On Wednesday, I took myself by train off to visit Bradford cathedral. This is the first "new" cathedral that I've visited entirely on my own. Fairly obviously, it was a slightly emotional experience but all went well.
As I was heading back to Bradford Interchange (toddling along as I was a little behind schedule), it did occur to me that a) it wasn't normal to walk with a limp, even with a walking pole, and b) neither was it normal for a relatively short (half a mile) walk to actually be painful.
Anyway, off to see the muscular-skeletal specialist this morning bright and early. I'm afraid that I took quite a bit of her time, but from my perspective time well spent. As previously related, My Dodgy Knee is essentially pretty much knackered. The osteo-arthritis is sufficiently severe that the damage won't heal, and a repair to the tear in the meniscus, while technically possible, would mostly likely only alleviate the symptoms for a month or so. Since other parts are broadly intact (well, with a couple of exceptions), knee strengthening exercises look to be the only viable option.
The knee will gradually abrade the torn meniscus such that it will be less painful (small mercies). Exercise that doesn't cause much pain is ok, and maintaining fitness is important. Exercise that causes pain that lasts for an hour after stopping should be avoided. Strengthening exercises probably need to move up a gear from the ones that I've been doing, and new ones have been provided. Walking with a knee support is ok, now that the inflammation has reduced, so My Dodgy Knee gave that a go immediately we got home.
The MRI revealed arthritis as expected, but an x-ray has been requested to see what the bone structure is looking like. That's booked for Monday, after which further consultations, and probably a need to find a physiotherapist of my own. Timescales of six months to a year were mentioned...
