Knee Troubles Update...

I had an appointment with a local orthopedist this afternoon, and although I have something of a mixed bag of good and bad news, the positives certainly outweigh the negatives.

I don't have any ligament tears to speak of, but I do have a "loose PCL" on my left side. As the doctor indicated, my PCL is failing to prevent posterior (backward) movement of my tibia (shin bone). The occasional shifting sensation is rather uncomfortable, but it's not painful or representative of any major knee instability in my case; instead, it's a long-undiagnosed byproduct of the blunt force trauma from my accident.

In other good news, I should be hitting the rehab circuit soon for a few weeks of *insert doctor's orders here*. I'm not sure what that will entail exactly, but I don't expect the rehabilitative paradigm to be rocked anytime soon, especially since I can't exactly rehab this injury away. Regardless, I'm still looking forward to meeting yet another new therapist (really; I'm serious).

As alluded to above, this isn't something that's just going to "get better," and I am a poor candidate for PCL surgery for two very important reasons: knee stability is not significantly compromised by the looseness (remember, it's not torn), and I'm no upper-echelon athlete indulging in any of the more physically abusive (and abrupt) sports and activities that need a knee as close to physiological perfection as possible.

Instead, I should brace it when and where appropriate and avoid--although this one seemed pretty obvious--any extreme lower-body twisting motions and be careful with other, more conservative movements (certain stances and the like come to mind). Fortunately this is pretty weak bad news, as I had never really planned on indulging in any crazy rotational plyometric work anyway. Still, this is all good to know and will help me to better plan my short- and long-term workout goals around my unique biomechanical limitations.

This recent revelation aside, I still need to focus on getting my knee feeling better if I'm to begin eccentrically tackling my patellar issues. Additionally, I could almost consider myself at that precious (and presently hypothetical) "baseline of health" if I can also manage to tame my tennis elbow and pectoral issues in the coming months, but I'll focus on the boon of not needing knee surgery for now.

Photographs: Part 3

I'm reluctant to post pictures of either the doe or her fawn at this point, as they are quite graphic and--despite my tendencies towards full disclosure--I don't see the purpose of showcasing that degree of carnage.

Instead, these are pictures of the truck/trailer combo that I veered into after hitting the deer. As previously mentioned, the vehicle's occupants (thankfully) suffered no serious injury, but my Saturn SL1 was never destined to fare particularly well against anything this large...

Knee Troubles...

Well, I seem to have screwed up my left knee this past Monday. It appears as if switching up my typical free-standing bodyweight squats with ones done against the wall with a physioball is a bad idea, as the lack of true balancing seems to allow me to lapse into poor form without fully realizing it. Apparently my knee didn't appreciate that type of shearing force, so I've set up a doctor's appointment for this coming Tuesday, where I can hopefully get at least a general idea as to what I've done to myself. He or she will only be a general practitioner, but they can at least assess the obvious and prescribe an MRI if need be. Hopefully it's nothing severe, but I'll do the usual: hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

As the saying goes, two steps forward, one step back. Or perhaps it was the other way around?

Photographs: Part 2

As promised, here is another set of photos that were selected to more specifically showcase the car's damage up-close. But as another point of clarification, most (emphasis on "most") of the carnage strewn about the car's interior is from the deer; that is, for example, the deer's heart ejected onto the floor of the passenger side, but the blood saturation on the left side of the driver's seat is all me. You can also see a pair of seemingly-intact Adidas Sambas in the vehicle, and I honestly think it unfortunate that they were never recovered.

With very few exceptions, the pictures are only going to become progressively more graphic from here on out; if you're bothered by blood, stray animal tissues, involuntary organ donation, or anything similarly unsettling, do yourself a favor and don't view any more of the picture posts.

Anyway...

Orthopedic Update...

I forgot to mention this, but the February checkup with my orthopedic surgeon went very well; my right femur is entirely healed--the bone stim, raw milk, and heavily eccentric squatting did the trick--and I have been officially discharged from yet another "major player" in my steadily-declining medical entourage.

To be clear, it is not at all that any doctor at any stage of the process has been unnecessary or inadequate, but this doctor in particular is one of the medical "all stars" that has been absolutely instrumental in putting me back together; as happy as I am to have wrapped on my foreseeable orthopedic endeavors, it is at least somewhat bittersweet, as this doctor and his staff were a genuine pleasure to work with (and be worked on by).

In other good news, my surgeon clued me in to Wolff's law when I informed him that I no longer desired any orthopedic intervention to remove the myositis ossificans in my left quadriceps. Honestly, Wikipedia does a better job of summing it up than I ever could (emphasis added):

Wolff's law is a theory developed by the German Anatomist/Surgeon Julius Wolff (1835-1902) in the 19th century that states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads it is placed under. If loading on a particular bone increases, the bone will remodel itself over time to become stronger to resist that sort of loading. The converse is true as well: if the loading on a bone decreases, the bone will be adapted and become weaker.

That's good to hear, as my undesired "extra" bone will gradually remodel itself over time and at least partially wear down, which will certainly ease the biomechanical discomfort of having an irregularly shaped lump of bone taking up residence in my musculature.