Zen and the Art of Speedskating

The mystical MRI magnets swept across my knee on Monday, today the experienced eyes of Dr. Anderson made sense of the pictures, and gave me the best possible news. There is no visible damage at all to my ligaments, ACL, or my meniscus!!!! There is some inflammation in the kneecap, indicating overuse & that there is trauma, but nothing really abnormal in the essential structures.

YAY!!!

I want to take this moment to sincerely thank Dr. Eldridge Anderson, and the whole staff at the Ithaca Orthopedic Group! I first hurt myself late on a Thursday, called the doctor and was seen on a Monday, MRI’ed as soon as the insurance allowed (7 days) and then analyzed a few days later! That is simply fantastic! All you folks at the office, I am in your karmic debt!

So wait, what then, exactly did I do to my knee? Well, the plica does not show up well on an MRI, so that is what probably gave me that awful zing of pain I felt in the weight room. The plica is really something left over from when our knees were fetal knees and still forming. They are 3 internal folds of tissue in the center and on both sides of the knee (roughly where my hand is pointing, I liked this model of the knee so much I took a picture of it). It’s a physiologic afterthought; most anatomies of the knee leave the plica out.

To really look at a plica one needs to expand the joint with fluid and repeat the MRI. Ouch! Puncturing the knee capsule is never good, and not recommended on an injury that seems to be slowly improving on its own. If it refused to improve, another option would be a direct cortisone shot into the knee (would I test positive for steroids if they did that? Hmmm, probably, I would have to look for the appropriate WADA form.) But again, since this injury seems to be slowly getting better, cortisone is not called for. What I experienced in the gym was probably a very painful “warning shot” telling me to be careful! No more front squats this year!

So the prescription is to continue to rely on my intuition as to what I think my body can handle as this soft tissue (not ligament or meniscus) injury heals. The knee still hurts a little, it actually gave a “remember me” sting as I crossed my legs and rested the latest issue of “Mens Health” on my lap (how ironic). Dr. Anderson also advocated that I try a little “vitamin A” (advil) before my hard workouts, but he also told the cautionary story of NBA star Alonzo Mourning, who fried his kidneys with ibuprofin.

I can’t properly describe the feeling of relief I experienced, driving home down route 13. Suddenly that clawed & indistinct monster of fear in my heart, fear of not competing in Olympic trials after trying so hard for so long, fear of letting everyone down, fear that I am just “too old” to be doing this; that beast of fear quietly slinked back into the depths of my subconscious, where I usually keep it caged; it has retreated after the logical whipping it received at the hands of Dr. Andersen today!

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