I abandoned my last orthopedist because (1) each time I came in he acted like I was a new patient (2) he rarely had more than 5 minutes to talk, and (3) he had given me highly contradictory diagnoses, including “worn-out ACL has to be replaced” vs “everything looks healthy”. He also liked to chide me for skateboarding and suggested I take up bicycling instead.
I got a 2nd opinion today, and was glad of it. My new orthopedist is laid back, friendly, and interested in solving my problems. He’s also supportive of a long-term commitment to skating, and believes with proper training I can keep at it for another decade at least.
So the short of his diagnosis is: arthritis, some calcification, some looseness, but for what it’s been through, it looks good. He sent me home with a new knee brace and 8 appointments with a physical therapist. No surgery in the immediate future. The bad news is that the one skiing accident (now 20 years past) has caused significant long-term damage that is essentially irreversible.
“Your knee’s going to wear out sooner or later no matter what you do,” he said, “But I don’t see any reason to stop skateboarding…”
