ANSWERS?

Not my knee, but it looked like this.

So I made an appointment and went back to the orthopedic sports doctor about my knees. This time we had x-rays done before the appointment to rule out some of the things that could be causing my troubles. So, for the first time in my life other than my teeth, I got an x-ray. It was an interesting experience. Always concerning when you have to cover your balls with a lead apron, but I'm sure they're fine.

Anyways, once those were done I met with the doctor and... everything looks normal. Based on his physical examination there is no tear of my meniscus, and based on the x-rays there are no bone spurs or deterioration of the meniscus that would be causing any issues either. He said the x-rays looked completely normal. Pretty much like the picture I included, which is a top result for "normal knee x-ray."

He doesn't seem to think an MRI would really reveal anything other than inflamed meniscus behind the knees, so that was the diagnosis. Based on my symptoms, pretty much everything lines up with that. Now, normally the inflammation goes down with rest, but in my case progress has been glacial at best. This was something, the knee stuff, I was struggling with for a long time if you look back in my blog. So I built it up over time. That, coupled with the fact I seem to be a slow "recoverer," whether it be muscle soreness, a scab, or inflamed meniscus, has led to this point.

Another issue is that your everyday life continues to irritate the meniscus if it is already irritated. So just day to day walking and going up stairs is enough to keep it from healing very much once it is bad. So what's the next step? Knee braces. I am the proud owner of nearly $400 worth of knee brace technology. Now, I really only have to wear these during physical activity, but since I have gotten them I have pretty much been wearing them all day. Can't hurt, and I wasn't healing much, if at all, when I was a total coach potato.

Sexy, right?

The braces basically take a majority of the load that would normally put stress on my meniscus. I don't know exactly how, but instead of that pressure going to my knees, it is transferred to the brace. My knees do feel better with them on. I purposefully flared my knees up over the weekend before the appointment, and in the doctor's office a squat which was super painful without the brace was now doable with the brace. Same with the stairs. Instead of walking down like an old man, I was able to walk down normal. It didn't solve 100% of the issues, but it took away 95% of it. So that was nice.

Long story short, we are trying this. In fact, I have even been cleared to run with them. I'm not super eager to start running right away, I'll probably test a little bit, but we'll see. I don't want to really start running until the inflammation goes down for a while. The next step is cortisone shots in my knees, which would probably help, but I'd like to avoid if possible. Don't wary fair readers I'll keep you in the loop!