When nature or God designed the human knee, someone was out to lunch. That’s because the knee is the largest joint in the body; it is also the most complicated; it supports nearly the entire weight of the body; and it’s the joint most vulnerable to acute injury and osteoarthritis.
No engineer in his right mind would design a fixture such as that. Nevertheless, you and I are stuck with it.
Women should be especially resentful. Their knees are even more subject to trouble than are men’s. A woman has a wider pelvis, which causes her thighs to slant inward. This results in a wider Q (for quadriceps) angle, resulting in extra force being placed on her knees. I learned all of this while researching knees. I was overwhelmed by explanations of knee terminology, operation, defects, ailments and remedies.
I’m interested in knees because mine are starting to fall apart. At my age (79) I suppose I should expect my various joints and attachments to show some wear. But it’s still not much fun when they do.
Twenty or 30 years ago my legs and knees were in pretty good shape. I could jog, although not very fast, and as recently as four years ago I had no trouble hiking a mile to the neighborhood drug store to pick up a morning newspaper. But in the past two years I’ve experienced a steady downhill slide.
A year ago I consulted an orthopedic physician. She took a series of X-rays, and told me I have severe arthritis in both knees, as well as a moderate case of it in my left hip. She injected my knees with cortisone, which greatly eased the pain for a few weeks. Four months later she gave me another cortisone injection, followed by a third round four months after that.
I had hopes I could go on with this routine indefinitely. But now the knee pain has increased to the point where I no longer climb or descend stairs if I can help it. I find it difficult to walk more than a 100 yards, and I get some pretty nifty twinges even when I’m walking around my condo.
I’d like to blame some of this on the weather. I live in Massachusetts most of the year, and we’re having a mighty cold winter up here. I’ll be flying down to Pinellas soon on one of my six regular yearly trips, and I’ll find out then if warmer air has a beneficial effect on my knees.
I asked my doctor about the advisability of my getting artificial knees. She was not enthusiastic about it. I developed a blood clot in my leg a year ago, and according to my doctor knee replacements bring a higher than average incidence of clotting. The day may come when I decide to go with replacements regardless of the risks.
Until then I’m going to seek alternatives, of which there are quite a few (surgical and otherwise). I already own a couple of elastic knee braces. My girl friend Liz urges me to get a cane. I have some ankle weights and a rubber stretch band for exercise purposes. I take six Arthritis Tylenol capsules each day, and they help. I’ll try to find some wrap-around heating pads, to boot.
I’ll also try to take off the 30 pounds of excess weight I’ve been lugging around for years. One study showed that knee patients who took off only 11 pounds experienced a 50 percent reduction in pain. Wish me luck.
I’m sure modern medicine offers many other palliatives. If you, my 37 Faithful Readers, have successfully tried any of them, I’d like to hear from you.
Please forgive this personal medical litany. I’ve had a few aches and pains in my lifetime, but all in all I’m one of the luckiest fellows I know. I’m aware that millions of people my age would gladly trade in their ailments for my distressed knees. So be assured that I’m not crying the blues. I’m just seeking information that might help me with the cards I’ve been dealt.
Knee joke: Smith, 90, visits his doctor. “Doc, my right knee hurts like crazy.” The doctor says, “That’s no surprise. After all, your knee is 90 years old.” Smith replies, “But my left knee is 90 years old, too, and it feels fine!”
