My last post ended with me returning from San Diego after unsuccessfully trying to run again. As for San Diego I did my best to enjoy the remainder of our Christmas Family vacation. I spent most of the time having fun with my Grand kiddos and Daughters. If you have not been to San Diego you should make plans to get there. Along with visiting family we spent time on the beach and in San Diego's Gas Lamp district. I also found time to Sherpa for my Daughter and her 1/2 marathon. The course was described as relatively flat. According to my daughter it was anything but flat. I guess to a Texan it was hilly.
Upon returning to Dallas (Allen, Texas actually) I made an appointment to see my orthopedic surgeon. I quite like my doctor, he is the one that put me back together after my bike crash. Remember, there are 2 types of bike riders; those that have crashed and those that are going to crash. I broke my hand and collar bone. The collar bone was broken in 4 places. This was in late 2009. My first 70.3 was scheduled for April for 2010 (IM New Orleans). Prior to the surgery I mentioned this to the doctor. Without asking whether I would be able to make it to my New Orleans race he assured me that as long as I wasn't a wimp I would have no problem making it to New Orleans!!
He actually used the word wimp.
Unfortunately Dallas had experienced a severe ice storm before Christmas and he was booked solid putting broken arms/wrists/hands back together of people that had slipped on the ice. So I was forced into seeing another doctor in the practice.
So I went, I was x-rayed and told I was never going to run again. OUCH!
From the x-rays the doctor had said that I had severe osteoarthritis in my knee and that I will never run again.
This is an on going blog and the final state of my health has not yet been finalized. It may in the end be true that I will never run again. That finality is undecided.
So back to the chronology of "knee" events. The doctor suggested treatment of injections that add fluid to the knee. This fluid adds a cushioning that was lost from the arthritis. It has minimal effect and only lasts a finite amount of time. I left the doctors office with pamphlets, a Cortisone injection and a despondent pallor.
When you do not like what you hear it is pretty easy to not listen. So I spent the next little while trying to figure out ways of refuting the doctors diagnosis. So I came up with the following:
1.)Arthritis is a slowly degenerative disease that should in no way be taken lightly. However how does on go from running marathons to never running again?
2.)Mixed Signals the doctor would say things like the arthritis is not bad in this area. So how could it be really bad in other areas.
3.) I was told with the shots I could then walk without pain. Even with the present problem walking was not or ever was a problem. Only running was a problem.
4.) When the doctor moved my knee a grinding sound was made. He said "that was the arthritis setting in.". Well Doc it has been "setting in" for quite a while because my knee has made that exact sound for 25 years!
Feel free to comment and add more if you would like I could use all the ammo I can get.
One thing supporting my refuting of the doctor was my Chiropractor. His take was that all people my age have some arthritis and that there was no need to stop running. Modify my training maybe but stop running, ridiculous.
I continued to work with the chiropractor and do therapy on the knee. It never seemed to respond well. The cortisone should have reduced the inflammation some what but it seemed to have no affect. So my Chiropractor sent me for an MRI. This is getting expensive!
The result of the MRI. Torn meniscus in the right knee.
Back to the Orthopedic surgeon.
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