My knee has been
killing me lately — a result, I’m guessing, of packing and schlepping a
houseful of stuff from our former abode to our current home, a project that has
occupied me and my family since my last dispatch more than two months ago. That
and ripping carpeting, demolishing (with some regret) a basement full of knotty
pine paneling, painting walls, etcetera, etcetera. I’ve been staying away from
the gym, until recently, as well, since all of this packing and schlepping and
ripping and painting adds up to some pretty brutal workouts (thus the knee
problem). My Lovely Wife mentioned the other day that she’s lost more than 10
pounds since we embarked on this latest chapter (AKA “The Last Move”) in our
lives. That works out to about $20,000 a pound, based on the cost of our new
pad, but, hey — whatever works, right?

Anyway, my left
knee — the one that hasn’t been surgically repaired — has been swollen and
stiff for quite some time. I think I’ve mentioned the whole “baker’s cyst”
trouble I’ve had with this joint (it’s a form of bursitis, I think, though I’ve
never had it examined — see earlier post). It’s just more of the same, but it’s
lingering in a way that’s become annoying. I can’t play tennis, for example;
indeed, the only form of recreation that actually works is bicycling, and even
that’s a bit iffy.

It’s been so
annoying that I’ve actually briefly considered seeing a doctor and maybe
getting the thing scoped — just cleaning out whatever’s floating around in
there and getting back onto the tennis court. For all its flaws, one thing
Western medicine does well is repair joints.

Or maybe not. I
read a piece in The New York Times
that called into question the wisdom of knee surgery. According to recent
research at Sweden‘s Lund University, physical therapy may be just as effective
as surgery in repairing a torn ACL.

Despite a widespread belief
that surgery leads to a stronger knee, the results showed that surgically
reconstructing the A.C.L. as soon as possible after the tear “was not superior”
to more conservative treatment, the study’s authors wrote. The findings
suggest, the authors concluded, that “more than half the A.C.L. reconstructions”
currently being conducted on injured knees “could be avoided without adversely
affecting outcomes.”

Talk about
getting your world view validated!

So, last week, I
told my acupuncturist about my problem, and she stuck some needles in the crook
of my right elbow as well as various other places, and I laid there on the
barcalounger for an hour while my left leg buzzed and tingled in an intriguing way.
When she pulled out the needles, the swelling had gone down noticeably. I was
astonished; she just nodded and smiled. I’ve read that acupuncture is
particularly effective against any sort of inflammation, but still…

I came home and
announced to MLW that I’d been cured, which was a slight exaggeration, but it
sure made any thoughts I might’ve had about going under the knife fade away.

(I should note
here that MLW is treating her chronic knee trouble — which is way more serious than anything I’ve had
to deal with — through a treatment program called Feldenkrais. Read more about
that here.)

Buoyed by my
small needle-induced triumph, I returned to the gym last night and climbed on
one of the go-nowhere bikes and pedaled for a pretend 5 miles (about 20
minutes). Nothing too intense, mind you. Just a ride in the pretend park with
pretend scenery, the pretend wind at my back — it’s always at your back at the
gym; I like that part. No hills, either. Tires always inflated properly. Still
pretty boring, though. Then I lifted for another 30 minutes, just as a way to
get the endorphins flowing again, and left feeling pretty good. (Endorphins do
that.)

It’s a little
stiff today, but not bad. I’m beginning to think it’s actually on the mend. I’ll
get back to Dr. Needle in a couple weeks for another round of acupuncture intrigue, and
meanwhile continue trying to work out the kinks at the gym. I’ll keep you
posted.