The Thrill of Victory...NOT!

I finally got tired of my knee having the spasms that woke me up a few weeks ago.  On Saturday I went to work all tightened up.  When I flexed the knee there was this horrible grinding accompanied by pain. The crepitis was so bad I could actually hear it.   One of my co-workers was nice enough to switch assignments with me so I could be at the triage desk.  Working triage has a lot less running around.  By the next day I was better but every time I get up from sitting I felt like it might go out again.  One physician assistant who used to work with an orthopedic group felt I should really have an MRI and be seen by my ortho doc.

So today I had an MRI and went to see Dr. Brand.  He told me that I have a small meniscus tear on the opposite side of the knee along with a lot of arthritis. This type of pain I've had before in the other knee.  The MRI doesn't show the problem that hurts the most.  He feels I have ileo-tibial band syndrome.  This is an inflammation of the band of muscle and tendon that stretches from the buttock area to the outer side of the knee.  It often affects runners or cyclists.  This is exactly what my friend, the yoga guru, told me it was.  The doctor gave me a corticosteroid injection which should help.  He says I should be able to get back to exercising in two days.  If I'm not doing better after a couple of weeks he will have me do physical therapy.

Not exercising is no longer an option for me.  I'm rather stressed that I can't do it right now.  Someone suggested swimming rather than cycling but I don't belong to a gym that has a pool.  The only one in the area with a pool is much more expensive than Planet Fitness.  I almost went to a yoga class last week.  My friend has a class on Thursday evening and if my knee feels up to it I'm gonna do it.  Then I can get back to the gym on Friday. 

It's pretty typical of me to find some way to hurt myself doing an athletic activity.  I'll focus more on warming up and cooling down from now on.  I'd never thought riding a bike needed that type of thing.  Usually I tried to start off slowly and gradually increase the RPM's  I incorporated the yoga stretches but I guess they were too little too late to cure my pain.  Hopefully the yoga will help me heal.

One of the US Olympic gymnasts competed with a fractured toe.  I saw a close-up photo of her bruised and battered foot.  When the interviewer asked if the injury meant she was spending a lot of time being iced after training and competing, she replied that they all always do that anyway.  They deal with pain all the time.  It's hard to imagine when you see them flinging themselves all over the place.  The trick is knowing what the pain is telling you.  Some pain means you need to stop.  I saw one short-distance runner slow down and drop out of his race.  He said his ham-strings weren't right.  If he continued to run that race there might have been irreparable damage.  After the years of training for the Olympics it must have been devastating to give up but he listened to his body.

Ouch!

I am not and never have been a competitive athlete.  Oh, I was on a bowling team for a while, but I have never been possessed of the type of drive to win at all costs.  My only opponent is myself. I just want to get in better shape no matter how much my inner self wants to sit on my ass.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan