“Anti-inflammatories, knee sleeve, home exercises focused on knee joint stability, and if there are no improvements or symptoms worsen in 6 weeks, come back in.”
My orthopedic doctor had just finished evaluating what the heck happened to my knee 2 weeks prior. My right knee, the one that didn’t have issues before. Now I have two knees that are dysfunctional.
Something in my knee had popped weirdly which led to severe pain and stiffness to the point where I could barely walk for two days. It never really resolved, and that same pain and stiffness came back again after I barely did anything to agitate it so it seemed like the best option to get it checked out.
An X-ray showed that I have joint space narrowing in that knee which could make it more prone to certain injuries. The funny thing is, I wasn’t even doing anything when I injured it. Most people might say they were doing something active like running or playing a sport. Me? I was scooching back to sit on my couch. That’s it. Apparently, that is how prone my knee is to injury. Awesome.
So now I have one knee with patellofemoral pain syndrome that basically never goes away, and the other knee now is injured. Temporarily? Hopefully. But could it always give me issues? Possibly. And now I have to, once again, adjust my level of activity so my knee can (hopefully) heal. After already having to adjust my level of activity for other joint problems, ones that don’t go away.
Time and time again, I’m reminded of how many changes and setbacks I need to come to terms with due to my rare disease. At my most stable, I established a pretty active lifestyle that I was able to maintain for years: regular gym routine of lifting weights to build lower body strength and high intensity stair stepper exercises, long walks and hikes on rough terrain, dancing that involves quick footwork. That was my normal.
Was.
With sudden onset of pain came the onslaught of doctor’s appointments, X-rays, and MRI’s. Hip dysplasia. Patellofemoral pain syndrome. Joint space narrowing in the knee. Degeneration of hip cartilage. Signs of osteoarthritis. Because of all this, lower body exercises have become scarce, only when my knees can tolerate it. No more stair master – that is a nightmare for my knees. Long walks and hikes will always end with hip pain after the fact, but I still do it anyway and suffer through the pain. The type of dancing I enjoyed is primarily hard on the knees and hips and always ends with knee pain so that isn’t quite feasible anymore.
It’s frustrating to say the least. I have this urge to return to my normal, but I just can’t get there. Many of these exercises I just can’t do anymore, and others need to be in moderation. The risk of re-injury or flare-ups is always there.
These recent problems have just reminded me that norms change in this rare disease journey. My level of “stable” is ever-changing, and that’s something I’m coming to terms with. This is my life now, and all I can do is listen to my body and keep going to the best of my ability.
PeaceLoveHeal 