It feels like an age since my last post and I suppose it is over a month which is a long time for me. I don’t have any great running news but thought it was worth writing about my ongoing knee problem for the record, if nothing else.
To start from the beginning I completed the MadeYaRun Round the Reservoir marathon at the end of July in what seemed a comfortable 3 and a half hours only to wake up the next morning with a swollen right knee. Over the coming couple of weeks the swelling subsided and the range my knee would bend returned to normal. The initial diagnosis was a tendon problem at the rear of my knee.
I continued to suffering with a sharp pain in the back of my right knee when I knelt down into a squatting position. The months ticked on and I kept doing a range of physio exercises without any noticeable improvement to my knee. My walking and running was virtually unaffected and I decided to complete my planed marathon schedule for the autumn before taking any further action.
By November I decided there had been very little improvement, if any from the physio exercises and arranged to see a consultant. I was sent for an MRI scan and the results confirmed what I feared but didn’t believe would be the case, I had torn my cartilage.
On the 9th December I had keyhole surgery to cut out the tear. I was very surprised to be able to leave the hospital within hours and walk down the stairs! I didn’t even take any pain killers. For such a short operation I was taken back by the size of the large bandage on my knee which I was told I had to keep on for 2 days. Within a day it started to slide down my leg and I got the first glimpse of the top of my knee . . . they had shaved my knee!
Within a week most of the swelling had gone and I was itching to go for a run but did as I was told by the physio and resisted temptation. After 2 weeks the physio gave me some exercises to do with weights on a step to build up the muscles around my knee. I did them with him during the session with weights up to 20kg, it was very tough going. The exercises made the top of my legs seriously ache for 3 days. When I asked him about getting back to running he said if the exercises didn’t hurt my knee then I could start a bit of easy running beginning with 5 minutes. 5 MINUTES! I hardly ever run less than 7 miles, 5 minutes it would take more time to put my trainers on! The next day I had no pain in my knee so decided to go for my first run. I couldn’t do just 5 minutes so elected to run 5 very easy miles . . . not much difference?
The knee was unaffected from this so for the next couple of weeks I have roughly alternated each day between exercises and running.
Can you believe my room number at the hospital!
Sunday 5th January 2014
I’ve built up to 12 miles today. There is no pain while running. The initial injury has improved but only by about 25% and I’m a bit disappointed not to have seen more improvement. The pain is slightly different now, duller and less sharp. I am able to kneel into a deeper squat position but it is painful to do so. Looking forward to seeing what the physio says on Tuesday.
