July 06, 2009

because bunion surgery wasn't making me feel enough like an old lady

if you recall, i took a bit of a spill about 3 months ago while playing my weekly frisbee game. (anyone who's seen me in person during those three months is definitely familiar with the large chunk of skin still in the process of regrowing on my shoulder...)

about a month after that, my knee was still giving me a lot of trouble: it still hurt (a LOT) to kneel on it, and it felt like the ligament over the top of the knee was hurt, even though i wasn't actually sure if there WAS a ligament going over the top of the knee. but if i went down into a squat, for example, standing back up put a lot of strain on the meniscus-y area, and would remain sore afterwards. so, i went to my orthopedic guy to get it checked out. because while i recognize that falling flat on my face is supposed to hurt for a while, it seemed like a month was kind of a long time to still be in enough pain that i couldn't kneel down to pet my cats without wincing and needing to use a wall to pull myself back up.

the diagnosis, after a few x-rays to rule out a fractured kneecap (!! eep) was that i'd bruised the bone of my knee, and the continued swelling around the bone was aggravating the ligament on top of it. i was advised to pick up some tiger balm on my way home and to stop playing frisbee on tennis courts.

so, that doctor's visit was two months ago. my knee isn't quite as bad, but it's not.. um.. good. i can "feel it" every time i go running, and it still hurts to kneel on it, and basically it's still just far from right. but it's not getting WORSE, and i know there's no real structural damage, so i did the logical thing: i turned to google.

and guess what i learned? that bad bone bruises can take a long time to heal. like, EIGHT MONTHS! or THREE YEARS! or longer! ha ha! isn't that awesome? and it's not like "oh, after 8 months you can't find any more damage in an mri," no; it's "after 8 months you might not have to ice your knee after every time you use it and the acute pain may recede somewhat."

GAH.

i learned most of this helpful info from sites like extreme mountain biking message boards or snowboarding sites... as in, people who are super active and fall at high speeds onto rocks tend to have these problems. not people who just FALL DOWN. lordy.

so the good news is that i guess it's kind of "normal" to still hurt after all this time, and it's not a sign of having damaged my knee in a more sinister way. and it's completely fine to exercise and use my knee while it heals, because further activity - while painful to me - doesn't further injure the knee itself.

the bad news is that i am a clumsy moron. although this is possibly not "news."

20 comments:

  1. Ouch! That sucks! Sounds like you're ahead of the curve as far as healing goes. Maybe because young people heal faster? Does that make you feel better?

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  2. Oh, lady. I feel your pain. Not literally, of course, but you know. From one clumsy chick to another, I hope you heal quickly.

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  3. You say "clumsy moron" I say "hilarious, adorable and smart."

    When Matt hurt his knee and had a slight fracture, it took about 6 months to heal and it's never 100%. BUT he has gone back to his usual sports activities (i.e. running, basketball, annoying me).

    By the way, how's the cut on your foot?

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  4. that is a pretty serious result to what should have been a "whoopsie daisy" fall. also, i clicked on that tiger balm link even though i was a little afraid. and OMG the graphics are sooo super cute. i hope the cute tiger cartoon and asian border design made you happier in addition to healing you.

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  5. i love tiger balm! have you tried accupunture(sp?)? that sounds like a lot of pain :(

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  6. Old Lady? Hell this kind of stuff makes you sound like a pro athlete- so does this mean we'll have to put you on the 240 day D/L?

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  7. You'd better drink more to lessen the pain.

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  8. what marie said, i think it's cute to get bumps and bruises, as long as they are serious!

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  9. Drinking more to lessen pain sounds like a great idea!! Just don't drink and then run/ work out/ dance/ walk/ breathe... since we all know how dangerous that can be sober.

    Hey, we can't help that all the graceful genes go to people like your sister. Seriously... it's like an all or nothing thing. Not fair - share the wealth!! I still have a small numb spot on my butt where I fell on our deathtrap (aka stairs) 2+ years ago.

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  10. A friend of mine fell off her bike about a year ago and hurt her knee, and hers still hurts, too. Sucky indeed. I like the "drink more" plan. Can't hurt to try, right?

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  11. I won't bore you with my foot and knee problems. Instead, I will humble myself before your superior athleticism. And I will mention that frozen peas are my friend (see my WWC entry today).

    I get to meet you on Friday, right?!?!

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  12. Oh my gosh. I just got sick to my stomach reading about your knee. That sounds awful! Jeez! I hope it heals a lot quicker than that, but if it's already been three months, I guess it might not :( It's always good to be reminded your pain is normal though, right?

    This is kind of convincing me I should call the orthopedic guy about my wrist.

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  13. A three-year heal? I've heard of amputations that bounce back faster than that.

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  14. Don't feel so bad. I fell off my bike this AM because I came to a stop sign and could not get my shoes out of the clips fast enough. WIPE OUT.

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  15. It wasn't just falling down - you were moving with a good deal of speed at that point! Maybe not the same as a mountain biker, but still. . . don't knock your athletic pursuits! (Don't knock my smock?. . . ) Parkour trainers (the one or two that exist) highly recommend systemic anti-inflammatories, like fish-oil, and massage for any injury involving ligaments and tendons. You can get a foam roller at a sports store and roll your quad - it'll help reduce stress on that ligament by loosening the muscle and will increase blood flow to the area, promoting healing. I just got one to help with my jumper's knee. My 2 cents.

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  16. I went to the Dr. yesterday, and he told me it would take SIX MONTHS for the hole in my neck to heal. I mean, WHAT? That is SO DEPRESSING.

    This sucks. Just...sucks. Bah. I'm so sorry.

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  17. ah man, that sucks. i'm sorry bones are such pansies. at least you're not re-injuring it!

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  18. At this point, I kinda hope the one on your shoulder doesn't go away. It's a constant reminder of how bad ass you are.

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  19. I get somewhat guilty when I look at cheese and think of you, because instead of like looking at some imported cheese from some exotic European country that has been aged since the dawn of time, I'm looking at processed American cheese for grilled sandwiches, or shredded cheddar for chili, or ... mmm ... Alice ...

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  20. I hurt my knees about 15 years ago and they still hurt. Not daily, but they do make a lovely grinding noise when I walk up stairs, pedal my bike, stand up and so on and sor forth. Ice and anti-inflamatories are your friends.

    And I have to agree, the shoulder and the chin were kinda attractive.

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