In my past two posts I hinted at my knee bothering me while in the Smokies and Asheville. In my family we’ve learned not to mess with knees. When we got home I called the orthopedic practice and was there in a matter of days.

After x-rays and MRIs I’ve learned I’ve got a knee cap that sometimes slips out of alignment, causing pain and pressure on my patella and the surrounding muscles.

I’m now in a few weeks of physical therapy strengthening my muscles around the knee to support and keep my knee cap aligned. During all of this I also learned that I most likely had this little quirk of the knee for at least a year and this didn’t just happen in the Smokies.

Last year I took a pretty hard tumble up a flight of steps in Zurich – read about it here. At the time I was more concerned about my elbow which was in a lot of pain. Maybe I should have been more concerned about my knee!

For a while now I have kind of felt this misalignment happen. We could be walking along and I’d think to myself “well that didn’t go back right” but a few steps later it was fine. I didn’t think much of it at all.

Now, compound this slipping knee once in a while with living in a state that is flat and a house with no steps you can see how the mountains of the Smokies and Asheville coupled with the steps of Biltmore were a perfect recipe for pain. 

This is just one more chapter in my ongoing battle with balance, grace, and flexibility. Falling up a flight of stairs is par for the course for me. Tripping over my own feet is a very regular experience. Now, having a wonky knee cap adds to my list of mishaps. Strange how most of these happen on vacation! I’m too embarrassed to even write about my misadventures on an escalator recently. I now have the scars of that incident on my ankle!

As we start to plan our vacation for 2021 we are looking at the national parks of Utah. One question my husband asked right away was “is it flatter than the Smokies?” and “are there easier hikes there than in the Smokies”. So far in the planning we’ve found a lot more easier hikes and though at a higher elevation, less elevation change in the hikes! Here’s hoping I won’t come home with another strange injury.