After just one day of heavy walking on Rome's cobbled streets, I knew that something was wrong with my right knee. It had hurt for some time and was probably injured from playing racquetball. (You do remember how hazardous I am playing racquetball, right?)
Anyway when I got home I made an appointment with my primary physician and explained the problems I had been experiencing: pain just below my knee cap when walking down stairs and my right knee was supporting my weight, the feeling that might right knee might just give way and I would collapse, and then at night it would ache quite a bit. After getting the data, he decided that I needed to have an MRI on my knee. I did that the next day and on the following Monday I got a call telling me that I had a torn patellar tendon and that I needed to see an orthopedic surgeon.
I began searching on the Internet and saw knees sliced open and read accounts of the healing process taking about a year. Needless to say, I immediately panicked. After a few more days I started to realize that maybe they would only immobilize it for several weeks to let it heal. That option while not as invasive still wasn't sitting well with me. How can I function without being able to drive?!
So today I actually visited the surgeon and had all my fears wiped away. I told him I had a torn patellar tendon. He looked at me and said "no I think its a torn meniscus." He said that torn tendons normally happen for "elite athletes." I said he might be right. I certainly am no elite athlete. After looking up my MRI, he did in fact find that it was my tendon. So much for it being an injury for only elite athletes.
To get my knee back in good health he just wants me to stay away from high impact sports (eg, running, racquetball, basketball, gymnastics, etc...) I'm alright with all of those except I would love to be back playing racquetball. I was pleased to find I can still use the elliptical and bike machines. After 3 months of rest I can get back into it slowly. If the tendon is still painful then we will consider a PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injection into the tendon area to help it heal.
He said that a Cortisone shot in this case would be a bad thing and make it hard for the tendon to heal. Also he said the surgery was a last resort.
Platelet Rich Plasma
Click here to watch a video on CNN talking about the platelet rich plasma procedure.
