Here I Go Again....

Getting old & playing soccer turns out to be a deadly combination. About a month ago, while playing 5 v 5 soccer in the O35 (over 35) league, I twisted my knee. Now I've had several knee injuries (read: 3 ACL repairs over the last 19 years), so I'm no stranger to the warning signs that something just "isn't right". Overall soccer is a sport prone to knee injuries - especially in women. There's a great book called "Warrior Girls" which discusses this 'epidemic' and what coaches and parents can do about it (read: diversity in sport, strength training!). Since my last ACL repair 5 years ago, I've tried to "be good" & keep my legs strong, do other low impact sports such as hockey & cross country skiing while limiting the amount of serious soccer playing. I only returned to league play ("old people league") just last year & was feeling great!

So - bad luck struck & during a routine defensive play, when I went to clear the ball, I planted my left foot on an opposing player's foot & ended up tearing the medial meniscus of my knee. The injury is known throughout the orthopedic set as a "bucket handle tear" because the meniscus folds over & looks like the handle of a bucket. Not only is it painful, but the meniscus gets trapped in the knee joint & prohibits the leg from fully extending. After a couple of weeks on crutches the pain eventually subsided, but I still walked with a noticeable limp. Skiing, ice skating, & general outdoor play were put on hold.

An MRI confirmed my amateur diagnosis & my doctor's suspicion, so the plan was to check out the damage through arthroscopy. There were two possible outcomes dependent on where the tear was located within the medial meniscus: 1) Totally trim out the damaged area or 2) Repair the tear with sutures. Trimming meant a shorter recovery, but more wear & tear of the surface cartilage within the knee. Repairing was dependent if there was a suitable blood supply in the region of damage & requires a much longer recovery period.

Turns out the latter was my case. The good news is that I don't lose any of the meniscus, so I may stave off arthritis of my knee for a longer period of time. The not-so-good news is that I'm confined to crutches and a brace with limited weight bearing for several weeks. I should be up for "light hiking" by June. Coaching JV soccer this season will be impossible, which is kind of a bummer, but also a load lifted from my shoulders during the very busy end of the school year. I guess this also frees up my time for more knitting!!

Speaking of knitting... I hope everyone's experience with hospital staff has been as positive as mine have been. My surgery yesterday was no exception - my prep nurse, surgical nurse, anesthesiologist & of course my orthopedic surgeon were fantastic. They made me as comfortable as possible & were so kind. The best part came in the recovery room. While I'm slowly waking up I could hear the recovery nurse talk about knitting. Well - that put my radar on full alert & helped me wake up more quickly. I told her that I too was a knitter & asked if she was on ravelry. Of course she was! So - we spent the last bit of my wake-up period surfing each other's ravelry profiles in the recovery room! Pretty fun! It was a slow day for the day surgery team (about 1/2 as many cases as usual) so there was no neglect to other non-knitters.

Well - off to elevate & ice. I hope to have some knitting photos to share soon.

Ciao!