Today was my visit to the Sports Medicine Doctor, to get a diagnosis on the knee that has been bothering me for the past two weeks.

My knee became very swollen a few weeks back and although it’s improving, I needed to get it checked out.  I went to the UPMC Sports Medicine facility at the Lemieux Center, near home.  The Lemieux Center is a fantastic new facility, that is home to the Pittsburgh Penguins practice ice rink.  The same facility, also has a brand new Sports Medicine complex within it.

After a series of X-Rays and a long examination by the doctor, the conclusion is that I have symptoms consistent with the early onset of patella-femoral arthritis. This was quite shocking news to me. There are however, treatments that can calm down my swollen knee and help me return to training.  The doctor decided we would go straight to injections, which she thinks will enable me to get back to training and sustain it, long term.  She said I can be ready for Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga in May.  I hope she is right.

I am doing my best to focus on what I can do and will take it one day at a time.  So with that said, I’m off to the pool…