Knee Injury

I have to share what treatment I found, to diagnose my injury and also to treat it.

My daughter works out at Crossfit West Seattle. She has been asking peeps in her box about who to go to, because her knee has been bothering her. She is participating in their "accelerated program", the CC.
Her CF peeps gave her the name of a fellow Crossfitter, who is certified in the Graston Technique. I knew immediately that I was interested, because he is a Crossfitter himself (know as a "beast" for his performance) and I knew he would relate to how the injury happened and my enthusiasm for wanting to return!

http://skylarpond.blogspot.com/2010/10/graston-technique-hard-tools-for-soft.html


So, yesterday I had my 1st appointment and he was able to tell me that my meniscus has been injured. Not torn, nothing that requires surgery. There was a small amount of swelling, & more stiffness than pain.

He took X-Rays to see if I had any bone deterioration (arthritis) but, the bone is fine.....yeah!

So, he treated me with the Graston Technique which is basically like foam rolling, only the tools he uses allow him to use friction on a small, hard to reach area, like the meniscus.

And today? I can walk !! I will be using ice more often than what I was doing. He is also giving me range of motion excercises, and working on my hips that are so far out of alignment, we suspect that to be the cause of the knee injury.

Graston Technique, check it out!

And, now I look forward to posting my CF workouts. It will be a while, but it gives me something to look forward to.

Deborah

Thank you Lauriel!
That will help me focus my search.
I really appreciate it!

Deb

Deb, A sports medicine doc would be the best place to start. They can do some initial tests, and depending on results, order an MRI and/or prescribe physical therapy.

Thank you for your support everyone! I have noticed (over the years) that the person who is injured, doesn't think QUITE as clearly
as those around them!!

My plan today is to find a doctor, or physical therapist to examine my knee. I don't have a specific name of a doctor to call, but will start there.
I need to see an Orthopedic guy, but that also means a surgeon. My intstincts tell me to find someone who understands how the body, especially the knee
functions, so the diagnosis is a GOOD one.

I have been elevating my leg, putting ice on it and working on keeping range of motion, gently....gently.

Will keep you posted.

I feel the love!! Truly I do!

Deb

There is definately something to be said about working around and through injuries. Depending on the injury, there are still many things that you can do and modify/scale. Just because it is RX, doesn't mean it is RX for everyone and the injury. Be smart. talk to your coaches. Everything is scalable, modifiable, and workaroundable.

Please get your knee checked. Please?

Muah.

Hi Jill .....

Woah!! It IS a small world! We both know Alex & Roby....so amazing!

Nice for me, because you have shared a local massage therapists name with me.........

Oh....not to worry about me going back to CF any time soon......it hurts too much!
I have been diligent about stretching, rolling and eating right to keep inflammation down as much as possible.

My goal is to stay injury free and also to get in the best shape of my life!

This is a set back, but from this, I will learn how to continue to take good care of myself. There is always something to learn!
I "knew" that box was too high for me. But, I had taken a friend with me for her 1st time @ CF, & just thought I would take it easy.
I may have been "babying" my knee prior to yesterday, and took it too far, without even knowing.

Thank you for offering to look for a good P.T.-ist! I was looking for someone in our area just a few days ago, for my fiance. I will go back
to that same search again now. I think I found people north of Olympia. It would be worth the drive, for the right person. btw.....I think you did spell Puyallup right!

I will look for you on FB.

Are you In Olympia? I am in Dupont! Holy sheesh, small world! we know a lot of the same folks! Get your knee checked out, rest, ice, fish oil, let it heal, if it hurts or feels funny DONT DO IT! it is a workout on a white board, not your life, easy to sub stuff that does not hurt you, Diana Rush in Yelm is a great massage therapist, and very familiar with what we do to our bodies, she treats me, Alex, and Roby to name a few. A good SPORTS PT if you can find one is worth his weight in gold, I will ask around. I know of some in Pullayup (ha can never spell this) but not down south.
good luck
Jill Peterson on FB!

Thank you for your responses! I DO use a foam roller, and actually had a "pretty good roll" yesterday before the WOD.
I WILL take your advise, Lauriel and add a rolling session post WOD.

I "hear ya" Cougie on hearing the POP! That can't be good!!

My knee has been problematic since I first started CF. I injured it doing box jumps after about 4 months of working out.
That is when I found out about foam rolling and the IT band. Also, thank you Lauriel for the trigger point info!! I have just recently
been exposed to those 2 words, but I don't know (yet) where they are.

And Karin......I hope I find out what the injury is......not knowing is frustrating! It just so happens that I am between jobs right now, so
I will need to get my Cobra activated and then find a Physical Therapist that knows his or her stuff. I am a Fan of Stop Chasing the Pain (on Facebook), too bad he lives on the East coast! Will try to find someone who does his techniques right here in the Northwest.

My knee is super sore this morning and stiff...........from not using it all night. I am using it gently as much as possible.

What really bums me out, is not being able to go to CF. Isn't that crazy???

But, Eileen (I mean Cougie) I remember reading about you working on your upper body while you were convalescing.......& that is encouraging!

And, yes.....I will keep you posted.

Thank you !!

Yeah, it's probably best to get it checked out, for your peace of mind.

I'm another member of the sore knees club. In my case, however, it's that mysterious catch-all "Patellofemoral Syndrome" AKA "Your knees hurt and we really aren't sure why." It's surprisingly common.

Are you under a doctor's care? I was told never, ever to do a box jump again, but as far as I was told, stepups were "ok".

Whenever I hear the word POP, I say - GO GET CHECKED. PLEASE! There's no substitute for knowing exactly what happened and how to avoid it.

I've been doing OK with my knee in crossfit.. it's tennis that's going to be more of the issue. Let us know!

Lots of us have had knee problems. I think it's a serious issue with CF. The explosive and also heavy movements don't do much to protect our knees... Seriously though... I know Eileen, obviously has had issues. i have had issues with both knees as well. I foam roll every day, and roll on large PVC as well. My issues are really realted to incorrect tracking, so I need to release my patella. My IT band is usually the culprit (runs up and down the outside of your leg, between the knee and hip, seperating the quads and hamstrings). It gets way too tight, and causes the muscles attached to it to get too tight.

Try some foam rolling on your IT band. roll the entire band, up and down. You will have 3 trigger points on it, one just above the knee, one half-way up the leg and one just below the hip. When you find thos hot spots, osclilate the roller a lot. It may hurt. This just means you're on the spot. Work the trigger points before and after a WO. Might help a little.

Of course, if you have some real damage to your knee, no amount of rolling will help... Have you been to a doctor yet? Or physical therapy?

9 AM Saturday WOD @ Crossfit Olympia:

50 Box Jumps
5 Rope Climbs (modified = 20 Pull Ups)
40 DB Cleans (10#)
50 KB Swings (26#)
1000 M Row
50 GH

21 minutes.

The Best part, I brought a friend to the workout, who LOVED it!
The Bad news is that for the 3rd time (in 2 years), I hurt my knee doing a modified Box Jump.
I do a step up, and used a slightly higher box than I have before. My knee has been feeling stiff (no pain),
just stiff, so I use the foam roller above and below it, to keep it stretched. I am quite UPSET that I hurt it
doing a box step. It popped, and now is feeling more stiff than ever. I will take it easy, until it feels better.

Wish I knew what happened. One thing is for sure.....I will go back to a lower box again.