I have stopped wearing that support on my left knee and the sprained ligament seems a lot better so I am back with the hope that I get training again.
It was a stupid kungfu injury – I was doing the “simple” opening footwork which begins all my White crane kungfu patterns and I misplaced my foot. in seconds i couldn’t place any weight on that leg and, well over a month later, I have been diagnosed with a ligament sprain and I still haven’t been back to my kungfu class.
It was a knee injury that took me there in the first place. Six or seven years ago, I developed extreme pains in that knee which meant I had to stop running, an activity I have loved but now given up. Whilst waiting to see if physiotherapy would make any difference, I thought I would take up something “gentle” like taichi so I found out about a club in Lewes, White Crane Fighting Arts, thinking I would do taichi until my knee got better.
After the taichi classes came kungfu and I, plus a nice but elderly woman, were the only people who left and, before long I was persuaded to stay this coincided with my knee surgery. I was diagnosed with something called Plica Syndrome, often called “synovial plica syndrome,” this is a condition that is the result of a remnant of fetal tissue in the knee. The synovial plica are membranes that separate the knee into compartments during fetal development. These plica normally diminish in size during the second trimester of fetal development. In adults, they exist as sleeves of tissue called “synovial folds,” or plica. In some individuals, the synovial plica is more prominent and prone to irritation and, in my case, it had calcified and was eroding the bone of the kneecap and hurt a lot. The operation was a success, I had no more pain after six weeks recuperation and I then began practising White Crane kungfu.
It was fine until last autumn when I started getting knee pains again and maybe, that simple injury of just over a month ago was just the final straw. I shall find out soon as I hope to return to physical activity next week in spite of the warning from some of my more sedate friends who tell me the writing is on the wall for my martial arts.
I wonder what that nice elderly lady is doing these days.
Wish me luck.