Getting in on the game

Who knew that a record of family fellowship and experiences would eventually turn into a medical diary? How, o how, could this have been predicted?

Gin is working through her wrist recovery and Babs is working to find relief from her pain. I'm throwing my ~hat~ knee in the ring.

In the 2023 Crossfit Games season we did a shuttle run workout that tweaked and twisted my knee. A few weeks after that I was doing lateral jumps and felt a sharp twinge. After two weeks, the pain lessened and eventually my walking and squats returned to normal. Everything was more or less fine until the summer and fall of 2024. I've had two more recurrences, both triggered by jumping or twisting. Each time I'd spend a week limping and then gradually recover.

It was time to check things out. A visit to a local sports doc revealed a likely prognosis of a partial meniscus tear. I only got an X-ray which showed my knees looking good in terms of arthritis.

But the doc thought a soft-tissue meniscus tear is probably hiding in the dark, soft-tissue gap in the knee.

The symptoms match my experience perfectly. Pain when twisting, aggravation on the outside of my knee.

What can be done? This may heal on its own, but probably won't. I can wear a brace that limits twisting. I can ice it and do physical therapy to ensure I have good range of motion elsewhere that isn't making things worse. Surgery is possible, but may make arthritis more likely. It should be a last resort.

I've been down this road before. Two decades ago, I had bouts of severe back pain and was diagnosed with spinal stenosis (a narrowing of the spinal column). Finding Crossfit and subsequent back strengthening eventually put this issue behind me. A decade ago, I visited a doc about bone spurs in my right foot. Surgery was recommended. I adapted my technique (changing the side I split jerk on), and things got better, not worse.

So, this time, I'll be stabilizing and stretching, and we'll wait for Time, the great healer, to cast his dice.