Surgery
Wow.... just wow.
I went to the orthopedic surgeon today, hoping he would be able to do something to help my knees, but not really expecting much. I came in expecting that he would look at my feet/knees, say "Yeah, they're definitely flat" and say nothing more than suggesting a different pair of shoes to wear my orthotics in or some excercizes to strengthen my knee muscles. That was basically what the orthopedic surgeon told me 2 or 3 years ago when I was having a lot of knee pain. And I was even more worried that he would say that there's absolutely nothing at all I could do for it, and that basically I was screwed (if that happened, I probably would have cried).
That wasn't what happened.... at all.
11 X-rays later and after examining my feet and legs, we were in a room with the doctor, who proceeded to tell me that the only real thing that can be done is surgery. He then went through what the proceedure, which involves:
1. Cutting a muscle in the back of my leg, which is incredibly tight right now. Basically it would just be snipped and allowed to just heal into scar tissue
2. Moving my heal bone, which is apparently very crooked, over to straighten it out and then screwing it into place
3. Inserting a small plug between a few bones which would help to create an arch
4. Making a small slit in one of the bones in my arch and hooking a tendon through there. The result would be that it would bring my arch up.
The whole proceedure would take about 2 hours, and it would be about 6 weeks in recovery on crutches unable to lift anything.
And considering I'm going to college in 4 weeks, suddenly it feels like my whole plan for my next 4 years has just gone haywire.
My other option would be to not do anything. He stated (as I already pretty much knew) that my orthotics really aren't doing anything considering the condition of my feet. He said that there's some special type of orthotic that could be used which is more of a boot which basically comes up over the ancle, which he said could help take some of the pain off my knees, but he doesn't know too much about it (i.e. price, what it would really do, etc.), and more importantly that it wouldn't actually fix the problem, just relieve some of the pain.
The real problem is that if I don't do anything, I'm looking at some serious arthritis down the line. Not just in my knees, but also in my ankles and lower back. And I definitely don't want that.
So I guess I'm really looking at surgery.
Which brings up a few big questions... primarily when? With college, it won't be easy to find 2 6-week periods to take off, or to be on crutches. I don't know, but I have a feeling spending that much time on crutches would have a serious effect on my ability to function and do well. It's just a hunch :-P
And even more... I'm scared. I've never had any kind of surgery (other than exceedingly minor surgery for an ingrown toenail or something, which doesn't count). I don't know what to think or anything, and I'm really scared to go through with it. But I'm even more scared of what could happen if I don't. I've got a lot of soul searching to do. And even more research and talking I got to do.
I went to the orthopedic surgeon today, hoping he would be able to do something to help my knees, but not really expecting much. I came in expecting that he would look at my feet/knees, say "Yeah, they're definitely flat" and say nothing more than suggesting a different pair of shoes to wear my orthotics in or some excercizes to strengthen my knee muscles. That was basically what the orthopedic surgeon told me 2 or 3 years ago when I was having a lot of knee pain. And I was even more worried that he would say that there's absolutely nothing at all I could do for it, and that basically I was screwed (if that happened, I probably would have cried).
That wasn't what happened.... at all.
11 X-rays later and after examining my feet and legs, we were in a room with the doctor, who proceeded to tell me that the only real thing that can be done is surgery. He then went through what the proceedure, which involves:
1. Cutting a muscle in the back of my leg, which is incredibly tight right now. Basically it would just be snipped and allowed to just heal into scar tissue
2. Moving my heal bone, which is apparently very crooked, over to straighten it out and then screwing it into place
3. Inserting a small plug between a few bones which would help to create an arch
4. Making a small slit in one of the bones in my arch and hooking a tendon through there. The result would be that it would bring my arch up.
The whole proceedure would take about 2 hours, and it would be about 6 weeks in recovery on crutches unable to lift anything.
And considering I'm going to college in 4 weeks, suddenly it feels like my whole plan for my next 4 years has just gone haywire.
My other option would be to not do anything. He stated (as I already pretty much knew) that my orthotics really aren't doing anything considering the condition of my feet. He said that there's some special type of orthotic that could be used which is more of a boot which basically comes up over the ancle, which he said could help take some of the pain off my knees, but he doesn't know too much about it (i.e. price, what it would really do, etc.), and more importantly that it wouldn't actually fix the problem, just relieve some of the pain.
The real problem is that if I don't do anything, I'm looking at some serious arthritis down the line. Not just in my knees, but also in my ankles and lower back. And I definitely don't want that.
So I guess I'm really looking at surgery.
Which brings up a few big questions... primarily when? With college, it won't be easy to find 2 6-week periods to take off, or to be on crutches. I don't know, but I have a feeling spending that much time on crutches would have a serious effect on my ability to function and do well. It's just a hunch :-P
And even more... I'm scared. I've never had any kind of surgery (other than exceedingly minor surgery for an ingrown toenail or something, which doesn't count). I don't know what to think or anything, and I'm really scared to go through with it. But I'm even more scared of what could happen if I don't. I've got a lot of soul searching to do. And even more research and talking I got to do.