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Freak knee injury might end season
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 2009-02-13 6:15 PM |
Regular  84  Buckeye |  Subject: Freak knee injury might end seasonSince everyone loves to talk about knee problems I thought I should share the wonderful news I got today. First let me just state that I was looking forward to my first year of triathons after my swimming career... and subsequent 10 year offseason At the beginning of the year, I knelt down and felt a sharp pain in the anterior side of my knee. After that, I had soreness in aching and pains that almost felt like instability. I get a little worried because I've already had the knee scoped once. After the MRI, I walk into the Ortho today and the conversation starts off as "Well, you have a very intriguing case". Not a very good start. The doctor goes on to tell me I have a congenital condition known as "Bipartite Patella" which means my kneecap never grew as a single boney structure but instead grew as two with a fiberous connective tissue. I'm one of the less than 5% of the population that has this condition. What the MRI showed is that I had fractured or separated the two pieces. When I was running helping the wife test a treadmill, what I thought was sharp pains due to instability was just forcefully hitting the injured kneecap. The remedy for the time being is 6-8 weeks of no activity to try and let it heal. Unfortunately, it can lead to repeated problems when running. Yet another reason my body is telling me I was built for swimming and not running. If I give it time and I develop re-occurring problems, I'm a now a good candidate for removal of the smaller bone portion.
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| 2009-02-13 6:35 PM in reply to: #1961561 |
Champion 10618   | Subject: RE: Freak knee injury might end season What to say? Well, I'm not sure which bothers you more - the 6-8 weeks of rehab, or the prospect of removal of the smaller part. The latter does not sound at all desirable, but what were you told would be the long-term problems if that part was removed? I'm 60 now, and three years ago I tore my right medial mensicus. As it was a longitudinal tear, the recommendation was to not scope it, as too much cartilage would need to be removed, which would significantly increase my chances for serious arthritis in that knee. So, I patiently did a lot of physio, and suffered through a frustrating season with just aquabikes. Aquabikes! This was tough for me because running was my strong suit, but for you it's a whole different situation. If you think you can accept the idea of a season built on swim-bike events, then that is an excellent option for you. The aquabikes may have frustrated me, but they also provided an outlet for my competitiveness; I would've gone nuts without them! Two other aqbk benefits for you: (1) I am sure that USAT now calculates points for aqbk competitors, which gives them a lot more legitamacy and competitiveness than when they were new on the scene in '06 when I was doing them. (2) Without having to think about saving something for the run, you will almost certainly become a stronger cyclist. It worked this way for me, anyhow. I learned what it REALLY felt like to push it on the bike, and I went into physical areas that I had not dared enter before. Then, once I started running again, I had to dial bike the bike intensity a bit, but very pleasantly not even close to all the way to where it had been. There is no shame in aquabikes! They are there for people who either hate the run or can't do it anymore (or at least temporarily), and the latter seem to outnumber the former significantly - there are some MONSTER athletes doing aquabikes, just biding their time until they heal and can compete in all three diciplines once again. Best of luck with this! |
| 2009-02-13 7:31 PM in reply to: #1961588 |
Regular 84 Buckeye | Subject: RE: Freak knee injury might end season What bothers me most is the fact that the last 3 years I've started cycling and have lost 70 lbs. I'm worried about inactivity and weight gain. I wasn't doing the triathlons for competition, just for fun. My serious competition level days are over. For that matter, I'd be happy with walking the run portion if I had to. As far as long term prognosis, I was told that after it heals, to build my activity back up slowly and I should be fine. However there isn't a guarantee with the pounding it would take during running. I'm actually going to see my regular physician tomorrow to have some bloodwork done to check my vitamin/mineral levels to see if I need to alter my diet. Anything can help right?? The aquabike series sounds good and there are two races on searching active.com in my region, thanks for mentioning it as it cheered me up a bit. Now that I think about it, maybe I'll look to some of my friends to do a triathlon relay to benefit some cause (TeamInTraining comes to mind) and do the swim portion... I can do that without hitting the pool. I know that is not the point. |
| 2009-02-13 9:15 PM in reply to: #1961561 |
Extreme Veteran 495 Denton | Subject: RE: Freak knee injury might end season I'm so sorry to hear this - my season this past fall was cut short also, due to a knee problem. Fortunately that was fixed - much to my extreme excitement - only come to find out now that there's a possibility I might have a rheumatoid disorder. Uh... not great for doing anything involving running!! Hopefully I'll go in to the rheumatologist and come out with a clean bill of health, but if I don't - I'll be falling back on lovely, easy-on-the-joints swimming, which ironically is the WORST of the three events for me! I know injuries are depressing... being inactive is depressing... but at least you still have options. Lots of folks who don't. Be excited that you can do what you can, and if you come out being able to do more - you'll just be that much more stoked about it. A positive attitude is, truthfully, the best thing you can have - that and perseverance. Never be afraid to get a second opinion. Best of luck. |
| 2009-02-14 9:03 AM in reply to: #1961636 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: Freak knee injury might end season The other thing to do with the aquabike search is to kind of "read between the lines" - that is, there are many races that have them, but they are buried under the umbrella of the main title of the race. As an example, I am sure that there is an Aquabike division at both Mooseman and Timberman (www.timbermantri.com), even though the rsace itself is not advertised as an aquabike. And if you find yourself wandering up towards eastern Ontario, all of the race in the local series here (www.somersault.ca) have an aqbk - called her a Swim-Cycle. And bloodwork is good - you just never know. Our bodies are fully capable of all sorts of skullduggery beneath the surface, aren't they?? Illegitimum non carborundum! |
| 2009-02-14 11:15 AM in reply to: #1961561 |
| Veteran 210 Portland, OR | Subject: RE: Freak knee injury might end season I feel your pain. Hang in there the shows not over yet. Last year was my first full season and everything was going very well until I tried to do a half marathon after having the flu. A combination of dehydration, being tired in general and a reconstructed knee we're a bad mix. I ended up with runners knee from hell. It's healing but it's going to take a lot of time and rehab. I've decided I won't race this year unless it's a 100%. It's been really frustrating but the nice thing about triathlon is I still have 2 other sports to work on. It's kind of strange for some sick reason swimming is quickly becoming the thing I really look forward to doing. Anyway, another option might be for you to pick up a runner (and biker?) and do a few relays. This is what I'll do if I'm not ready. I don't like the thought of not being around the sport and this is a good way to stay motivated. Although it's not ideal, I'll still be involved and have a good reason to train. Good luck... |
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