Subject: Sports Medicine
Back in November I somehow messed up my knee, resulting in about 6 weeks of excruciating pain, using crutches and a cane to hobble around, inhaling more Advil and Tylenol in those 6 weeks than I have consumed in my 6+ decades of life. Got an MRI after seeing an orthopedic surgeon, knee preliminarily diagnosed as a torn meniscus. On my second visit he calmly looked at the MRI and said "Huh. You don't need surgery. I am surprised.", and then started to leave the office. Pestering him with questions got me no answers as what to do next, given my leg was still clearly compromised. I wish I could say that this was an outlier but several years ago I went to an ortho guy for my feet, as cramping of my toes was causing damage to the joints. After Xrays, all they said was you are not ready for surgery, come back when you are, and would not answer any questions about how to keep it from getting worse, not even suggesting someone to call. I found that on-line, using magnesium supplements. Obviously, navigating the medical profession is not a skill of mine.

It was suggested that I reach out to a sports medicine professional, as I was very active in competitive sports and wished to keep an active lifestyle. Heck, I at least wanted to continue being able to walk without support of a cane. I was fortunate to find someone who has been amazing, though it certainly was not easy to find him, finally resorting to my Facebook sports group to get recommendations. Plugging "sports medicine" into a Google search or even my insurance site only brought up physical therapists, but getting names allowed my to access their information directly. Absent a similar Facebook group, call your local university sports coach and ask him. My Dr. is the sports medicine doctor for all the local universities.

It seems as though my knee basically went out of alignment. Somewhat chiropractor like, after checking my range of motion he made a simple painless adjustment that instantly made things much better. Showing him my foot issues, he linked the two issues, suggesting that my knee problem was because of bad feet. Over several appointments and more xrays, he has adjusted my feet with near miraculous results, and fitted me for inserts for my shoes. He diagnosed a possible need for foot surgery to remove a bone spur created by the toe cramping, AND suggested someone to do it, but we are waiting to see what the impact of the inserts are, given how improved my feet are. While my knee doesn't want to stay aligned and will probably need physical therapy to strengthen the muscles, life is so much better, and am walking 4 miles/day at a decent 18 min/mile pace with moderate slope. Sadly no more competitive sports for me until knee alignment is addressed, but the Summer tourism adventure is back on track.

It could be that this doctor is simply a bit of a medical professional unicorn, preferring to find the root cause of a problem rather than cut or prescribe. His credentials are insane for someone who bills as a GP, being an MD, PhD, with an extensive Ortho fellowship. No idea if he is typical for sports medicine, but do yourself a favor and check out your local version if keeping moving is a goal for you. Sports medicine is not just for jocks.

IP,
wishing I had known about sports medicine decades ago