Melissa i
Strong

Well, it was my turn, I guess, but from what I understand, tendinitis is not catchy.  Adam’s “recovery” from a two-year battle with tendinitis occurred not too long before my elbow flared up, and man, it is on fire.   I have medial (bottom, golfer’s elbow), lateral (top, tennis elbow), and bicep tendinitis.  This, combined with the partially torn LCL (incurred while climbing in Switzerland) and the second stage of my knee injury, the popliteal tearing in July, created an unhappy challenge for me to deal with all summer.  I usually hike when I am injured, but that was not even an option.  I struggled through summer working a lot, maintaining fitness by climbing carefully and minimally on our wall, and going to physical therapy of all sorts (including conventional p.t., acupuncture, chiropractic, deep tissue work, laser therapy, myofascial release…).  Thankfully, I have seen some improvement in my knee, but I am still suffering from several ups and downs, with different parts of my elbow flaring up, then feeling like it might be under control, and then exploding again.

 

Early September, I had this one dreamy day in the park where I actually thought I was getting away with it and was at the beginning of the end.  At that point, hiking to lower Chaos Canyon, Lake Haiyaha area, with a crash pad ensemble, was a big deal for my knee.  My medial tendinitis was in check (at least, I was hopefully thinking so), and the lateral tendinitis was the issue but manageable, and I had to test the waters.  It was a beautiful day that gave me tons of joy to just be outside climbing, and I was able to try hard and do well!  But it was a day.

 

Soon after, the lateral came into check, and the medial really reared its annoyingly painful force joined by bicep tendinitis.  Then the carpel tunnel hit.  REALLY!  No sleep due to crazy nerve pain was definitely a challenge to manage, especially heaped on top of my other ailments.  It was also not thrilling when I tried to massage my elbow tendinitis, and the nerves in my hand hurt too much to handle the task.  I found (not quickly enough) that sleeping with a brace helps tremendously.  After a trip to a specialist and, once again, lots of physical therapy of all sorts, I have decided to get surgery this winter.  My hands improved slightly as our busy season subsided, but they were not good.  I believe in the hand specialist I went to and would like to stop this before the compressed nerve causes any permanent damage.   The surgery is quick and minimally invasive, with one month of no climbing—we will see if that helps the elbow.

 

The combination of the tendinitis and carpal tunnel spurred me to push my knee, and in the middle of September, I went for a run. I felt it in a not-so-great way, but not horrible.  Still a little too early to pound on it, so I decided to hike and spent October and November going to new destinations in Rocky. We had an amazing fall, and through several long, beautiful hikes to stunning settings, my knee gained strength, and my spirit lifted.   I can now run an average of 4 miles without pain (knock on wood) and hope to keep these hikes going while we are here on and off this winter.

 

So, is this the beginning of a blog called Life of an Aging Athlete or Ailing?  The first knee injury, the LCL, was caused by poor decision-making rather than age.  The popliteal tear may have more to do with tight hamstrings and pushing a not healed LCL than age.  The elbow – people of all ages experience tendinitis.   Carpel tunnel is the result of several things that seem to culminate and worsen with age.  So it’s a mixed bag of aging and ailing.  I know I need more recovery time, and I could definitely see the lack of cartilage in my right knee on the MRI.

 

Regardless of ailments or age, I am going down with this ship, giving my best effort along the way.  Putting my injuries in perspective, I realize these are minor speed bumps in life.  How we handle them is the true test.  So here’s to not complaining and maintaining strength, fitness, happiness, and patience while healing and moving forward.