Notice I did not mention any doctors or physical therapists, those people we all run to when we have a problem. While I was seen by three of them -- a general practitioner, a sports medicine specialist and a physical therapist -- none of them did or said anything that had any positive impact on my situation. Following is a summation what each did.
THE GENERAL PRACTITIONER: His nurse had me stand on a scale to get my weight, as if I haven't been weighing myself every morning of my life since I was 12. Next she took my blood pressure, like I don't do that every day at home. She also took my temperature and checked my oxygen with one of those things you stick your finger in, both of which I have done almost daily since the start of Covid. After 20 minutes there, nothing had occurred that might stop my knee pain but they definitely have my updated insurance information.
Eventually the doctor entered, gave me a big smile and started asking the same questions I had answered on the sheet of paper handed me when I arrived. He said it might be arthritis or it might be something else, he wasn't sure. He had me lay down on the examining table and moved my leg from side to side, then said to ice it, elevate it and take Tylenol for the pain, and see a physical therapist.
THE PHYSICAL THERAPIST: He asked a lot of questions while moving my leg around, like does this hurt, does that hurt, how about this? He talked a lot about arthritis and suggested I get an x-ray. He said I could do any exercise but not if it hurts, and go for walks but stop if it hurts. He recommended the use of ice, elevation and rest. He suggested I make another appointment in a month, adding "Make sure we have your current insurance information."
THE SPORTS MEDICINE SPECIALIST: He was young and cheery with a positive "We can do this!" attitude. He had me get an x-ray right then and there, which we looked at together. He said it was something called a Baker's Cyst, and actually pointed it out to me on the x-ray. He suggested giving me a shot of cortisone in my knee, but was careful to describe all the possible bad side effects, including making the pain much worse. I passed on that. He said to ice it, elevate it and see him again in a month, and be sure they had my insurance information.
I returned to the physical therapist who did even less on the second visit than he had on the first and double-checked on whether they had my correct insurance info. I returned to the sports medicine specialist who did pretty much what he had done the first time, although this time he said I needed an MRI so he could get more information, and also gave me a printout of some knee exercises I should do. I got the MRI results online which showed no Baker's Cyst but some arthritis. The results were also sent to the doctor who had ordered the MRI. That was more than two weeks ago and since I hadn't heard a peep out of him, I called his office and a nurse said she would ask him. She put me on hold, then came back and said he suggested I see an orthopedic surgeon who would be calling me to make an appointment. (Still nobody from the surgeon's office has called three weeks later.)
All the while, twice a week since last October, my CrossFit trainer has been doing several therapeutic things, like wrapping my knee tightly with an elastic strap called a floss band. That lessened the pain right away and lasted for a day or two each time.
Last week I went to an acupuncturist and had an hour-and-a-half session that helped immediately. Over the weekend my nurse-practitioner friend gave me an impromptu leg massage that made my knee feel better than it had since the pain first started. Then yesterday I worked out at CrossFit in the morning and had a second acupuncture session in the afternoon, and today my knee feels about 90% better. Nobody with a medical degree of any kind has contributed to my recovery, but they all were sure to get my insurance information.
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