After the doctor’s diagnosis, I started evaluating my options.  The custom inserts at $300 were definitely out of the question.  I traveled down to my local running store, spoke to a friendly representative, and walked out with $40 arch supports.  Sure, they’re not exactly what the doctor ordered, but at a tenth of the cost, I figured they were worth a shot.

Since I’ve been dealing with the knees for a while, Kelley and I thought that it would be a good idea for me to go ahead and see what the diagnosis is.  After a lot of twisting, pulling, and pushing, the physical therapist said ,”Oh my.  You’re going to be a tough one.”  I’m not sure exactly what that medical jargon translates to, but I think it roughly translates into “I must break you!”  I have four sessions scheduled starting next week.

I’m not sure what the official term is, but as I understand it, my body favors my right side.  All of the joints on my right side are much stiffer than on my left.  The uneven loading causes pain in several areas.  My body compensates for what it interprets as a weakness by adding bone to the joints.  The additional bone causes grinding, which my body compensates for by adding fluid to those joints.  Then I get stiffness in those joints.  Stiff joints means that I compensate in how I stand/run, etc, to alleviate the stress.  In reality, this just pushes the problem to another joint.

I’m basically in an unending cycle of overcompensation.  (That’s what she said!)  I think that the physical therapy will be aimed at evening things out.  I don’t know if this will remove the pain or distribute it evenly across the body.  I should have probably asked that before I signed-up for more sessions.