I tore my ACL and meniscus playing tennis a few weeks ago. Another sign of my age I suppose. So I go in for knee surgery on April first. My friends all think I'm a fool for picking that day. I will put a big X on my right knee to ensure the doctor operates on my left knee. Someone told me that her friend's husband did that to his wife's boob before she was going in for a partial mastechtomy. Ahhh what fun topics we have to discuss today!
Apparently ACL tears are reaching epidemic proportions among women. More than 100,000 surgeries are performed a year. It's a bonanza for orthopedic surgeons. there are several theories about why women, particularly young girls tear their ACLs four times more often than men. Some involve hormones and suggest girls go on the pill. Others involve the fact that girls and women don't learn how to land correctly and our hips are wider and our legs more bowled which leads to more twisting and torque on the knees. The other is that we don't have enough strength in our quads and hamstring muscles to relieve pressure on the ACL. SO my advice to you all is to start doing quad and hamstring strengthening exercises and stretches if you are active and play sports that require pivoting. Of course, I thought I was in excellent shape, working out with a trainer and playing tennis four times a week. But all to no avail. Now I'm either going to get in better shape or become a very good knitter.
Given that I'll be laid up for awhile, I also plan to become a more frequent blogger. I've also thought about doing a business plan while I'm laid up but I can't discuss it yet because it's top secret. It's not too complicated though and at worst maybe it will supply a summer job for my teenage boys. My friend Claire and I have also been talking of writing a book about what it's like to raise teenagers today when you aren't striving for the Mommy Madness, over the top ideal. By teenagehood, you start hitting reality and this is something most folks of younger children are clueless about or else in denial. You may see the signs of humanity in your child but you still think all your college and graduate school degrees will permit you to manage your child out of them. Aha. We joke that we're gonna have to write the book under a pseudonym in order to not further damage our children, and we also won't write it on a blog, because we want to force all moms and dads (but they don't read this stuff, do they?) to pay for our sage honesty and blunt insights.
There is a whole raft of ACL journals and knee sites on the internet. I can't believe how many folks take the time to put up their thoughts about this surgery. The internet never ceases to amaze me. It's scary though to know all the gruesome details. Quite a contrast to the level of detail you get while sitting for ten minutes in the doctor's office while he twists your knee around and sells you on surgery. One good site to start from is the Jimbo's ACL Journal with lots of good links.
That's all for now. If I go into a catatonic state as a result of surgery, I've already clearly instructed Walter to pull my feeding tube, and this blog can be my witness. Happy Easter!
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