Good-bye running.

I am experiencing the same news delivered to me two weeks ago so I know the feelings. Was told by doc that I have a "messed up knee - osteo arthritis and probable torn cartilage. Emphatically told my running days are over and if I persist - lots of pain and the need for a new knee.

However I am seeing a specialist on Monday to investigate stem cell treatment. I put a question about stem cell therapy to the " Ask the Docs" forum -no reply yet.........(hint hint). My dogs don't understand we only walk now - I keep getting those big brown eyes looking back at me from the end of the leash and tugging to go faster.....tough ignoring that. Added to that getting a GSD pup in A ugust and hoped to train and run agility with her.

Good luck - if stem therapy is any good maybe we can both resume a semblance of running. I will post the specialists comments after my appointment on Monday - she has access to my X-ray and MRI. I am hopeful - have heard of great results. If it doesn't work then it's running vicariously on an elliptical machine with an ifit screen for scenery and walking the dogs of course.
Yah, I saw your post Ronnie. I look forward to seeing how it goes for you Monday. I think the third doc I've been referred to performs the same therapy. If so, I'll be sure to let you know how things go for me when I see him in several weeks. I don't have much osteoarthritis yet, but over the last several years, running occasionally produces pain on the medial side of my knees. Three times the pain has been crippling. The good news is that I've been able to resume squatting and deadlifting, and biking and other aerobic options will probably be feasible. I feel sorry for your dogs though, and it saddens me to think I may never be able to run recreationally with my children, but hopefully we can still enjoy cycling and hiking together. And this may get me into the pool to finally learn how to swim decently. As Skedaddle put it so well: when one door closes, another one opens. I hope there's a barefoot swimmers society out there that will take me . . .
 
Hmm, those contraptions are curious. That guy looks like he's heel striking in the running part of the Bionic Runner video.

I understand that these devices are low/no impact, but I'm not convince that they promote natural ambulatory mechanics. The Bionic Runner looks a bit jerky, like heel striking without the ground impact. The other problem with these devices is that the lateral width and stride length are fixed. Of course, these characteristics modulate when actually running or walking.

Bionic Runner

StreetStrider

I think that personally, if I couldn't run, I would much rather prefer something that doesn't try to simulate ambulation. Myself, I would probably go with cycling, rowing, or swimming.
 
Lee, sorry to hear all this. Not much I can add to everyone else's comments other than my best wishes and hope that you can find some suitable replacement activity. I don't participate in the mileage forums, but I always enjoy reading your comments on other topics, so I hope you do hang around here and continue to add to the discussions of barefooting in general. And I believe we are of similar age (mid 50's?) so I look forward to many years of comparing various age-related health issues. That's what old guys do, isn't it? Usually there's beer drinking involved too. You can still do that, right?
 
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Lee, sorry to hear all this. Not much I can add to everyone else's comments other than my best wishes and hope that you can find some suitable replacement activity. I don't participate in the mileage forums, but I always enjoy reading your comments on other topics, so I hope you do hang around here and continue to add to the discussions of barefooting in general. And I believe we are of similar age (mid 50's?) so I look forward to many years of comparing various age-related health issues. That's what old guys do, isn't it? Usually there's beer drinking involved too. You can still do that, right?
Yes, I think I've joined the age-related health issues club with this one, but the fun actually began with shingles a few months back.

I rode my bike a bit yesterday, and it felt OK. Not as fun as running, but I'll get used to it. My squats and deadlifts are still reasonably strong too, so that's a relief. The first doc was recommending against heavy squats and deadlifts, but the second doc said squats are fine and actually quite beneficial in managing the degeneration, as it keeps the rest of the joint strong. He also liked my idea of switching to stiff-legged deadlifts instead of conventional ones, so I'm getting those in too. When the first doc said to give up both running and heavy squats and deadlifts, it was quite a blow, but I'm feeling a lot better now that I can still keep those lower body lifts and preserve lower body strength and mobility.

This week I'll begin experimenting with a good mix of aerobic exercises, but my sense is that biking is going to be my base, with rowing and street striding thrown in for spice. I might continue biking in the winter, or I might switch to swimming and see if I can learn to swim better. Went on a nice barefoot hike yesterday down by the river over sand and pebbles. Very nice and my knee held up fine. Who knows, maybe the third doc I'm going to see in a few weeks will say running is OK once in a while after he's fixed me up. In the meantime, I'll continue to investigate the pros and cons of arthroscopic surgery and stem cell therapy so I'll be able to ask the right questions at my appointment.

I think I will continue to hang out on this site for a long while. It's the only social media I use regularly, so it scratches that itch, and the quality of interaction is outstanding. I've always enjoyed your comments too. Always good to meet digitally disembodied kindred spirits.
 
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Sorry to hear of this, BareLee. I was wondering why you hadn't been on the mileage threads in some time so now I know. Hoping the docs give you some good news. Sounds like you've got lots of other activities to enjoy besides running, I've got a lot more into road biking myself lately (though still trying to keep up with running too). In any case, hope you can stick around and chime in on the forums!
 
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Saw the third ortho today. He confirmed the first ortho's recommendation that, in the absence of symptoms, like pain or locking, the best course of action was no surgery. He said there's no cure for what I have, so surgery can only treat symptoms, not causes. He also said that the initial enthusiasm for platelet injections (one of three treatment possibilities suggested by the second doc) is wearing off, and he wouldn't recommend it. There is another kind of injection, called synvisc, but once again, he didn't recommend it. So basically, avoid running, and do everything else until it hurts, then go back to him. If I'm lucky, and can manage this thing well, he may retire before I need to see him again.

Still, it is tempting to see what small amounts of regular, easy running would do. I could become a one-mile specialist, or just do occasional hill work.

Anyway, thanks for all the support, info, and encouragement. The visit turned out to be a bit anti-climatic. It's a pity there were such long wait times in between appointments.

Meanwhile, cycling and lifting are going well. Rowing still sucks, but I'm doing it once in a while.
 
Lee, all the docs comments I concur with as it sounds identical as what my ortho doc has said to me 15 years ago. And guess what? Yup still running. You are going to be surprised as to what you can do once the flareup is gone. The knee will turn into a barometer as to where you are in your running and or lifting. It will ache when you push it. The only time it would take me out of running for a week or 2 was if I tweaked it. After a while I figured out what would tweak it and carefully stayed away from those things (for me it was anything that would hyper extend my knee). Start with short distances every other day and you will be back up to 5-10k in no time.
 
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Lee, all the docs comments I concur with as it sounds identical as what my ortho doc has said to me 15 years ago. And guess what? Yup still running. You are going to be surprised as to what you can do once the flareup is gone. The knee will turn into a barometer as to where you are in your running and or lifting. It will ache when you push it. The only time it would take me out of running for a week or 2 was if I tweaked it. After a while I figured out what would tweak it and carefully stayed away from those things (for me it was anything that would hyper extend my knee). Start with short distances every other day and you will be back up to 5-10k in no time.
Thanks Dutchie, I think I may take up your suggestion in another month or two, after the swelling is completely gone. Right now I'll work on strengthening it through cycling and lifting. All of the docs still cautioned against running, but perhaps once or twice a week for three miles or less won't be too hard on the degrading cartilage? No matter what, I think the new (for me) idea of doing more aerobic cross-training is going to be a good one. I may even learn how to swim better.

Is there still a chance you'll be coming down this month? It would be great to discuss the meniscus tissue issue further in person. Plus, there's the beers I owe you . . .
 
Hi Lee,

Sorry, just started catching up with posts and saw yours.

Sorry to hear your news, but I'm sure you'll work something out to be able to stay active.

Good luck!

Paul
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