Somehow over the past week, I screwed up my left knee. I knew it was wobbly and sore last week after my personal trainer had me do a lot of exercises with hopping. Nothing bad happened between then and Monday night but all of a sudden I had this awful stabbing pain in my left knee when I tried to crouch, use the stairs, or even lift my leg. When I got home, I inspected my knee - hello swollen! Since I am basically an expert on knee injuries, I went through the usual knee injury routine for the next few days. Today is so much better!
What is my magical routine? First off, I make sure I get a lot of calcium and vitamin C - which is good for cartilage. Then, I made sure to exercise my knee in a non-weight bearing manner. I sat on the edge of my bed and did leg lifts. I did those at work as well. Also, when I was lying down I pressed my leg into the mattress while tightening my quad. The quad muscle is basically the savior for any knee problem so work it! Plus, with a knee injury, sensible footwear is important. You need something with good arch support and shock absorption. So, I wore sneakers every single day. Finally, I did RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. My knee isn't perfect but it is feels a lot better now.
What do I think happened to my knee? I know it isn't dislocated. I've done that 4 times in my life so I can definitely tell. My knee makes a grinding noise and the pain I feel is in the front interior. I think I pinched/crushed my meniscus with the hopping exercises and maybe stepped funny in our weekend snowstorm that made the knee worse. I have done that before too. What can I say? My knees suck. The treatment last time was my orthopedist with no warning jabbing a needle of something under my kneecap. Whatever it was, it made my knee better. Yeah, I prefer my home treatments this time around.
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