And the MRI results are in...
Let's do the good news first - no structural damage. No meniscal problems, no ligament issues, no major swelling or inflammation. Whew! Now for the bad news - what the MRI showed was consistent with ITBFS, which is what we've been treating all along and what should have been better by now. Damn... It... All... To... Hell... So, it was back to Rich for another cortisone injection and strict instructions to rest my knee as much as is humanly possible. Easier said than done! Yesterday morning was horrendous. Usually the pain doesn't start until afternoon/evening time, after I've been walking around on it all day, but yesterday it was hurting right from when I got up. I saw Dolph after walking to and from uni already that morning, and he said my leg was as bad (tightness and knotted-muscle wise) as the first time he saw me after I did the injury. Wonderful. Talk about being back to square one!
Having to walk to and from uni across the Goodwill Bridge most days with a 10-15kg backpack doesn't exactly fall into the "rest my knee as much as is humanly possible" category, but there's no way around it. I did consider hiring a couple of sherpas, one to carry me and one to carry my backpack, but I think that's a little outside my budget currently. Seeing as that's not an option, Dolph has got me altering my walking style instead because he thinks how I walk is what's irritating the ITB. So, I now have to stick my butt out more and try to land my foot as close underneath my body as possible, rather than my usual "flick the leg out in front" motion. Sounds simple? Not quite. My body isn't particularly happy with me trying to change what its been doing quite comfortably for the past 25 or so years, but hey, if it works I'm not going to complain.
And it does seem to be working. My knee felt okay after walking back from uni yesterday, where usually I would be practically dragging my leg behind me in an effort not to have to bend it. As pessimistic as it sounds, despite this temporary success I'm trying not to get my hopes too high. Right now it feels like I'm never going to be able to run again. I guess we just have to play the waiting game some more.
Awww, the waiting game sucks! Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos! (--kudos to anyone that gets that reference ;)
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Saluting the fantastic plastic...
Thank goodness for credit cards is all I have to say! While the MRI wasn't as expensive as I was dreading, $200 is still a lot for a full-time student trying to scrape by on the pittance the fitness industry pays for my 25hours a week work. When Rich (the sports physician) rings me with the results I'll know whether it was worth the cost or not, but hopefully it will at least give us a bit of an idea of what the problem is. Whatever it is, its not simply ITBS.
One of my regular gym clients confirmed that for me yesterday. I had been talking to him about my knee, not knowing that he's actually an orthopedic surgeon specialising in knee surgery (apparently he drives a Mercedes with the license plate "KNEE", I think that sums up the situation quite well), and he offered to have a look at it for me. After putting my knee through its paces, he said my ITB was a little tight but not that bad, and my range of motion was all normal. Manipulation tests were normal as well, so the good news there was he said whatever the problem is, he doesn't think its something that will require surgery. Whew! Meniscal or ligament tears are looking pretty unlikely, thankfully, so its looking like possibly tendonitis at the hamstring insertion, popliteal tendon or something along those lines. We'll know more when I talk to Rich about the MRI.
The MRI itself was something of a surreal and rather bizarre experience. Having to lie completely motionless inside a tube for 20-30minutes listening to the sounds the machine was making gave me plenty of opportunity to watch the thoughts bouncing around my head. The sounds were very Star-Trek-ish, with interesting rhythmical sub-sounds that kind of reminded me of some sort of electronic tribal dance. They were actually quite soothing, and had I not been so tense with the effort to remain motionless I might even have started snoring (despite it being 9:30am at the time). Hey, gimme a break, there hasn't exactly been a lot of sleep happening lately!
Well, nothing to do now but wait. Oh joy. We all know just how good I am at that! (and anyone that doesn't know... I'm being facetious).
One of my regular gym clients confirmed that for me yesterday. I had been talking to him about my knee, not knowing that he's actually an orthopedic surgeon specialising in knee surgery (apparently he drives a Mercedes with the license plate "KNEE", I think that sums up the situation quite well), and he offered to have a look at it for me. After putting my knee through its paces, he said my ITB was a little tight but not that bad, and my range of motion was all normal. Manipulation tests were normal as well, so the good news there was he said whatever the problem is, he doesn't think its something that will require surgery. Whew! Meniscal or ligament tears are looking pretty unlikely, thankfully, so its looking like possibly tendonitis at the hamstring insertion, popliteal tendon or something along those lines. We'll know more when I talk to Rich about the MRI.
The MRI itself was something of a surreal and rather bizarre experience. Having to lie completely motionless inside a tube for 20-30minutes listening to the sounds the machine was making gave me plenty of opportunity to watch the thoughts bouncing around my head. The sounds were very Star-Trek-ish, with interesting rhythmical sub-sounds that kind of reminded me of some sort of electronic tribal dance. They were actually quite soothing, and had I not been so tense with the effort to remain motionless I might even have started snoring (despite it being 9:30am at the time). Hey, gimme a break, there hasn't exactly been a lot of sleep happening lately!
Well, nothing to do now but wait. Oh joy. We all know just how good I am at that! (and anyone that doesn't know... I'm being facetious).
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Perhaps you've guessed...
... But the lack of posting after my "allowed walks" should perhaps have clued you all in to the fact that no, they didn't go well. In fact, the Monday after was like being back to day one, where landing slightly off-centre on my right leg would stop me in my tracks by sending electric spasms of pain from my knee. Bending my right knee as I walked was too painful so I developed an interesting Quasimodo-style hobble (come on, you try walking with a straight leg and see how sexy you can make it look!) Watching me walk down a flight of stairs? You might as well pull up a chair and grab a coffee, its going to take a while.
The physio is obviously somewhat concerned as according to him the pain really should have settled by now and I should have been back to some low-intensity running. So, it seems that there might be something other than ITBS going on. He's sending me back to the sports physician next week, and suggested that perhaps an MRI is in order. Great. So in addition to the pain in my knee, I'll be developing some pain in the hip-pocket area. Y'know, the type caused by having to shell out hundreds of dollars you don't really have, being a full-time student and all. Perhaps someone wants to buy one of my kidneys? I do have two after all, I'm sure I can do without one.
All for a good cause I suppose. No running means no stress relief for me, so its all slowly building up. The next person that gets up my nose is in for a serious shock, namely that a 5'3", 52kg female has a punch like a freight train when its fuelled by frustration, rage and masses of unrelieved stress. The fact that I had to miss the Bridge to Brisbane this year, and listen to my housemates chattering excitedly about the event, certainly didn't help the situation. I'm not much of a crier as a general rule, but there was a few sniffles that day.
Hey, I've got an idea... Instead of selling my spare kidney to finance an MRI, I'll just swap it for a working knee! Any takers?
The physio is obviously somewhat concerned as according to him the pain really should have settled by now and I should have been back to some low-intensity running. So, it seems that there might be something other than ITBS going on. He's sending me back to the sports physician next week, and suggested that perhaps an MRI is in order. Great. So in addition to the pain in my knee, I'll be developing some pain in the hip-pocket area. Y'know, the type caused by having to shell out hundreds of dollars you don't really have, being a full-time student and all. Perhaps someone wants to buy one of my kidneys? I do have two after all, I'm sure I can do without one.
All for a good cause I suppose. No running means no stress relief for me, so its all slowly building up. The next person that gets up my nose is in for a serious shock, namely that a 5'3", 52kg female has a punch like a freight train when its fuelled by frustration, rage and masses of unrelieved stress. The fact that I had to miss the Bridge to Brisbane this year, and listen to my housemates chattering excitedly about the event, certainly didn't help the situation. I'm not much of a crier as a general rule, but there was a few sniffles that day.
Hey, I've got an idea... Instead of selling my spare kidney to finance an MRI, I'll just swap it for a working knee! Any takers?
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