First I'll update on my "wrist roller coaster." I had an MRI done Feb 1 and the radiology report said there were no issues with any TFCC tears. There was a 9mm ganglion cyst inside but on the side that doesn't have any pain. My local hand surgeon hasn't gotten back to me yet after reviewing the MRI. Since it's been almost 3 weeks, I decided to see a second hand surgeon despite being an hour drive away. He had great ratings. He performed the manual test and confirmed I test positive for a TFCC tear. So I have both a cyst and a TFCC tear! His conclusion is that the MRI machine was not high enough enough to detect in between the layers (was the wrong MRI ordered or this was the best resolution we could get in town? I will ask). He thinks the MRI didn't get that layer which had the tear, and commented how the imagery was grainy like an old school TV. Since I already tried the brace, the next conservative step is steroid injections. He said I should try a few of these before opting for surgery as surgery only provides symptomatic relief in 80% of his clients. I agreed to the injection. Holy hell it hurts! I screamed as he got that needle into the wrist joint. I felt lightheaded. Currently I'm about 24 hours after the injection and I'm having what I've googled as a "cortisone flare" when an intense period of discomfort and pain occur as a result of the injection. I feel like there is 20x more pain. These are rare, but happen more in small joint spaces. Typing this out with one hand while ice is on the other. Hopefully it will subside by day 3. So that is my wrist update. Kind of a bummer. Waiting to see if the injection provides relief, he said it will kick in after 3 weeks. 2 YEARS POST ACL UPDATE!
My 2 year ACL surgery ankneeversary is on Valentine's Day. Last year I rented a bike and biked on Antelope Island which was dry last year and did 10 miles. It was my biggest adventured to date and biking was still very new and experimental! This year we have lots of snow and I really wanted to do something outside. That turned out to be snowshoeing! I've done a few snowshoe outings so far this winter, all lasting about 2 hours! My husband took the morning off with me and he broke trail on skis (good thing as it was deep heavy snow). We picked up lunch for the local Korean food truck. After a very short day at work, I had reserved us spots at the local museum's wine and chocolate paring event. Great way to do happy hour on Valentine's day! When we got home after 7pm, I had some ribs already waiting in the crock-pot and veggies were already done earlier. All in all it was a very good ankneeversary! So happy my plans worked out. I think I can detect some very small improvements in my knee! I have been thinking it for a few weeks now, but I believe that super tight tendon feeling is letting up ever so slightly. I do these 2 hour snowshoes without any tape or bandage. It doesn't feel great, I do swell up, but I'm really back to my baseline after 24 hours or less. Fat biking has been really fun too. I did a 12 mile ride on a lovely sunny day and it was glorious! Only issue is it does aggravate my wrist. Below a photo from my 2 years ankneeversary snowshoe day.
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Knee news: I can do slow and controlled one legged chair squats. Before it would take a little bit of momentum. I feel like I have more control now. Definitely hurts the front of the knee so I make sure I'm not extra sore already before I try them. These are in preparation of real single leg squats.
I discovered I can "skip" down stairs! Of course holding on to the railing. I bought snow shoes! I haven't tried them yet, but my sweet husband convinced me I am ready to try it. Currently I only walk on flattish, snow packed trails that only need shoes and microspikes. Snowshoes will allow me to try out more trails, trail which don't have a lot of traffic and it may be a little more effort. Going to test it out this weekend and see how the knee does. This knee pain is realllllllllly getting old. I hate having it on my mind every second, but how can you ignore it? |
AuthorA 45 year old active female who tore her ACL in January 2017 (at the age of 40). Reconstructive surgery in February 2017 with bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft. Archives
November 2022
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