parents were right on some things.
Last August when I "retired" from competitive cycling I started running a bunch. One thing led to another and I had to stop due to a lot of knee pain.
I went to the biggest pimp of orthopaedic surgeons in Memphis, Frederick Azar. This guy is money. He's the team doc for our NBA team, a couple of local colleges and our pro hockey team. If anyone can fix me he can, right?
He shoots some x-rays, does an MRI and declares I have patella chondromalacia (aka ouchy on the knee). Basically, from 15 years of hard riding I've worn down some cartilage on the back of my knee cap and now I get some bone-on-bone rubbing when the patella does it bizness of sliding up and down.
His recommendation: glucosamine and maybe some PT. What we later find out is that PT actually made things worse because this was not a muscular problem (though my affected leg is nearly 1.5 inches smaller than the "normal" leg).
So hold up, this guy is the team doc for multi-million dolla NBA players... does he tell them to pop some Sam's Club Joint Health tabs and continue on? Unlikely, so I get a recommendation and go to another ortho doc.
His take? Sorry son, you're S.O.L. That's it? That can't be it. I cried like a 12-year-old girl who's puppy had just been run over. Thank goodness I was in no condition to mingle with people because I was on the verge of doing some serious shopping therapy-- and Best Buy and the local Chevy dealer had my name all over them.
So basically I am 36-years-old, have been super active for the past 15 of those years and now have osteoarthritis in my knee which the 2nd doc means I'll never enjoy pain free 100 mile rides or half-marathons (which I consider a "normal level of activity").
The good news....
I got a shot of cortisone in the knee and feel like a champ
There is the option of SynVisc which I'll be all over
My parents didn't let me play football growing up. Huh? How's that related? Obviously my body (also judging by genetics in my family) is predisposed to some knee problems. Currently, my tendons, ligaments and other cartilage is in great condition. That's prolly due to the fact that my parents would not let me play football (despite my desperate pleadings) growing up.
So repeat after me "Mom, I was wrong. You were right. Thank you."
My penance will be paid in the fact that now I'm a parent and I'll have about 20-30 years before my children realize that their parents were right on some things.
posted by Gary Z at
9:11 AM
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