Contact sports and the human body just don't agree. Frivolously, I always thought that I could outlast the spectre of injury by staying in shape and not doing anything really stupid. But after years of aches, twitches, shifts, and other anomalies, my right knee finally decided to turn on me....literally. The x-ray showed serious degradation on the interior side of the knee with the surfaces of the femur and tibia literally rubbing against each other. The dreaded "bone on bone" that sounds like something Vincent Price might have whispered on a late Friday night back in the 60's.
So, I tried acupuncture, TENS machines, therapy, anti-inflammatory meds, massage, saunas, Synvisc (a bio-engineered gooey substance that's injected into the knee joint), all types of 'juice, including cortisone, and others. While some treatments helped, in the end, I was miserable and not only did I limp, my right leg started to bow like John Wayne.
What this means, is a total arthroplasty, or knee replacement. To give you an idea of what happens, I've attached an animation that let's you play doctor and do the deed.
Orthopedic Surgeon Animation
No cheating!
Next: Pre-Op!
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