Prolotherapy Round 2

I had my second prolotherapy session yesterday. Jess was in attendance for this one. It wasn't nearly as bad as the first, because the doc numbed up my knee more (or because the tissue wasn't as damaged as a result of some healing?!). It wasn't nearly as long as the first, either, because he had an assistant this time. I think I can do this a third time. If there's no improvement after the third session, then we'll have to go back to the drawing board, but I'm optimistic that this is going to work. While I cannot say definitively whether my knee is any better, something's different. And it's a good different. It's hard to put my finger on it, though.

After my first session, I took three days off from exercising. I'm not sure I need to take that many days this time, as my knee isn't feeling all that bad. We'll see.

Update on progress after first prolotherapy session

I had my first prolotherapy session three weeks ago today. The first two weeks were miserable. This past week, my leg has been feeling pretty good. Yesterday, I jogged for 8 minutes with very little pain.

I will be having my second prolotherapy session on Sept. 28th. I'm hoping that it won't be as painful as the first. Even if it is, I'll have video (compliments of Jess) for entertainment value.

Tonight, I might try running the path around the neighborhood green.

Prolotherapy

I had a follow-up with Dr. Boyer yesterday. He said that my MRI from April is normal. On further exam, he said that my right knee joint is loose compared to my left knee joint. He asked me if I had ever twisted my knee. The only such event that came to mind is the time that I stepped on the inside of a leaf-covered rock with the outside of my right foot while running trails last Fall. This caused a sharp, inward twist of my knee. He thinks that this could have stretched out my MCL, causing the loose joint. He said one would definitely have pain with a loose joint.

All of this seems a bit far-fetched, but it's all I've got right now. I'm going to start prolotherapy treatment on 8/31 and see if a few sessions of that don't do the trick. We gotta tighten up that joint.

Dr. Boyer

After 3 follow-up phone calls to Dr. Boyer's office, I finally received a call back from his assistant who informed me that the doc has looked at my April MRI and is now ready to see me back. Hooray! I guess that's what it takes sometimes. My follow-up appointment is on Tuesday, 8/23 at 7:45/am in Glastonbury.

I think all this bears repeating:

I was never really convinced that it was tendinitis (the chiropractor almost had me, though). One need not look any further than this blog to figure that out. I can now think of a number of times when I might have injured my meniscus, thus I think it was a freak injury and not necessarily caused by a movement disorder. The more conservative docs will have you believe that every running injury is caused by some sort of malalignment.

I've logged thousands of miles since 2003, but never once have I had anything remotely like this wrong with either knee. (I've heard all of the counter-arguments that go something like this: Well, that's like saying that I've smoked for a million years but never had cancer.) Not even a twinge here or there to indicate that there might be a problem. I'm convinced that my injury could be related to 1) the time I twisted my knee on a rock running trails with Dan and Karolina (you may recall?) last fall or 2) the time I ran a mile through knee-deep snow (literally) last winter.

I'm kind of fed up with the guessing games that the docs are playing with me right now and would really like someone to just tell me exactly what it is wrong. I do, however, realize that's it's not an exact science. If that can't be done without scoping my knee, then I guess that's what I'll have to do. It's been too long already, and I'm not really interested in more PT (which hasn't really done squat) or even prolotherapy, especially if there's some potential tearing that's causing the pain.

Any opinions out there? What would you do in this situation?

Anyone care to share their racing plans here? I'd love to hear some happy news.

Torrington Road Race 2011

Geoff: Nice race yesterday. 32:05 has got to be a PR, no?

It's nice to see that Bill Borla is still running 6:44 miles at the age of 71. Wow.

Wish I could have been there healthy this year. Maybe next.

Wishing the rain would stop

I was hoping to do another long ride today, but the rain has killed those plans.

Yesterday, I biked into New Haven--it's about a 15-mile ride--and stopped off at the farmer's market in Wooster Square for some apples and a sunflower. The sunflower was for a colleague's 9-year old daughter, who is in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy. Unfortunately, the sunflower died in my backpack and never made it to the poor girl.

Later in the day, Jessica and I bounced around the local trails. I did a bit of running, which felt pretty good. After dinner, we walked down to the beach and reminisced about the good training we did last winter.

Tomorrow, I am hoping to hear from Dr. Boyer about my MRI. If it looks ok to him, then I think I will start prolotherapy soon. Boyer recommends 3 prolotherapy sessions, once every three weeks. Insurance doesn't pay, so I'll be looking at a $600 bill. At this point, whatever.

I can always count on good music like this to pick me up. We're looking forward to seeing these guys at Mountain Park in Holyoke, Mass. on Sept. 25th.

Did I Mention that I'm Pumped to Have Finally Learned of the Injury to my Right Leg?

4 othopedist visits (2 different doctors at 2 different clinics), 1 MRI, 5 PT visits, 11 chiropractor visits, 1 osteopath visit and thousands of $$$ later, I finally know what is causing the pain in my right knee. It's my meniscus and/or the little coronary ligaments that attach the meniscus to the leg. I'm amped.

However, I was stunned to learn that my hamstring tendons look perfect on ultrasound (no inflammation/fluid, scarring...no tendinosis!). Everyone was tellling me, hamstring, hamstring, hamstring. It's hamstring tendinitis. It's hamstring tendinosis. It takes 100 years to heal. Blah blah blah. But you can't challenge a stubborn, arrogant doctor.

All along, I have been saying that I had a gut feeling that it wasn't hamstring related (cite: Rant).

It Never Ends

I had a visit with Dr. Boyer this morning. He checked me out and then wheeled in the ultrasound machine. On ultrasound, my hamstring tendons looked perfect (i.e., no tendinosis), but I might have a medial mensicus tear and/or tearing of the coronary ligaments that attach the mensicus to the leg. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my MRI, so now I've gotta have it mailed to him. Depending on what he sees on the MRI, I have three options: 1) prolotherapy on coronary ligaments; 2) PT to strengthen up joint; or 3) get another MRI. If the therapy doesn't work and a second MRI is negative, then I'll have to get the knee scoped. But what I really hope happens is that my knee/leg contines to get better or that they'll just scope my knee and fix the tear. I don't want to do anymore therapy.

I ran for 20 consecutive minutes last night in the pouring rain. I had some very minor pain/achiness to start and then it subsided. I guess it still feels off, too. At least the cycling isn't too painful.

PRP Injection

When I see the folks at Valley, this is an option, depending on what they see on ultrasound:



I don't yet know how I feel about this particular therapy, because it hasn't been explained to me in any kind of detail, but I'd be willing to give it a shot if it doesn't break the bank and heals the tendinosis.

The six-month mark of my injury is just around the corner, and I don't know that I'm any better for any of the various therapies that I've undergone since May 25th. Perhaps I've been kidding myself through recent posts about progress (and thanks for reading and understanding the ups and downs). No doubt, I've been encouraged off and on, but overall, I feel that I'm not even close to being healed.

I've logged thousands of miles over the course of the past decade and never have I been so frustrated with my running. This is even more frustrating than when I was trying to get to the bottom of the injury to my left foot from Spring 2005 to Fall 2007. At least, then, I could run some appreciable amount. Now, I can't do much of anything. I feel like a 70-year old man. When I'm out "running" for only a few minutes at a time, it feels so foreign, like I'm learning how to do it all over again. Something's just not right.

I've been seeing Gene Zeitler, a chiropractor out of Newtown, since June 13th. He has referred me to Paul Tortland, an osteopathic physician, out of Avon. Unfortunately, he is booked until October, so I will be seeing one of his colleagues on August 10th. It's my understanding that he will use diagnostic ultrasound to get a better idea of what's going on with my leg. And it's also my understanding that he may recommend and perform Prolotherapy, which is some kind of injection to promote healing of tendons and ligaments. Zeitler has told me, though, that Prolotherapy sessions run about $800 a pop, so that's out if my medical insurance doesn't cover it.

Chiro Decides to Change Approach After Watching Me Run in Parking Lot

The chiro decided to move away from the leg/knee and focus on my right hip, which, according to him, is not firing AT ALL and likely the cause of my leg injury. He was able to conclude this by watching me run and seeing that my right knee rotates inward excessively. This is a tell-tale sign of a weak hip.

He first had me run in shoes and then barefoot in the parking lot of the office. He didn't hold anything back when analyzing my stride. His criticisms were as follows: 1) my stride length is pathetic (but that if I work on it, I could be a lot faster); 2) my stride is too tense (i.e., I need to relax); 3) my stride looks like that of a marching soldier. He talked about the importance of running drills like high knees, etc., to get the heels kicking up to the butt.

He said that I need to strengthen my right hip by doing lunges and hopping on one foot while keeping the hips aligned. The only way to know whether the hips are aligned while doing these exercises, though, is to do them sans shirt in front of a full-length mirror. I guess this means that I need to invest in a full-length mirror. He also said that, eventually, he wants me to do a lot more multi-directional excercises, like running trails, to develop the hips (that whole group of muscles). I guess my days of running on cambered pavement are just about over, with which I'm fine. It just makes the mountains of Bozeman that much more appealing.

Back in Connecticut After a Week in the Mountains of Montana (and Wyoming)

I have nothing meaningful to report other than that I'm still injured and now seemingly puttering around Stony Creek and Guilford Town Green for a pathetic 6 minutes at a time. I don't know that I'd go as far as to call this progress, but it is nice to be moving on my two feet with purpose again.

Also, we're back from Montana, where we spent a week in various locations (Missoula, Bozeman, and Cooke City). We ventured into various National Parks and Forests (the Forests are so much nicer than the Parks, in my opinion) and took 3,762 pictures (i.e., a lot but likely not that many), all of which can be seen on Facebook. It'd be well worth your time to take a peak.

Highlights of trip:

1. Being in bear country (knowing that Grizzlies are lurking out there somewhere is pretty thrilling); the folks of Cooke City (pop. 133) were rather alarmist about the Grizzlies (perhaps because of the recent Grizzly-related deaths so close to home...)

2. Bozeman

3. Several mile and vertical feet hike (pain-free) in Gallatin National Forest; iced in the creek at the top

4. Swimming the crystal clear waters from the pebble beaches of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park

5. Beartooth Pass

6. Yellowstone National Park (not really a highlight, but feel need to mention; not at all what it's cracked up to be; touristy); lots of Buffalo, Mule Deer, Black Bears, etc.; not too exciting