Proximal Tibiofibular...huh?

Alright.

I've had it.

I really have.

I went to the gym at lunch, completely boosted about running, ready to bang out a couple of miles, hoping to not blow out a lung in the process. I'm sure you've heard the saying "if it's not one thing, it's another..."

Yeah, so I'm the poster child for that saying.

Not that my asthma was not as annoying as it usually is, but it wasn't in full-swing like last week. I wasn't ready to bust a lung trying to catch my breath. I didn't want to cry out "MEDIC!" while on the treadmill.

But I am so completely, totally, and fully sick of having issues with my leg/knee which stop me from jogging.

"HELLO, JESUS?

CAN I PLEASE JUST JOG WITHOUT ALL OF THIS DRAMA?!"

SERIOUSLY!

So, as with any other life situation in which I've reached my wits end, now I will declare it my mission to research and learn, and just be plain nosy if necessary until I find a solution. I'm not going to put up with it anymore. Throwing in the towel is not an option. That's so not my M.O.

The thing is, my knee/leg issue has morphed over the past 5 years. I was thinking this afternoon about at what point in my life I was able to run the longest, and even the fastest. Believe it or not, I did run an 8 minute mile at one point. I think that might have crossed me from the "jogging" realm into the "running" realm. I was never a great runner, but I was OK. I didn't have knee problems or leg problems.

I was also in full-swing eating disorder mode, was about 20 lbs lighter than my very healthy current weight, consuming about 500 calories a day, and running on straight adrenaline. Not exactly the ideal long-term situation.

Then came the shin splints. Oh my good golly, the shin splints! When they arrived for the first time, I could only envision that a gang of tiny little knife-wielding squirrels had latched onto my legs and began stabbing at my shins. That was most unpleasant, and quite possibly the beginning of my agony.

The shin splints eased up after some time, but I would venture to say that was because I stopped running so frequently. At that point, I began jumping rope, and apparently my body was not down with jumping rope on a hard basketball-court-style floor. Within a short period of time, I went from running 4 or 5 miles at a time 4 or 5 times per week to needing to be carried upstairs at night. In the evening after having gone to the gym, or if I was on my feet all day, my knees and the ligaments behind my legs would feel like they were swelled up to balloon-sized proportions, and I couldn't bend my knees.

It was at that point that I had to admit that I am not invincible.

It was at that point that I sought treatment for my eating disorder.

Thank you baby Jesus.

Then there was the IT friction band syndrome. I was unable to run for over a year due to this problem. Then I finally admitted that it wasn't going to get better on its own, and started seeing Liz. Within a month, I was running again, and the pain in my knee caused by the IT band thingy was gone. I also stopped having that uncomfortable swelling of the backs of my knees.

So, now I'm deciding whether this mysterious knee/leg problem is continuing to morph into new and even more interesting things because its getting better, and my muscles are just going wacky trying to learn how to really work correctly...or because I'm just doing more damage to myself.

My hunch is the former. I hope.

However.

I can't seem to kick this fibular head problem. At random intervals when I'm walking, I feel like it pops and is "out of whack". There is definitely something going on there. I always try to have Liz poke the heck out of it, because, although it is absolute torture, it makes me feel better.

So, I wondered to myself today on the way back from the gym after a disgustingly pathetic 2.25 miles at 12:02 pace due to this elusive fibular head pain,

"Self?"

"Yes jogger?"

"Is it even possible to dislocate your fibular joint?"


And that question was answered with a resounding "YES" when I found this article about fibular head dislocation. Of course, the people who did this study are looking at some SURIOUS cases of this rare condition, but I would venture to say that I am experiencing a mild case of this.

I'm going to talk to Liz about this one. I think it needs more attention. Stay tuned.