Torn tendon Takes a Toll

While completing another one of my home projects, re-building a work bench area, I injured my right knee. I don’t know exactly when it happened. There was no sudden pop or moment of sharp pain. Rather, at the end of the day, I noticed my knee felt like it had been twisted. There was just a slight twinge of pain and then over the next few hours it started to stiffen up. By morning, it was too painful to walk! I hobbled around some, iced it and tried to keep it in the one position (straight out) that was pain free.

I did some research on line and verified that it was indeed my quadriceps tendon, one of the biggest tendons in the body, that I had aggravated. Based on the pain location, I have torn only the lateral or exterior side of the tendon. And every time I move and feel that sharp pain, I imagine that I am tearing the tendon even more. Yikes. So, my weekend plans changed abruptly. No bike riding or roller blading or even walking the dog with this bad wheel.

As if immobility isn’t depressing enough, I am frustrated and a little distressed at how I got the injury. I have a 4 step wooden ladder. Most of the time, I don’t use all of the steps – meaning that I step down from the second or third step all the way to the ground. I have always done this, but usually I am working on dirt or the lawn whereas this time I was on concrete. Taking a bigger step places more stress on the knee of the leg that first touches down on the concrete. The distressing part is that getting older is most likely a key factor in this injury. Time is taking a toll on my durability.

I have torn other tendons before, usually playing sports: elbow, shoulder, and Achilles – they all hurt like a red hot poker every time they are moved. And the only way to recover is rest……Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. It forces me to slow down and spend some time doing other more sedentary things. It’s events like this that help re-new my appreciation of good health.

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