Check your knees

or

Is there something that is bothering you?

Part I. (If you get bored reading this part, please skip down to Part II.)

My left knee isn't doing too good. But I should be thankful because a lot have worse knee problems than me.

I had arthoscopic surgery last September to fix a torn meniscus. The orthodpedic surgeon found it was torn on both sides. He trimmed off the torn places on both sides, that eliminated the aching pain for those. While he was there he scraped out some arthritis.

End of the story, right? Not quite. Besides the tears, I had developed a cyst in back of my knee. A hard mass about the size of a baby bottle, maybe wider in places. While the doc was doing the surgery the cyst drained, but it came back now.

I went to the doc a three times since the surgery. First for followup, all ok. Second to check on the cyst that had filled back up. Doc drained it, got about 250 cc of yuckie out. And I bled before getting to the car. Back in, they cleaned me up and taped me up. My blood thinner and aspirin had caused to bleed after he had finished draining it.

The third time was routine, but the swelling had returned. Doc said let us just leave it alone and see what happens. Don't baby it either. It could rupture or get better or stay the same. He even allowed me to ski Iowa, but we aren't going to make it. Doc said in about ten years I would be ready for a knee replacement and let's see if I can last that long. We will see. If I can't wait he can take out the cyst, but that is painful and requires a long cut which will be slow to heal.

Part II.

I had another worry. After the surgery, I noticed I was knock-kneed. I didn't think I ever was that way before, in fact I always thought I was bow legged. Mrs. Jim thought I was goofy.

Anyway, I asked the orthopedic dr/surgeon about this problem. I told him all about it and that I couldn't stand at attention anymore, like we had to do in the Army. Then, our feet should be together at the heals and about six to eight inches apart at the toes. Standing that way now, my heals are about six inches apart when my knees touch each other.

I did mention to the doc that maybe I shouldn't be concerned about things like this. Doc was very nice and really was glad that I was noticing things like this. He said most people as they get older become more bow legged, but that a few get knock kneed or don't change. It is all dependent upon how our joints wear when they age. Hip joints and knee joints and foot joints. [Thigh bone connected to the knee bone connected to the foot bone, I sure was glad I remembered my anatomy.]

So why don't you measure and record how your heels and knees are spaced when you stand at attention. Then maybe once a year check on your aging process and your joint settlement. Osteoporosis can enter into this too.

Part III.

Being goofy. See, I'm not really goofy, even if Mrs. Jim said I was. If you have a worry, get it checked out.