I had a session with Dr Magic yesterday to find out what is wrong with my knee and fix it.
The Problem
My knee hurts behind my knee cap, in the middle. It starts at the bottom and moves to the top. I can walk okay, no pain. I can’t put weight on it to go up or down stairs. When I am seated I can’t straighten it fully. Otherwise it is functioning perfectly.
After initial testing Dr Magic determines it is the short little tendon attaching the quad to somewhere else* is pissed. But that’s not the problem. No. That is a symptom. Something else, somewhere else is wrong. Now he just has to find it.
We** discovered that my quad is doing all the work, for my right leg, maybe some of the left and a few people who aren’t running enough. This discovery was followed by 10 minutes of grueling treatment, with a metal thing being drag down my quad.
Retest knee, still painful.
More testing, hamstring is not engaging at all. So quad is doing all the work, it finally got tired and poor little tendon screamed all the way home.
But hamstring is not the problem ….
Hamstring is being shut off by brain. Huh? It doesn’t shut my mouth off at critical times, but flicks the switch on my hamstring. Dr Magic explains that when my hamstring is working it is causing a pain somewhere in my body, the brain doesn’t like pain, so it switches off the hamstring and therefore stops pain.
Now to find the problem, that shut off the hamstring, that caused my quad to work more, that pissed off the tendon, that caused the pain ….
He*** checks the calf, ankle, hip, neck, then back
Oh, we have a winner.
The back.
When I arch my back, not engaging any muscles in it and use my hamstring … my hamstring works perfectly. If I do the same think and straighten my knee, no pain, none.
Options: Become modern day quasimodo or fix back.
We **** do some work on my back then an adjustment. Which makes my back feel great but my knee still hurts. Baby steps.
I’ve got homework to do everyday.
A strength building exercise for my upper back and core. A stretch for my lower back and I have to use my foam roller on my quad for 10 minutes every day! Just hearing foam roller 10 minutes brought tears to my eyes. I spend 27 seconds on it every 3 months and think I should be nominated for a pain threshold award.
I can run if it doesn’t hurt. So I am going to try it out tonight. There are emails filling up my inbox with talk of 12 miles. I am in the process of blocking these people.
I’m thinking 4 ish and see how it goes.
* I am not using the big fancy words, if you want the all bells and whistle biology version you need to pay the big buck, please forward me you credit card info.
** I am taking partial credit, I think I was incredibly helpful
*** I take a break, this is exhausting work.
**** something good is going to happen I want my name attached to it.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Yuck, no fun. Hope all the foam rolling and exercises do the trick!
Chiropractor definitely helped me with some knee pains I had a while back
It is crazy how your body will overuse one muscle instead of another. I hope the exercises help!
I think he pretends not to be able to fix it immediately just so he can see you more often.
I definintely can relate with the horrid feelings attached to the foam roller but it works, there’s no doubt about it. If you want to run, and I know you do, you’ve just gotta do it!! That was such an interesting series of tests to get to the root of your problem but it all makes sense! Good luck, girl!
Run not such a good idea. It was tender to start and just got worse. I could feel it get more more irritated. I am thinking a few days rest and doing the exercises Dr Magic instructed.
Frustrated!
Being injured totes sucks huh? But not knowing why, or feeling like you don’t have any control is even worse! At least now you know and can make a plan!!! Hope things start to look up for your knee, er, hamstring, uh, back!
Not good. Yes, do the exercises and start with short slow jogs as soon as you can.
We all assume if we have a pain, where the pain is located, is the problem. But it is more like a warning light.
If you can’t run, do yoga on those days.
Ali- your post don’t show up in my Google reader so I’m completey missing them! Boo on the knee! Hoping it cooperates soon!