So I head into the doctor limping like a fool. The doctor walks in and recognizing me exclaims, “Jacque, what did you do this time….?”
“Nothing I hope, you are gonna tell me it’s all in my head ok?”
“I’ll do my best ok?” She smiled knowing full well I wouldn’t be there unless I was desperate. “Start from the beginning….”
Where to begin I thought. I figured I could go on and on about my childhood but it may be possible that she wouldn’t get the joke so I decided to just stick with the basics.
“Saturday I did a rollerblading half marathon and I was fine. The next morning I was jumping on the trampoline with my nephew for a while…”
Interrupting me she asks, “What’s a while to you?”
Feeling as if I was just caught with candy in my mouth before dinner I hesitated, “Umm, well…. Like, maybe 2 hours? Maybe 1 hour??...Hour and a half? …Three??”
She smirked and shook her head, “OK. Go on…”
“SO… I think I landed wrong and I heard and felt a snap in my knee but I didn’t stop…”
Interrupting again…”you didn’t stop?”
“No I didn’t feel any pain just then so I kept jumping….”
Interrupting again, this time leaning forward and looking me in the eye, “You kept JUMPING?”
“Well, yea because I thought it was just a fluke. I didn’t think it was a big deal until it swelled up. I stopped jumping then.”
She started laughing at me, like I was there to entertain her humdrum of an afternoon. I wasn’t really enjoying the conversation as much as she was but I guess when I think about it – I was being pretty stupid. I suppose I could have stopped jumping right away but I was having a good time and to be honest, I didn’t want too and it truly didn’t hurt.
I explained the rest of knee saga to her and told her that I walk 15 minutes at work and then try to walk 2-3 miles after work and that I was planning on doing the 5 miles walk for Animals on May 6th. She did a bunch of crazy rotating kind of things with my knee and then asked me to walk for her.
I tried my best to walk normal so she wouldn’t notice the limp. My planned failed and she asked if my knee had given out on me at all. When I told her that it had she started poking exactly where it hurt as if I had showed her or something and I hadn’t.
She poked and prodded and pushed it until I asked her to stop. I couldn’t take it anymore as the pain was just too much. She told me that I had stressed, torn or overworked my lateral collateral ligament. It was the ligament that helped keep my bones on top of each other and my knee working properly. See picture here.
Collateral ligaments
The lateral collateral ligament strengthens the knee joint on the outer side of the knee. It runs between your thigh bone (femur) and the top of your fibula — the long, thin bone on the outside of your main shin bone. The lateral collateral ligament can be torn when your knee twists, is hit on the inner side, or is forced outwards while your foot is pushed inwards. A lateral collateral ligament tear rarely occurs on its own, and usually accompanies a tear to other knee ligaments.
The medial collateral ligament strengthens the knee joint on the inner side of the knee. It runs between your femur and the upper inside edge of your shin bone (tibia). Tears to the medial collateral ligament are relatively common and can arise from a direct hit to your knee, twisting of your knee, or a force that pushes your foot outwards and your knee inwards.
Together the collateral ligaments resist side-to-side movement of the knee joint and help prevent rotation between your thigh bone and your shin.
She sits down and starts writing a note for me to take to work explaining that I can’t wear heels anymore and that if I was wearing tennis shoes that it was doctored order.
“No more walking at work. No more walking after work. No five mile walk – you won’t be ready for that much that soon. No walking when you don’t have too. No strenuous activity at all for 5-7 days. Take 800mg’s of ibuprofen 3 times a day and if it doesn’t get better in a week you need to come back here and we will start physical therapy.”
I interrupted this time, “WAIT? It can’t be that serious can’t it? I mean, it’s just a ligament…”
“It’s an important one and if you don’t let it heal you will suffer for a very long time. Listen to me or we will see you back her in a week.” With that she handed me the note and sent me on my way. I got half way to the waiting room and she called from the back, “Jacque, you’re gonna listen right?” as if she knew I was already plotting my next secret rendezvous with the pathways surrounding my house.
Defeated I answered sheepishly, “Yeah, I’ll listen….”
Little did she know that I got into my truck and I was still crossing my fingers from my white lie fib and laughing to myself Dr. Evil style…
4 comments:
That ligament really is an important one. I've injured it playing tennis, and I've seen other athletes really hurt it. One guy didn't rest it enough and had to get surgery.
I would follow the doctor's orders, unless you want to go under the knife.
listen to these people above me!
yeah yeah yeah.... I will! I will!!
It's about time I have some back up with this child of mine.
Thanks you guys, for telling her like it is.
I just can't get her to sit still for a minute.
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