The Wheel of Running Misfortune: Patellar Chondromalacia
Last night I wrote in my journal, “this has been a sobering reminder of my mortality. I am not invincible.”
After months of fruitless physical therapy, my mysterious knee problem continued to persist. I returned to the doctor and was diagnosed with medial plica syndrome. An MRI, however, revealed something different: a “full-thickness” fissure of my patella (or perhaps it’s the cartilage beneath my patella), which cannot be repaired.
It apparently happens to everyone as we age. Our patellas — essentially our kneecaps — slowly degenerate. Cracks can also be caused by direct impacts to the knee, which is why everyone has been asking, “Did you fall off your bike? Did you get hit in the knee recently?” Nope and nope. The thing is, I could have cracked my patella back in the day, perhaps while playing basketball in the driveway. I fell on and skinned my knee all the time when I was a kid. It could have been cracked for a while, but running the stairs by North Hall and Currier finally irritated it.
So what now? Thankfully, a fissured patella and the resulting irritation and inflammation is manageable. When running, it does not like stairs and steep hills. But I and still run — on flat, soft surfaces. I can also do “knee friendly” activities, which includes biking. Regardless, my athletic life will likely never be the same.
I guess it is official: I am getting old. Ugh!
After months of fruitless physical therapy, my mysterious knee problem continued to persist. I returned to the doctor and was diagnosed with medial plica syndrome. An MRI, however, revealed something different: a “full-thickness” fissure of my patella (or perhaps it’s the cartilage beneath my patella), which cannot be repaired.
It apparently happens to everyone as we age. Our patellas — essentially our kneecaps — slowly degenerate. Cracks can also be caused by direct impacts to the knee, which is why everyone has been asking, “Did you fall off your bike? Did you get hit in the knee recently?” Nope and nope. The thing is, I could have cracked my patella back in the day, perhaps while playing basketball in the driveway. I fell on and skinned my knee all the time when I was a kid. It could have been cracked for a while, but running the stairs by North Hall and Currier finally irritated it.
So what now? Thankfully, a fissured patella and the resulting irritation and inflammation is manageable. When running, it does not like stairs and steep hills. But I and still run — on flat, soft surfaces. I can also do “knee friendly” activities, which includes biking. Regardless, my athletic life will likely never be the same.
I guess it is official: I am getting old. Ugh!
