3 words I did not want to hear today.
I was prepared for runner's knee.
That's it.
No torn anything.
I am holding on to the POSSIBLE.
I saw a sports Dr. today. I had a good feeling about him.
First question he asked was "when is your next race?"
I said "May 5th"
He said "Of course"
I told him about my problem and I told him I was pretty good at deny.
He said he was used to treat people like me.
He was also wearing a Boston 04.15.13 shirt.
I had me right from the start.
How can I not trust a guy like that...right?
So he did all kinds of tests. Knee bending. Squats. I think I aced them all.
Then he said we needed x ray.
OK. We did that right away.
He said they were all normal except one.
He showed me the images.
You can see below.
Apparently he sees that my knees are not the same.
I see them the same..of course. Perfectly fine.
He says that the cartilage looks thinner on the left knee and that could POSSIBLY mean a torn cartilage.
POSSIBLE.
Need an MRI to see cartilage.
Tuesday is MRI day.
I have to see the Dr after that and of course he is not available next week.
MAY 2 is my appt.
This just sucks.
I have a freaking half marathon on may 5th.
Waiting 2 weeks....is well you know....
He told me to run in the pool and bike.
What no running? He said no.
I said "but I got that knee strap and a brand knee treadmill"
He said "I know your kind of people. No running. Or it could get worst if it is torn"
All I heard in that crap was IF.
I asked about walking.
He gave me a look over his glasses "Mall walking"
What the hell is that?
I am not happy.
I almost wish I did not go.
I had pain free run since last week. I did all on TM and low mileage.
So I did what any 44 yrs old would do. I cried in the Dr office.
Came home and got on the second opinion "Dr Google".
I looked up symptoms for torn cartilage and I don't have many of them.
I can squat. I have no swelling.
POSSIBLE
Holding on to that.
Now I don't know what to do about my training and about the OC half.
I am doing it even if I have to walk.
It is the last race of my 2nd beach cities challenge.
No way I am DNS that.
If it is torn.....l cannot go there....you know the S word...
Do you see what he sees?
Can you read my MRI Tuesday? :)
Anyone had that injury? Torn cartilage?
How about knee tendonitis ?
Tell me the truth.....would you run if no pain?
The truth....
20 comments:
Here's what I would do. IF I had gone to the doctor and paid the money to get advice, I would either get a second opinion...or trust him. Honestly, I believe that if you pool ran for two weeks your half marathon might be just as good depending on how much you planned to run before (considering the timing is right before the race)..
I would rest it. It's a BIG "if" and it could mean - the difference between a small tear and minor surgery and a larger tear and big surgery.
Tough decision. You will do what's best for you.
I think Raina's giving good advice.
I've had knee surgery (torn cartilage and acl repair) more than 10 years ago. I hope you don't have to have surgery, but it's not the end of the world if you do. You'll be back and running...and not doing further damage. :) I'm sorry you're having to play this waiting game and stress about this. You've got great fitness, though, and two weeks of not running wont change that.
I was diagnosed with a meniscus tear and worn cartilage. I didn't run for awhile and then wore a brace for a fe w years. After my ankle break and not walking for 5 mos, my knee pain is all gone. I don't even wear a brace. Everyone is different so see what the xrays show. As the person above said, surgery isn't the end of running. I know that.
I have had 5 knee surgeries, everything from meniscus, ACL, MCL, and Cartilage. MRI can tell a doctor exactly what is wrong, but a regular xray will show some damage, it appears as a bright white blot. Your xray does not have any white blots. I am not a professional, just someone that has dealt with alot of knee issues. If it is torn, the good news (if there is such) is that cartilage is a quicker healing injury, 4-6 weeks, compared to other knee injuries that are 10 months. I agree with Raina's advice.
Hey, pool running is actually kind of fun. It's great for people-watching and you can do some really good cardio intervals!
I agree with Raina - rest up. I'm with Big Daddy Diesel too - I'm running (like a crazy fool) after two knee surgeries and have never felt better.
Rest, see what the MRI says, and then you'll know how to move forward.
You have a great running base. You could not run or walk a single step for the next 2 weeks and still be fine (my opinion). Rest and wait for results. Hopefully it is good news.
I agree with Raina. You actually went to the doctor--you must respect what he's told you (and hope that he's wrong).
I believe that two weeks of cross training won't affect your ability to finish IF you are allowed to run on 5/5.
Hugs.
Pool running WILL help you still run the half if this turns out to be nothing. I have had friends that pool ran most of their entire training cycles and then ran Boston. Seriously. Just do it. It will help eat up the time, you will give your knees a break from the pounding while still maintaining your fitness and putting in "miles."
It sucks they can't get it figured out sooner, (lord knows I get that as I sit here about a month in to my stress fracture debacle and only just yesterday got any real answers on it) but you have to either trust him or get a second opinion.
:-( Dislike. I want you to be running!
So about mall walking....
It's this thing that some 'mercans do. Go to the mall & walk laps. The one in my hometown has markers so you know how far you've gone.
I did orthopaedic surgery for 6 years, so yes...I see what he sees... sorry! An MRI will tell the best! Luckily, if it is a torn meniscus, it is a simple procedure and you are up and walking right away. :-)
As much as it sucks...listen to the advice. Rest. Pool run (which could be fun), walk, do what you're told until you get a diagnosis. Then go from there.
I see what he sees as well, the left medial meniscus is slightly smaller. I am a chiropractor and have been trained to read X-rays and MRI's, and read them every day. Hold on to the 'possible', because there can always been variations due to positioning during the X-ray (were you standing or laying down?), or other factors could influence the outcome of the X-ray. I would refer for an MRI as well, and here's when you are slightly lucky, you are getting it ASAP, in Canada you would be waiting MONTHS! (I'm Candian as well). Good luck! Are you going to share your MRI as well?
I know how discouraging this kind of thing is--believe me, I know first-hand. But my advice is to listen to the guy. You trusted him at first, right? You're paying him good money. It's in his interest for you to be running again someday. Remember, you want to run for the rest of your life. It's worth time off to keep that in place!
I know how sad you are thinking about it, though. Please keep us posted!
hope it's not a tear. agree with raina-either trust him or get a second opinion-i had to do that. i wouldn't run till they tell you too. even if you get the okay a few days before the race you can walk/run it. it's better than making something worse. don't google-it did me no good with this labral tear. hugs!
Je crois qu'on est tous d'accord...fait lui confiance et en attendant, marche et cours dans l'eau. Tu vas peut-être te surprendre à ton prochain demi! Je croise les doigts et les orteils pour toi, j'espère vraiment que tout est beau!!!!!! xo
I think you have to give your knees a break. Listen to the advice: rest and pool run.
That is unfortunate to hear, I definitely wouldn't run for now until you get a full diagnosis of your problem. And I wouldn't do the race. A MRI can see way more details compared to an Xray, so I would get a MRI. I hope that we don't have the same problem, I am going to get a MRI soon to see how my left knee meniscus looks - because right now it hurts to run. And I notice my left knee hurts a fair amount of the time. My doctor diagnosed me with a thinning meniscus when I saw him a while back. So I'm not sure if PT or surgery will help me with my problem.
Though your problem sounds less serious than mine, since it sounds like you don't feel much pain right now while running. I feel pain while running. So my guess is that it will be a minor cartilage problem if there is even cartilage wear.
I'll also add that you may just have a strained medial meniscus like I had in 2011, your symptoms sound fairly similar to what I had back then. PT helped me get over it - didn't need surgery. Though I think I stopped doing the PT exercises as often after I was healthy, and maybe that led to my left knee pain to come back again now.
I know I'm very late to the discussion. I see from IG that you've been pool running, good job!
I agree with Michael that you have such a great running base that you could probably not walk or run at all in the next two weeks and still complete the OC race. Maybe not as fast as you'd like, but you'd finish.
Fingers crossed that it's nothing serious and the rest does you well.
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