My true diagnosis

Thank you Dunbar Physio!

One thing to know about me: I have hypochondriatic tendencies. It's not that I freak out and assume the worst, it's that I come to terms and accept the worst.

This was the case with my knee. Prior to performing any real tests, I googled "lateral knee pain" and the only thing that sounded close to what I was feeling was a stress fracture. So, I took a deep breath and accepted it.

Well, after seeing an actual registered physio therapist, I was proven wrong. It took several tests before my physio cracked the case. She had me elevate, isometrically contract, flex, extend, and rotate my leg in every direction. She pulled at joints, pressed hard on my bones and each time asked "does this hurt?" What I wanted to say was "YES! Of course! You're putting your entire body weight onto it and I can already feel the bruise forming." But instead I shook my head because it wasn't the same pain I had been enduring all week long. After 30 minutes of manhandling she felt confident enough to diagnose me with a posteriorly shifted fibula (that means my leg bone is out of place and shifted backwards for all you non-anatomy readers out there). In other words, my IT band is being rubbed the wrong way in the first 15-25 degrees of flexion and the last 15-25 degrees of extension.

This misalignment originated while I favoring my right leg while my left foot healed from the second degree burn I got over a month ago. Did I mention that I'm accident prone? The random 10 km jog sped up the process of me feeling the pain.

The good news: It's not as bad as it feels.
The even better news: I figured out a modified squat variation I can do in the mean time!!!
The bad news: There is no quick-fix and I will be in pain for a while.

Jane had it right all along!

So what do I need to do to make this go away?

1. Foam roll the shit out of my IT band, quadriceps, hamstrings, and stretch out my calf as much as possible.
2. Manually glide my fibula forward and tape it up whenever possible.
3. Perform external rotation and abduction exercises (also known as side leg lifts... Jane Fonda style)
4. Try to walk normally (this will be the hardest) so as not to promote any more misalignment.

Today I will be starting my rehab, and hopefully I will be back in the gym squatting properly and deadlifting traditionally in no time!