...after discussing my cycling of 200 mile per week, then...and again at our second meeting, 8-years later, yesterday...he said, "you have to treat the patient, not the x-ray"...
mix some reason with some faith...and what do you get - topical osteoarthritis pain treatment gel - Voltaren, a Z-pack of steroids - to get me over the hump, and Mobic for day-to-day (instead of my now daily Aleve)...let's see what happens...
I'm sure our many aggressive Racket Ball games didn't help.
ReplyDeleteAm I going to have to put an asterisk *** next to all the times I beat you ?
How did you first injure your knees" Football if I recall.
Any consideration of reconstructive surgery or synthetic replacement?
LiveStrong
...you beat me at racquet ball? funny, i don't remember those games..he, he, he...
ReplyDelete...in a world of irony, the first time was riding a bike - delivering newspapers with too big of a load in the front basket, going slow, started to tip over, put my right leg out to catch my fall and tore my lateral meniscus cartilage...14 years old? maybe younger...tore it four or five more times playing various sports - football, baseball, touch football in the backyard, etc...the r-ball did not help...but, that was just the beginning...
...treat the x-ray = full knee replacement...
i took racquet ball up again after i moved to Houston in 1979, started playing serious club level r-ball, indoor courts now, with back wall - modern style, not like those FL outdoor courts, played some tournaments and a lot with a good friend robert rouse, who was a UT grad and sportsman - handball and high jump.
when we were building the Schott Residence in 1984, walking the grounds the day the windows were installed, Estragon, who was with me, said you really need to do something about your knee - I looked into my reflection in the window and noticed what Estragon was talking about - serious limp - i was not even aware i was limping - chronic injuries and pain from 14 years old to the present, you gain a high tolerance to the inconvenience...
So, went to see the orthopedic surgeon in 1984 expecting some exercises, or worse case scope it, he comes in with a dead pan face and says i need full knee replacement (1984 - an Orwellian experience for me) - after i recovered from the shock i was in, i went to get a second opinion...Bill Woods, agreed my knee was fucked, but, knee replacements were new and they did not know how long the would last - maybe 10-15 yrs (I was 33), so, he recommended scoping it and clean it up the best he could and see if we could get 5 years out of it...next time I went to see the knee doc was that encounter with Provenzano 8 years ago (~18 years after the scoping) - and not for joint problems exactly - i dropped a dumbell on the top of my right knee and shocked a bunch of nerves, that is the prelude to the first half of the story in the posting...
...treat the patient, not the x-ray...
I may choose to scope the left knee, which is the one that is giving me pain now...although, the meds he gave me are working magically - no pain on this weekend ride, and sunday was better than saturday in terms of putting some power down with my left leg as well as my right...60 miles and 52 miles, respectively...
Heeeee's Baaaack!
Yes admittedly you did run me ragged many times at RB using your your paddleball techniques. but you never claimed or showed a handicap in any of those matches.
ReplyDeleteIt's not about the Bike.
Quite a story.
Certainly consider best option for long term mobility and don't rely on medication to mask potentially harmful effects of pushing it. Pain is your bodies communicating limits. Cycling is all about pushing psychological and physical limits but there is a threshold that when crossed can result in irreparable damage.
LiveStrong, LiveWell
...gracias mi amigo...
ReplyDelete