Chronology of Injury

MARCH 2010-FEBRUARY 2011
Consistently training for and running marathons; peak average weekly mileage: ~55

02/06/11: 2hr 24min run in Central Park; no pain
02/07/11: 47min run on treadmill; severe medial knee pain, almost causing me to abort the workout
02/08-02/19/11: Taper for the Austin Marathon; some mild to moderate medial knee pain (not only with running; e.g., even turning over in bed was painful)
02/20/11: Ran the Austin Marathon; no pain other than the usual general pain that you feel during a 3hr+ run

MARCH 2011
Tried to ramp back up after marathon, but pretty much shut down running completely by month-end due to pain

03/23/11: Saw Dr. Peter Jokl at Yale-New Haven Hospital; no imaging; diagnosed with hamstring tendinitis; treatment: reduce mileage and take anti-inflammatory (no improvement as a result of this treatment)

APRIL 2011
Tried barefoot running (some improvement)

04/06/11: Saw Dr. David Cohen at Connecticut Orthopedic Specialists for a second opinion; x-ray negative; diagnosed with hamstring tendinitis; same treatment as prescribed by Dr. Jokl (no improvement as a result of this treatment)
04/08/11: MRI
04/12/11: Follow-up with Dr. Cohen; MRI negative; same treatment (still no improvement as result of this treatment)

MAY 2011
Shut down running completely mid-month

05/20/11: Saw Dr. David Cohen again; treatment: rest; prescribed PT (no improvement as a result of rest or PT)
05/29-06/9/11: 5 PT sessions; stretching the hamstring muscles seemed to further exacerbate the injury

JUNE 2011
Still not running

06/13-07/9/11: 11 ART and SASTM sessions with Dr. Eugene Zeitler (some improvement as a result of these treatments)

JULY 2011
Resumed running mid-month

AUGUST 2011
Shut down running completely mid-month

08/10/11: Saw Dr. Matthew Boyer at Valley Sports Physicians & Orthopedic Medicine for a third opinion; diagnosed with medial joint-line tenderness (medial coronary ligament rupture and/or medial meniscus tear)
08/23/11: Follow-up with Dr. Boyer to discuss April MRI
08/31/11: Prolotherapy with Dr. Boyer; injected dextrose solution into knee joint, MCL and medial coronary ligaments

SEPTEMBER 2011
Some improvement after first round of prolotherapy

09/28/11: Prolotherapy with Dr. Boyer

OCTOBER 2011
Further improvement after second round of prolotherapy

10/21-11/04/11: 3 more chiropractic treatments with Dr. Zeitler (no improvement as a result of these treatments)
10/25/11: Prolotherapy with Dr. Boyer

NOVEMBER 2011
Improvement leveled off after third round of prolotherapy

11/14/11: Saw Dr. Michael Medvecky at Yale-New Haven Hospital for a fourth opinion; diagnosed with semimembranosus tendon avulsion; ordered MRI with arthrogram
11/22/11: MRI with arthrogram
11/28/11: Follow-up with Dr. Medvecky to discuss MRI; showed tendinopathy to 50% of semimembranosus tendon and inflammation in the bone at tendon insertion point; incidentally showed irregular medial plica; discussed surgery

DECEMBER 2012 (10th month of injury)
Surgery

12/05/11: Pre-surgery appointment with Dr. Medvecky
12/14/11: Surgery to debride semimembranosus tendon and excise medial plica

So, there you have it--ten months of nothing but injury and the resultant frustration. Every time I read through this, I'm reminded of the constant struggle and protracted effort to heal. It's further justification for the surgery that I had just five days ago. Unfortunately, rest and rehab for these kind of tendon injuries are a crapshoot, as evidenced above. But, so is surgery...I guess (we'll see). At the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, I believe that I made the right decision, and that surgery was the answer. I am going to do my best to get back to where I want to be as a runner, and I believe that, one day, I will be that runner again. I refuse to throw in the towel and give up. We're not talking about some inconsequential thing here; we're talking about something that drives me unlike anything else and makes me a better person. I know in my heart that I will always be the same person regardless of how my time is spent--running or otherwise--so one might question my assertion that running is of critical consequence to me. Here's the deal: I don't think that I would "go insane" if my body no longer permitted me to run (as runners typically say), but if that were to become the case, then I do think that I would miss out on a big part of what life has to offer us. I feel that the only way to achieve something extraordinary in my life is through running, as these kind of achievements are usually borne out of one's passion(s) (through my eyes--Jessica or my mother might say that I've already achieved something extraordinary in my life, many things in fact). I think that we all inherently yearn to achieve something extraordinary in life, because that's what motivates a life of activity rather than stagnancy, and I believe that's the very essence of life--moving forward and becoming the person that you ultimately want to be. So, it's no wonder that I take this bull by the horns. A lot, but not nearly everything, in my life rides on it.

A note that I made last month:
My gut is telling me that the injury to my right knee requires surgery. For 25 months, from December 2005 through 2007, I struggled with injury to my left foot. That injury ultimately required surgery, which corrected the problem. Now, nine months into injury to my right knee, I feel that it’s 2005 all over again. I’ve tried everything and am at my wit’s end with this injury.