I had an appointment at the hospital this week with the orthopaedic people. Met a very pleasant young registrar who asked all the right questions.
Looking at the X-rays (didn't think to get him to email them to me - next time) it seems there is some wear and tear, some compression of the cartilage ands some suggestion of osteo-arthritis. But not too much to worry about yet - a long way off the knee replacement bit. However he did inject some steroid stuff to reduce the inflammation that causes the pain. After two days of incresed discomfort (which was anticipated) it has been much better. Today I drove to Oakham and back - 45 miles each way - with NO discomfort and no stiffness when I got out the car. This must be the first time since last November :>)
I did ask him abut running - and he said well we can only advise, and if you run it will wear more quickly. So better to cycle and row and X-train and swim, and maybe a little treadmill running.
But I like running best.
So the plan is to swim and cross-train until Christmas, with the target of losing some of the load on the knees. And then aim to take up the running gradually and see how it goes. I am due back at the hospital in January and would like to show I've made an effort.
2 comments:
Sounds good, like you've had some sensible answers to questions.
Shame you forgot to ask about an e-mail of the x-ray, you could then stick a copy up on the wall......
Precisely the reason why I've turned to more hiking and bicycling lately. The nice thing about cross-training, too, is that it helps stave off boredom.
Post a Comment