Orbital Velocity

Day 6: Knee Injury

It's always something!

I've had minor knee trouble for years. I'm forty-six years old, and I have had occasional knee pain for at least the past ten years. It comes and goes, leaving me with no clear understanding of cause or cure. I have a feeling that it correlates with periods where I'm eating less healthy and drinking more alcohol, but it's a pretty weak hunch. I've never seen a doctor about it, because it's never been sufficiently acute to interfere with my life in any meaningful way -- because I really don't ask that much of my body. If I were into running, rock-climbing, or some other sport that puts a high demand on the knees, I would probably have sought a medical diagnosis by now. Instead, I deal with occasional pain while going up and down the stairs, I take it even easier for a while, and eventually it goes away.

Yesterday, my left knee became painful enough for me to pay attention. Climbing stairs, I found myself limping, and eventually switched to using my right leg for all of the lifting: climb one step with the right foot, bring the left foot up to join it, repeat. It got worse as the night went on, as I continued to fetch up boxes for packaging the holiday gifts my wife and I are mailing to friends and family.

Ice, elevation, and rest certainly helped. I'll baby my knee as much as I can, and see where this leads. Probably time to schedule an annual doctor's appointment and make this the main topic.

Fortunately, walking is no problem, so I was able to squeeze in nearly two miles of useful exercise, including a half-mile to the post office to get those packages out in time for Christmas!