I woke up to intense pain in my knee this morning, so we drove to orthopedic urgent care 40 minutes away, the morning after a wild windstorm and whiteout blizzard. The weather has calmed but many streets weren't cleared yet. There were so many cars in ditches, abandoned some time last night and now covered with ice and snow.
An X-ray showed no fractures and no arthritis causing the pain. An MRI is unnecessary at this point after an examination suggests it’s a knee capsule sprain. Yay, no tears that require surgery. A sprain should heal in 6 weeks. I got a fancy brace so I can put weight on my knee and trust it better (it feels loose and unstable), I got a compression leg sleeve, and I need to take ibuprofen and Tylenol plus do RICE (rest, ice, compress, elevate) for now, followed by more appointments if I need them in a few weeks, more scans if I need them, and physical therapy.
It’s always been pretty frustrating for me to fix something with my health but then replace it with a new problem. This is the sort of injury that athletes and/or runners get, not someone like me who just takes walks and has never ran or played sports in my whole life.
