by nevergreen » Tue Jul 26, 2016 3:18 pm
Back when I wrestled in high school I ended up hurting my knee to the point where I couldn't wrestle anymore. Went to a sports orthopedist, got an MRI, the whole shebang, but never got everything really taken care of as it wasn't interfering with my daily life. This was six-ish years ago.
Recently I started exercising again, so I started with running. My knee was really acting up the point where after running just a mile it would start to hurt, and to the point where it was affecting the run. Figured it was related to my injury a while ago. An annual physical was long overdue about this time, I went a new doctor who recognized it could be something serious and she referred me to an orthopedist. X-rays were the first step which came back relatively normal. The orthopedist I went to ordered an MRI. In the meantime he thought it was either a torn meniscus or possibly early stages of osteoarthritis. The torn meniscus is what I was hoping for as my family as a history of arthritis. I am way too fuckin young for that!!! Especially in my knee!! Plus repairing a meniscus is super simple.
Last Friday I had my MRI. The doctor got back to me super quickly. Turns out, to my disappointment at the time, my meniscus is completely intact. I have damage to the articular cartilage along with subchondral edema (fluid buildup) due to trabecular microfractures (minute fractures near the surface of the knee bone). After searching google for subchondral edema, it seemed like almost everything I found was related to osteoarthritis. That plus my damaged cartilage had me freaking out. Of course arthritis is not fatal, but having it start out when I'm a quarter through my life is not exactly what I was hoping for.
This morning I met with a sports orthopedist/surgeon. She asked me what was up with my knee and I was explaining to her what the previous doctor's report was; she actually was super impressed I knew everything until I told her I just googled all the terms haha. Anyways, we reviewed my MRI. There's definitely fluid and small fractures, but it's NOT arthritis or anything related. After telling me that I was instantly beyond relieved it felt amazing. I will need surgery, though it's relatively simple. It's a matter of drilling small holes into the bone so that there is blood flow in that area and new fibrocartilage is formed. This is different than the damaged articular cartilage, but it will still help immensely. You can actually watch the procedure on youtube. I love the internet.
Unfortunately I'll need to put no weight on it for 4-6 weeks so the procedure will have to be during break. Gonna be a fun Christmas huh! After my appointment I met with one of the hospital's physical therapists who walked me through some exercises to build leg muscles, especially around the knee.
Anyways, this has been something I was worrying about and I'm in a great mood now, so I wanted to share. Thanks for listening!
e; Thinking back, for such a simple thing I don't understand why the original orthopedist gave me a torn meniscus or OA... Like it was one or the other with no other options...