Ed Stoffel

I haven’t had trouble with my knee popping out since last February. But now, it’s back… and not just one knee but BOTH of them. My thumbs are starting to do it too… getting stuck, and then popping back with some discomfort as doctors are prone to say. So if both knees and thumbs are doing it, it’s not an injury —- it’s something else. I got to thinking about my medical history, and now recall that I’ve also had joint pain in my elbow and wrist. It was so bad in my elbow, I was getting cortizone injections. It was so bad in my wrist, I considered surgery for carpel tunnel syndrome. My knee hurt so bad, I considered surgery for a torn meniscus. Different diagnoses but similiar symptoms for each case. It’s not arthritis because it feels like things get out of place, then restored. In the case of the knees and thumbs, it feels like tendons are too loose, and end up in the wrong place.

A friend asked me if I had Marfan’s Syndrome, so I looked it up, and some of the symptoms are true including a few I hadn’t considered (dental crowding, decreased muscle strength). I never could do chin-ups in school, and would get easily winded trying to run the track. (I recall the coach telling me to “Walk it off!”) Come to think of it now, my daughter Darcy’s elbow used to pop out of joint a lot while she was growing up… an indication of loose tendons. She’s also tall and skinny.

If it is Marfan’s, the diagnosis doesn’t do much except to help understand the condition. There doesn’t seem to be any effective treatment. But it does alert me to the possibility of heart problems… the worst aspect of Marfan’s syndrome. If it’s not Marfan’s, then there’s got to be another explanation for loose tendons. But is there a treatment — perhaps in diet, nutrition and exercise?

Not a torn meniscus

I got the results of my MRI today, and it didn’t show significant damage to the meniscus. But it did show progressive osteoarthritis, and thinning of the femoral cartilage at the patellofemoral joint consistent with osteoarthritis. That’s in the front, and what keeps the top leg bone from grinding against the bottom leg bone.

Surgery won’t help this… but taking glucosamine/chondroitin will help to thicken the remaining cartilage… as long as there is cartilage present to thicken. Once worn through, it wouldn’t respond to glucosamine/chondroitin. The doctor also prescribed an NSAID for the pain. I asked him what causes osteoarthritis. He said if I can figure that one out, I’ll become a rich man. Apparently, theories abound.

Yes, the doctor says it sounds like a torn meniscus, but he’s ordered an MRI to be sure (and to satisfy CIGNA). He says it doesn’t involve the ACL or MCL ligaments, which would be indicated if I had a lot of swelling and bruising.

The good news is that the surgery is arthroscopic, so he says I’ll be able to walk out of the hospital, and enjoy a short recovery period. We’ll see about the ‘enjoying’ part.

Got home after work last night and tried to climb into bed without waking Charlene. As I was bending my left knee, it locked up again. This has happened about six times now, each time worse. When it first happened, I could fix it by standing on the leg, and it would pop back. But the last two times, it was too painful to stand on. Last time - at work, I had Dave Ruggiero hold my ankle while I pulled on it and it popped back in place. This time, I tried having Charlene do the same, but it was too excruciating to carry out.

So off to the emergency room last night, where I had it examined and X-rayed. The doctor determined it to be a torn meniscus… damaged cartilage that gets caught when the knee is twisted. After two hours of working with it, the knee popped back in place. While it is most likely the meniscus, it could also involve the ACL or MCL ligaments. The X-ray ruled out other causes, while an MRI would show the actual meniscus tear, as would arthroscopy.

I have an consult appointment with an Orthopedic Surgeon tomorrow. They want me to wear something to immobilize my knee in the meantime, but it’s quite uncomfortable… and I’ve been living with the injury for at least six months.