About twenty five years ago I was dancing with my wife at a new years dance in Cardston. It was at the new first ward church building and it was during the time that they thought it would be a good idea to carpet the gymnasium floors. I clearly remember I went to twirl my darling wife and as I turned my body my foot remained fixed to the floor due to the high coefficient of friction between the sole of my shoe and the carpet. I felt a stabbing pain in my knee but being young and healthy it eventually healed and went away. I do remember it taking much longer to heal than most pains took when I was young and my body regenerated quickly. Now if we fast forward about twenty years, as I entered into my forties I once again started feeling a pain in my right knee. It really was no more than a nuisance but it was a new thing and I really hoped I wasn't getting arthritis or something that was going to get worse as I got older. Now, jumping ahead to a few months ago when I started running I was quite concerned about this pain in my knee. I didn't know if running was going to make it get worse or if exercise might actually help it to heal better. At first I actually thought it was improving but then when I went to three miles a day it seemed to be getting worse. Yesterday was really strange. When I started running the pain was excruciating to the point I almost didn't run. I then decided to try and run through it thinking it might actually go away. After about half a mile it almost felt normal. I decided not to push my luck and switch to a one mile run rather than the three but by the time I finished my run the pain was negligible. Very weird. I decided it was time to get a professional opinion so after I showered I called the doctor and made an appointment. He thinks that I probably made a tiny tear in my meniscus those twenty five years ago dancing with my wife. He told me that a torn meniscus will never heal so it is very possible that it is the very same tear that is giving me grief now. He told me that it is very possible that I could continue to run and it will not get any worse but depending on how it is torn I could wear my bone unevenly and that would lead to further complications. He has recommended that I go for an MRI and check it out. I asked what we could do if it is a torn meniscus and he said they go in arthroscopically and clean up the torn edges so that the jagged edges don't rub on anything. That sounds disturbing to me but I guess the first step is to go and see just what it is. The good news is that I don't have arthritis.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Torn Meniscus
About twenty five years ago I was dancing with my wife at a new years dance in Cardston. It was at the new first ward church building and it was during the time that they thought it would be a good idea to carpet the gymnasium floors. I clearly remember I went to twirl my darling wife and as I turned my body my foot remained fixed to the floor due to the high coefficient of friction between the sole of my shoe and the carpet. I felt a stabbing pain in my knee but being young and healthy it eventually healed and went away. I do remember it taking much longer to heal than most pains took when I was young and my body regenerated quickly. Now if we fast forward about twenty years, as I entered into my forties I once again started feeling a pain in my right knee. It really was no more than a nuisance but it was a new thing and I really hoped I wasn't getting arthritis or something that was going to get worse as I got older. Now, jumping ahead to a few months ago when I started running I was quite concerned about this pain in my knee. I didn't know if running was going to make it get worse or if exercise might actually help it to heal better. At first I actually thought it was improving but then when I went to three miles a day it seemed to be getting worse. Yesterday was really strange. When I started running the pain was excruciating to the point I almost didn't run. I then decided to try and run through it thinking it might actually go away. After about half a mile it almost felt normal. I decided not to push my luck and switch to a one mile run rather than the three but by the time I finished my run the pain was negligible. Very weird. I decided it was time to get a professional opinion so after I showered I called the doctor and made an appointment. He thinks that I probably made a tiny tear in my meniscus those twenty five years ago dancing with my wife. He told me that a torn meniscus will never heal so it is very possible that it is the very same tear that is giving me grief now. He told me that it is very possible that I could continue to run and it will not get any worse but depending on how it is torn I could wear my bone unevenly and that would lead to further complications. He has recommended that I go for an MRI and check it out. I asked what we could do if it is a torn meniscus and he said they go in arthroscopically and clean up the torn edges so that the jagged edges don't rub on anything. That sounds disturbing to me but I guess the first step is to go and see just what it is. The good news is that I don't have arthritis.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
yeah!! no arthritis ... booo!!! torn meniscus
Oh, at least you will know now what steps to take, so you can continue to enjoy the things in life you do (dance with Lisa and daughters and running). It's amazing that you didn't do more damage. But I think it's because you are taking such good care of your earthly temple and are well aware of what it is saying to you. Good for you for listening. I think Dean needs to take notes from you on that. I was really impressed that YOU called the doctor and made an appointment and then WENT! : D
You didn't tell me you called the doctor!!
Post a Comment