Could I Have Healed My Knees Without Quitting My Job? (And Other Questions Answered)

I recently came across a comment loaded with questions and thought, “Why not just do a post answering these?” They came from someone in his late twenties who hurt himself skiing last February and is now struggling with knee pain. He’s tried a number of things to fix the problem, has many questions, and I invite all of you out there to help me with the answers if you’d like.

Q: Do you believe you could have still recovered in the office setting (which, I assume, means had I not quit my job and continued to work sitting at a desk)?

A: I honestly don’t know with certainty. I know it would have been harder, for sure. The act of sitting was causing me problems, and I had a job that required a lot of sitting (a standing desk would not have helped either, because at that point I couldn’t stand in one place for very long either).

Q: Your story somewhat ends abruptly, in the second year of recovery. Did you slowly increase your activities on the same rigid scientific approach? At some point did it feel like you came out of the rehab stage?

A: Yes, others have made the same complaint about the book, so that’s probably my fault for moving too quickly through the narrative of the latter stages of my recovery. But to me, it simply wasn’t as interesting. That’s because I began making steadier progress, suffering fewer setbacks. Yes, I was still careful about how fast I increased my step counts, etc.

Apart from that, I’m not sure that there was a clear line of demarcation where I “came out of the rehab stage.” I was pretty much healed when I rejoined Bloomberg in the last part of December 2009. Still, I had days at Bloomberg where my knees felt a little cranky. That minor discomfort did go away eventually, but that just goes to show healing is long and gradual.

Q: Does research suggest a cortisone shot prevents cartilage from healing?

A: I’m not a fan. And yes, the research on cortisone shots is not good. Just do a search on this blog for “steroid.” You’ll see.

Q: How did you explain your injury to outsiders?

A: I don’t recall this being a big issue. I mostly just said I had knee pain. If you come up with a short spiel that goes, “I have knee pain and I’m working to resolve it,” that seems to satisfy most people. They don’t particularly want to hear that much about your injuries anyway.

Q: Does research suggest age playing a factor in the speed of cartilage recovery?

A: I’ve seen at least one that shows an age-related effect, yes. But it’s significantly smaller than most people would guess. So you probably do have an edge, being in your late twenties, but I don’t think it’s a huge edge.

Q: I’ve seen your comments on diet, that you think it did not play a significant part in your recovery but losing weight is one of your 4 keys to rehab. Have you done any research on the claims that low carb/keto type diets can help arthritis patients?

A: Unloading the knee by shedding a few pounds is always a good idea for pudgy people; for thinner people the benefits may be much smaller (because there’s less fat to lose). I’m ignorant and agnostic on the effect of special diets on knee pain. Usually, diet didn’t affect my knee pain.

However, when I loaded up on fatty foods, I did seem to feel a bit worse. So it’s probably smart to try to eat as healthy as possible, and look for anti-inflammatory foods. (One other important note on diet: my experience is by no means representative; if you comb through comments on this blog, you’ll find a number of people who say changing their diet was absolutely important in getting their knee pain under control.)
 
Q: Do you think weightlifting, upper body type workouts, are safe to resume?

A: I would think so, but I would still carefully monitor my knees. This seems minor, but some of those exercises cause unrelated muscles to tense up, and that could cause irritation for bad knees. Also, be prepared: if you have knee pain long enough, you may find other mysterious joint issues popping up, such as with your elbows or shoulders, when you’re lifting weights.

Generally though, I think it’s good to engage in activities that get your heart pumping and get you perspiring.

Q: Any other exercising activities you came across that don’t overload the knee joints? I think my knee is responding OK to low-watt biking.

A: My favorite ideas remain walking slowly, pool exercises, and easy cycling. If your knee does well with low-watt biking, congratulations. That may be your ticket out of this mess.