My bum leg

Well, the story actually begins two years ago when I was snowboarding at Sundance in Utah. I was getting pretty cocky, it was toward the end of the day, I cut an edge, fell hard, and twisted my left knee in the process. For those of you who don't know what that feels like...you take it as a sign that THAT run is your last of the day. You suck it up, pull yourself together, and carefully finish the run without any "cocky" jumps, turns, and DEFINITELY without any speed.

My knee swelled up, and I was in the doctor's office within a few days. The general practitioner recommended me to an orthopedic surgeon and told me I probably had "runner's knee" from my history of running. Two weeks later, I was in the specialists' office who told me I didn't need the recommended MRI or X-ray, that I indeed had runner's knee and he gave me physical therapy exercises to do with elevation and ice of course. He said, "today it's your left knee, tomorrow it'll be your right knee, next year it'll be your back, but you're young and healthy, so keep running, and you'll be fine."

Well THANKS FOR NOTHING DOC, because I was adequate (though not healed) for a year, but soon after I started my job about 9 months ago, my knee started getting worse. Since the accident, I would have to wear a small thin brace when I was running at the gym, but with being on my feet all day at work, it would ACHE and ACHE all day long. I could tell when the weather would get worse and cold because my knee was hurting (I could relate to all the patients in the office).

THEREFORE, I went AGAIN to an orthopedic surgeon. This time, I found one that both the therapists I work for recommend as one of the best in the City. After an X-ray and an MRI, luckily nothing was torn. He did figure out I had patellar tracking which means that my patella was being pulled more laterally (to the outside of the leg) than medially (toward the middle of the leg). This was causing uncomfortable rubbing with aching pains down and up my leg. First, he got me a BEAUTIFUL brace to wear along with some MEGA anti-inflammatory pills for a few weeks. I am to wear the brace for th next couple months until I can "ween" myself off of it. The next step was to strengthen my knee. I am doing physical therapy exercises each night for 30 minutes along with a muscle stimulator (note: muscle stim machines are NOT the comfortable relaxing machines--they are the painful ones that contract your muscle for you--the comfortable massaging machines are tens units or interferential units--fyi). Wearing the brace took a little getting used to. If I have the brace on, I don't hurt at all. When I take the brace off, I almost feel weaker because now my knee relies on it. It is big and bulky and I can walk and exercise very easily, but squatting is out of the question. I have figured out the "best" way to make it fit and stay in place. This means I wear it OVER my pants at work everyday. I am VERY sick of people saying, "oh my goodness, what happened to your knee?"
LOL...I guess I just don't love the attention...or shall I say, I don't love THAT kind of attention.