I’ve been complaining about the pain in my left knee for about a year and a half.
About a year ago I went to an orthopedic doctor recommended by a friend of mine, Elizabeth King. She’s an all-American rugby player and I figured a recommendation from her would be top notch.
The doctor had my knees X-ray’d and spent a little time tapping, pulling, poking and twisting. In the end he said, “you have nothing to worry about.”
The total exam took about 15 minutes.
I believed him, but not 100%. I think if I had spent a little more time with him I’d have been more accepting of his diagnosis.
So, a year went by. I kept training, and began researching. I was certain (contrary to the doctor’s diagnosis), that I had runner’s knee.
By the end I was sure it was because one leg was longer than the other, and that I was suffering because of weak quads. I began treating myself for runner’s knee.
In the end, no change. The pain would subside, and then come back. At first it was only when I trained long distances, but then it would come and go even on shorter runs. And sometimes never after very long running weeks…
I was confused. My way wasn’t working. I wasn’t achieving long-term pain-free running.
So I started putting out the word in my trusted circle of runners. I needed a new doctor. One that worked specifically with runners, and one who, preferably, was a runner themselves.
The name I received was Dr. Daniel Pereles with Montgomery Orthopedics. His credentials were impressive. Volunteer physician with the US Olympic Committee, member of the Science and Advisory Board of Runner’s World Magazine, and an accomplished triathlete. Perfect.
The exam began with more X-rays. While waiting for the exam to begin, I had the opportunity of seeing pictures of the doctor crossing the finish line of a marathon, or at various stages of a triathlon. That was compelling, and increased my confidence in the outcome.
When Dr. Pereles entered the examination room, I flooded him with the full history of my issues with my knee. All the while, he listened, asked questions, and reviewed my X-rays.
He began examining my leg, pulling, twisting, asking if this hurt, or that.
Then he laid it on the line. “There’s good news, and there’s bad news,” he said.
“The good news is that you don’t have runner’s knee. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with your knee in general. The bad news is that you may just have to grin and bear it if you want to keep running.”
Sweet! I can deal with the pain. I can’t deal with knowing that I’m hurting myself.
He pulled out a model of the knee and began showing me how my X-rays show that my knees are perfect, and what they’d look like if I had runner’s knee.
He told me that he himself has one knee that just hurts sometimes, but that there’s nothing wrong with it. Man was I happy to hear that.
His advice, “quit treating it like it’s runner’s knee, and try more quad stretching to reduce tightness in the knee. Perhaps some Ibuprofen when needed.”
Sweet!!! Man I like that kind of treatment. I expected to hear much worse, and boy am I happy with these results. Two different doctors, same prognosis. Hard for someone even as hard headed as me to ignore…
Yes, I’ll be careful with my training, but I sure am glad that I’ve been given a clean bill of health.
In the mean time, I’ll look forward to preparing for this fall’s Marine Corps Marathon :)
Bill Gross
