Kneedy

I hurt my knee last night playing tennis, but I'm not sure how bad it is. The knee had felt a tiny bit wonky after playing last Sunday, but I didn't think anything of it, as random parts of my body are always feeling wonky.

But last night, in the middle of the third set, I felt a sharp pain shoot up my left knee. I still don't know what happened, but I think I may have hyper-extended it somehow. At the time I was winning 4-0 and just a few points away from wrapping up the match. I continued to play, hoping that my momentum alone could carry me across the finish line. It was just a practice match, so there was no need to really push it. It was frustrating, though, because I was limping and couldn't run down shots like I usually do. Every once it a while I would put too much weight on my knee at the wrong angle and it would scream at me again. But mostly I just tried to play on one and a half legs. My opponent won the next three games, to make it 4-3, but I somehow managed to hobble to victory, 7-5.

So, obviously, the knee didn't make me stop playing completely. But it still has me worried. I iced it last night and took two Aleve to help with the swelling. This morning it hurts, but it's not excruciating. I think I'm going to need to take it easy for about a week, stay away from tennis and let it heal. Which is not good. I need tennis to keep me sane and full of endorphins.

When I was younger, like in high school or college, I would bounce back from such injuries in a matter of days. During a wrestling match in high school I completely dislocated my kneecap (different knee), and was back on the mat in 10 days! As I get older, though, I've noticed that it takes a lot longer to heal. A rib pain that I got from skiing last winter lasted several months. In April I twisted my ankle-- something I've done dozens of times in my life. Depending on the depth of the sprain, I always heal within 2 days to 2 weeks. But my ankle still hasn't healed completely. It's not enough to affect my movement, since I've been playing the best tennis of my life, but I still have pain in my ankle when I play. It's been four months! What is wrong with me?

So this morning I have pain in my right ankle and my left knee. It's like the injuries are playing leapfrog up my body. Next in line is my right hip, then my left elbow, then my right ear. I realize that my wonky ankle might have contributed to the knee thing, since it might put extra stress on my knee. All my body parts are connected, you see.

I just hope this knee thing isn't another chronic injury. Like an old car, I keep accumulating dents and scratches.