I am so doing the HPD today...
Just returned from my post op followup from having my knee scoped. Stitches out. Meet and greet with the doctor.
Here's the jist:
He opened me up, got the scopes and tools in, took a look around and then snipped only a small piece of cartilage off the medial miniscus. It was torn and was catching every time I bent my knee especially under load like going up stairs and such...
Doc told me, shaking his head and laughing, that he had never seen a knee as in good a shape as mine, for someone my age. (56) If another doc had showed him the inside and said "this is a twenty year olds knee" he would have said "Yes, thats a twenty year olds knee." The cartilage and tendons are perfect and there is no wear and tear on the knee surfaces. There are no signs of arthritis. Only the damage caused by a fall...the torn meniscus.
I told him "I always wanted to be one of those guys that's still running when I'm 70." He said "That's probably going to happen."
I asked him about the genetic component. He said I had good parents. They left me with a cartilage that doesn't wear quickly and is quite thick. He said it's a roll of the dice if you have knees that will stand up to being used a lot. Some folks just don't have it. Maintaining a proper weight and exercising daily he felt were also of high importance.
He checked my right knee today and said it's tracking as well as the left and is just as strong, so he expects it to be in the same shape as the left.
Thanks, Mom and Dad.
A personal observation...I have avoided ball sports like the plague since the year I started running in high school. I suck at anything that involves a ball so I gave it up. Everyone I know who has bad knees at my age played basketball or soccer or football when they were young. They tend to be over weight. Now, they can barely do anything. Cycling isn't abusive to the knee, it's non load bearing and follows the line of the pivot. Running isn't abusing if done right and you listen to your body. Although I do know some runners with bad knees, I also know that when they should have been taking time off because of a problem, they didn't. They ran through it and now suffer for it. Know a few cyclists who did that too. Ball sports? Abuse with a capital "A". Torquing. Twisting. Tearing. Being hit from the side...not good.
On to some PT and can return to non load bearing exercise for the next few weeks.
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