It's been a rollercoaster of a fortnight.
The MRI scan surprisingly showed my lateral meniscus was normal, but a large chunk of cartilage had torn off from the lateral part of the patellofemoral joint - lateral femoral trochlea. (ie under my kneecap).
This seemed unusual to me. Most cases of patellofemoral injuries I come across are to do with bad biomechanics and seen in new runners, often overweight. To have gone so long without knee pain and then a sudden tear seemed wierd. A couple of factors sprang to mind. Firstly I did have a 'sticky' feeling in the knee on descent in Nepal - with the added weight of the pack this activity put a lot more stress on the knee. Secondly I tried a run without orthotics - I think it was the day the pain first came, if not it was the preceeding day. Having run in orthotics always in the last 5 years did this change the forces in the knee?
Anyhow, I am now both an inveterate and a degenerate runner.
An intercurrent gastro infection contracted from one of my nursing homes delayed the visit to the surgeon. In the meantime I have now gone 2 weeks without any running of note. I've headed out a couple of times since the swelling has settled down, with 3k the longest distance covered running. I fashioned my own deepwater running flotation belt from a cheap lifevest I bought at Anaconda (cut off the shoulder part) and have done a couple of sessions - lots of fun but difficult to get a cardiovascular workout of any note.
I saw the surgeon today. My options were twofold. With a large fragment of cartilage floating about inside my knee joint (it has moved to the back), and with the size of the defect in the cartilage, leaving it be was not one of the options. The option I took was to have arthroscopic surgery to trim the edges of the defect and remove the fragment. The second option was for a MACI graft - they harvest some of your own cartilage, grow it in a lab, then graft it back in a couple of weeks later. The negatives of this are 1. cost 2. 12 months until you can run again. Being, as I mentioned, an inveterate runner, this was not my option.
The surgery is first thing Thursday morning (quick but good). The surgeon is confident I'll be running 3-4 weeks after the surgery and thinks I'll be OK to run Boston, although clealy not in PB time with over a month no running then a gradual buildup. I'll be happy to be able to run it at all, and would think best case scenario 3:15 (but there's a lot of water to pass under the bridge before that)
The surgeon told me one of the Eagles players had a very similar looking injury on MRI and recovered successfully. A quick google search shows both Kerr and Brett Jones have had arthroscopic surgery on this area behind the kneecap - Clown may have a better idea given his deep and abiding affection for all things Eagles.
Next progress report hopefully 7 days postop and starting some deepwater running!
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6 comments:
Mate, glad to hear you've got in for surgery so quickly and should be up and running soon. Think you've definitely made the right decision re the options.
If it is a recent Eagles player, I'd suggest it is probably Beau Waters.
Best of luck with the recovery and hopefully Boston will still happen this year.
Agree with Clown. Better to do it now and you will soon be up and running again.
You can try to get a proper aquajogger floatation belt (I think it was around $60)
Not the preferred option but at least you are not losing much time. You must have contacts in the industry....lesser mortals wait for much longer.
Take it easy after the surgery, the temptation will be there to do too much too soon. You will have to be sensible.
We'll think of you when you're under the knife.
All the best mate, I'll be crossing fingers and toes for you. Sounds like you've chosen the best option - hope it all goes well. I think Boston may best be enjoyed when you're not killing yourself anyway....
Only just got your update post. Best of luck with the surgery - even if you take 4-5 weeks to get your base back, you will still have a solid 6 weeks before you taper (maybe consider a 2 week taper) so if things go well, you still have a good chance of being in shape to have an enjoyable run at Boston. You will be building on a huge aerobic base you built up last year and won't have lost it all.
All the best - hope to hear some good news next week.
It all depends on how well you do the rehab after the surgery, and of course how well the surgery goes. You might still go very well at Boston...The speed at which you have responded to this injury helps, your aerobic base shouldnt decline too much, if you get it back quick..., and still some time to do some more intense work when the knee is ready.
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