[quote=sdrealtor]I have got to be the luckiest bastard in the world. At 47 I can still hold onto my claim of being bulletproof. The MRI showed lots of inflamation but no tears anywhere. Based upon my life’s history of physical activity both my primary and the radiologist were shocked how good everything looked. After all I’ve put these knees through that is no small miracle.
Dr said take it easy for 3 wks but Mt Baldy just got 4 ft of snow and hell I’m still bulletproof.
I do think my running days are probably over though. Better ways to exercise than that.
Thanks everyone for the input. See you on the slopes:)[/quote]
Congrats, sdr. Very happy to hear that you received good news. However, be careful not to equate “dodging a bullet” with “bulletproof”. I’d give yourself a minimum of two weeks after date of injury, resting the limb, elevating it when it swells, and taking anti-imflammatory meds at regular intervals round the clock.
Re: skiing: keep in mind that a high percentage of meniscal tears come from torsion movements of the knee joint. I’m not recommending that you give up skiing; participating in a sport on a smooth surface such as snow is much better on your knees than playing soccer or touch football. But knee joint integrity is essential for safe skiing, and as long as you have significant swelling, your knee is highly susceptible to risk of injury.
You sound like someone to whom regular physical activity is essential, and who is trying to keep his body in as good operating condition as possible despite the changes of middle age. So give yourself a break, and an extra week for this to heal. From a medical standpoint, inflammation is the body’s way of protecting the injured area from additional injury: the swelling and pain are a physiologic message that you should give it a rest.
And keep in mind that you have reached the age where you are going to hear your contemporaries complaining more and more about increasingly severe injuries. Things just start to wear down, and aren’t as taut, strong, or flexible as they were a few years back. Not only do injuries occur with greater frequency in your 40s and 50s, but it also takes much longer to recover from them. Most meniscal tears aren’t that big of a deal, but as you get older, torsion injuries often include collateral damage to the complex structure of ligaments in the knee. Trust me: that happens to you, you are going to be hating life.
If you really love running, I don’t know that I’d give it up completely. It does cause a tremendous amount of impact on joints in your lower extremities, pelvis, and spine, but you can cut down on that somewhat by changes in shoes and in running surfaces. But bicycling and swimming are preferable at this point in your life. And skiing.
