"The KNEE" - Good News...But Not the Rest of the Story...Yet

I saw my sports doctor this morning and I walked out feeling better than when I walked in. He told me that the Route 66 course in Tulsa is not the best running surface around and I would have to agree with him. I'm not sure of the total mileage we ran on concrete but it was alot. I also told him that I had finished the Honolulu Marathon last week and he seemed impressed.

He took the typical medical history and was impressed that I was even running after my heart surgery from 2 years ago. He had me stand in my barefeet, on tiptoes, squatted, and then took my left leg through a series of bends and manipulations as I lay on the exam table. Only one point did I experience any abnormal pain.

His take on the situation is this: The bone surface on the back side of the knee cap should be smooth, alot like ceramic. He thinks that mine has gotten rough and porous like over the years. He said that it wasn't necessarily caused by the running. He also thinks there may be a small sliver of cartilege torn that is behind the knee cap and that is a large part of the potential irritation that I feel. What he wants and is scheduling is an MRI and will see me again next Friday to discuss our options.

He gave me some exercises to strengthen my quads and stretch my hamstrings. To strengthen my quads I sit near the edge of a chair or table, raise one leg until it is parallel with the floor, I lock the leg straight and then slowly lower it to about 30 degrees. I do this several times a day. I have the remnants of a quad in my right leg but my left leg quad is non-existant, or nearly so. For the hamstrings it's the typical stretch, putting your foot on a chair or table from a standing position and then pointing the toes back to the chest and holding for 15 seconds, repeating this 8 to 10 times a day. I think I should have been doing both of these all along.

The good thing about strengthening the quads is that I believe I can do that exercise from my office chair, or in a restaurant, or a meeting.

I asked about the upcoming Houston Marathon and then held my breath. He said at this point he believes I can go. He said that if I had to I could walk the course. So I'm planning on going, woohoo.

So there should be more news next Friday. In the meantime I'm going to try and do a very easy light run on Monday morning, weather permitting.