You Say Arthritis, and I Say Arthrosis

A couple of weeks ago, as I was drying off after a shower, I heard a funny noise.  Not a very loud noise, and it seemed to be coming from somewhere below my ears.  So I bent down.  As I got lower, so did the noise.  It sounded like what I imagine it would sound like to scrunch up saran wrap underneath a down comforter—kind of crinkly and muffled at the same time.  It was coming from my right knee.  I bent and straightened, bent and straightened, and there it was, again and again.  Surely it could not be a good thing to have such a sound coming out of one’s body.

Since this very right knee had been “talking to me” for a couple of months(see Sister Age Meets the Pencil Test entry) and since we would be leaving Barcelona in less than two months, I decided it was time to take action.  It seemed best not to ignore it like I did the left one and find myself unable to climb stairs while traveling in some remote part of Croatia in July.

Alec has just finished a few months of rehabbing his hamstring.  First of all, when I made him kneel on the floor and listen to my knee, he didn’t think it was any big deal.  But having watched me wince and struggle stubbornly a year ago, he encouraged me to see his orthopedist, Dr Mora.  Mora nodded when I told him my whole history, as if he knew the story well.  He pinched and squeezed and stretched me, and then wrote a prescription for physical therapy.

Enter Iñaki.  Alec thinks the world of Iñaki, the guy who he worked with at the PT center that is a two minute walk from our apartment.  Iñaki—I have no idea if this is his first or last name—is an extremely energentic, athletic young man from Pamplona who was a world class skier until he succumbed to a career-ending injury.  Now he rehabilitates common folk like me.  Iñaki believes I suffer from arthrosis rather than arthritis.  What’s the difference? Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints, whereas arthrosis (also known as osteoarthritis) is a non-inflammatory condition of the joint in which the cartilage of the joint breaks down.  Whereas arthritis is caused by any number of things including including injury, infection, metabolic disorders, an overactive immune system, and weight issues, arthrosis is the result of injury, aging, and long-term wear and tear of cartilage in the joints. It causes pain and stiffness.  I can vouch for that.

At any hour, the PT place buzzes with activity, every table littered with the wounded bodies of young athletes, brittle-boned grandmothers, and middle-aged women like me whose joints are wearing out.  All are tended to be cheery, white clad handlers.

I’ve been to see Iñaki four times this week—he believes in a quick, intensive start—and I must admit that, unlike my US experience, so far it has been more pleasure than pain.  I do a series of leg extensions on a machine to strengthen the muscles around the knees, and then spend nearly an hour getting electrical stimulation (which is neither particularly painful nor particularly pleasurable) and then a fantastic, deep leg and lower back massage.  It’s so good I told my friend Isabel today that she should consider developing a minor joint problem.  But I have a feeling the fun won’t last.  It’s only a matter of time before they’re strapping those horrible ankle weights on and putting me to work.