First off, thanks to all of you (both) who keep reading. My temptation to quit blogging was not a cry for attention... just crying.
I will work on some beer posts. I have 4 beer available in the house, so drop me line and come by (maybe during the holidays is best)
So.... we all know the controversy about the new full body scanners at most US airports. I, for one, don't get caught up in the controversy. I find it very odd that we have willingly surrendered many liberties for all sorts of "public good" and airport scanners are the things that push people over the edge? Really?
Personally I think it gets legs because certain groups scream and cry about them, and the lemmings follow.
Me... yawn.... give me something real to worry about.
Anyway, I started noticing I was always stopped after going through these. The person TSA agent proceeds to a minimal "pat down" focused on my left leg. Hmmm, whatever.
But I kept happening. More specifically, my left knee. In fact, I turn around and see it on the little screen. It happens with different pants, different scanners, etc. Always the same knee.
So Tuesday I go through and jokingly say "let me guess, left knee?". Sure enough, left knee.
TSA dude says "Do you have any pins or screws? any surgery". No
But wait. Could my 30 plus years of running, some with 2000 miles plus years have an effect? Could it be scar tissue from running? Could it be a lingering effect of the infamous Sawtooth bee attack? (same knee, and I still have numbness there)
So any of you orthopods (Nic?) or geeky tech scanner experts want to try and theorize?
So how is that for a post?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
26 comments:
Thats the best knee to pat down while his associate is picking your right rear pocket!
Think about it?
Ever have an xray of the knee? I've got nothing to offer but would love to see what the xray shows.
I just had the same thing happen on three consecutive flights, but both knees. I've been training for a 15K, an had gone from two miles per run to 13 in a little over three months. The trip was two days after the longest training run. I asked the TSA guy and he said it might be scar tissue.
I have the exact same experience everytime I fly, but it is my right knee.
I have lots of injuries from riding horses and a really deteriorated knee, and that knee always sets off the new body scanners - I feel your pain :)
First off, thanks to all of you.who keep reading. My temptation to quit blogging was not a cry for attention just crying.Gatwick Parking
I too have always had my left knee set off the TSA scanner. I thought it may be from built up calcium as my knees are old. Last time thru Las Vegas airport I hit a trifecta - not only my left knee but my right knee and left wrist and elbow!
Calcium, scar tissue, Alien implants????
so i took a flight to lax last month and went threw the full body scanner in tampa fl and a yellow box was on on my knee area when i came out, they searched me and asked if i was swore or in pain, and i said no, not at all, this happen also on my return flight about a month later, so this has me freeked out, is there something wrong with my leg? What was that showing? Should i see a doctor? They didnt really tell me anymore but ask if i was sore... any info would be great. Thanks so much.
so i took a flight to lax last month and went threw the full body scanner in tampa fl and a yellow box was on on my knee area when i came out, they searched me and asked if i was swore or in pain, and i said no, not at all, this happen also on my return flight about a month later, so this has me freeked out, is there something wrong with my leg? What was that showing? Should i see a doctor? They didnt really tell me anymore but ask if i was sore... any info would be great. Thanks so much.
I had knee surgery in 06. They went in and cleaned up the junk and drilled little holes in the back of my kneecap to build scar tissue to make the wedge.. it sets off the scanners 90% of the time.. no pins or metal.. so, I think it's scar tissue
I had knee surgery in 06. They went in and cleaned up the junk and drilled little holes in the back of my kneecap to build scar tissue to make the wedge.. it sets off the scanners 90% of the time.. no pins or metal.. so, I think it's scar tissue
I have knee pain. And I have it happen . One or both knees every time now for 1 1/2 years.
Dr X-rays show perfect knees. No bone chips etc. My ligaments make a lot of noise. No medical person can tell me why.
I have hereditary bad knees and I get the "knee pat down" on about 85% of my flights. I fly frequently so it's pretty irritating and worrisome. One of the TSA agents told me it happens with "water on the knee" or "built up scar tissue". Glad to see this post and know I'm not the only one. I was starting to worry I had somehow gotten metal in my knee and was thinking of having it checked.
Thanks for this post. I've had my left shoulder set off the backscatter at least six times. Nothing on the metal detector. I did injure that shoulder, multiple times when I was in the military so scar tissue would make sense.
My husband recently had a large sarcoma removed from his leg. He has very much scar tissue and he has been stopped and patted down the last two flights since. I'm glad to hear it is just scar tissue and not the cancer returned.
Every time I go through millimeter wave scanner my left leg/hip is flagged. I was injured there in a car accident when I was 18 with lots of soft tissue damage and have had pain ever since. I've had other injuries (knees, ankles, upper back) but they weren't as severe and have never set off the detector. So another bit of anecdotal evidence that sufficient scar tissue could get picked up.
I have been patted down every time I go through the scanners but for an area just below my sternum. I have had a gastric ulcer, healed now, but still have a lot of pain, like someone punched me there, when I exercise doing crunch type motions. Nothing shows up on endoscopes so who knows? All I know is that, like all of you with knees that set off the scanners, I set it off for my gut!
My 18 year old son and I, just ran the Star Wars Half Marathon and flew home together five hours after the race. We BOTH set off the TSA scanner for a pat down! The yellow box was over his right knee. A yellow box showed over each of my thighs (where my quads are.) I am wondering if it is inflamation?
Go see a geneticist or rheumatologist and ask about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). It sounds like EDS-Hypermobility could be your issue.
So I have had numerous surgeries in my torso area and both knees replaced. Interestingly enough my knees do not throw the scanner into a fit it is my torso. The whole left side of my torso from breast to hip. ALL scanners at the airports. I was informed by a lovely TSA agent, as she thoroughly patted me down for the 3rd time that trip, that dense scar tissue and even some scar tissue will show up on the scanner. So there you have it. Dense and not so dense human scar/tissue will show up so expect the customary pat down.
Same story. I am receiving physical therapy for shoulder rotator cuff impingement. The last two flights I've taken, they pat down my left shoulder.
I know this is an old post, but I just got home from a flight and had issues one of the TSA scans. Coming home I was wearing shorts and the TSA scan picked up something on my right ankle. I was barefoot and they could see my ankle with no problem. One of the agents said "Look it picked up his scar." Funny thing is though it did not pick anything up on my outbound flight when I was wearing pants and socks. There was one other flight a few years ago that they picked up on the scar on my ankle.I never considered that it was picking up my scar until the comment from the TSA agent.
Scientific American magazine is reporting that any type of surface lesion (“bump” or “protrusion”) on the body has potential to be picked up as an “abnormality” from the standard body form. My right knee is always flagged and TSA gives my knee a pat down. My “protrusion” is a set of varicose veins that stand out 1-2 centimeters on the back of my knee.
I'm 45 years old, not a runner, and have never had knee surgery. I have had ORIF in my right ankle and have some titanium screws and a plate there. If you run your finger across the outside of my right ankle, you can actually feel the screws under the skin. My ankle is never flagged by the scanners. My left knee always consistently gets flagged by the scanner. I always look at the screen now and I see the yellow squares. I now tell the TSA agent "my left knee is gonna get the squares." I do have the beginning of arthritis in my knees, so maybe that has something to do with it.
This wouldn't be a big deal except I have grown weary of being molested by TSA agents. It only happens maybe 1 out of 10 times, so it must be based on how amped up that particular agent is. Sometimes they just pat down my knee and send me on my way. Other times, the eyes widen and it's all "Whoa! Sir! I am going to need to give you a more thorough screening!" They ask me if I want to do it in a private room and I always decline. They tell me they will need to rub parts of my body and show me they will use the backs of their hands. And then they do exactly what they said: they rub their hands all over my ass and my groin area, along my legs, inside my waist and then the grand finale ... they slide their hand all the way up *there*, to the point that they could *nearly* diagnose the condition of my prostate. I am becoming increasingly annoyed by this. One time I told the agent, "are you at least gonna buy me a drink?" which he didn't like. On my last trip, when the agent asked if I'd like a private screening, I said, "no, I actually prefer to be molested out in the open, so everyone can see." Sooner or later, I'm going to get in trouble. If I had a child and they did this to him or her, I would already be in trouble.
The fact that I consistently set these things off shows that they falsely report. They always ask if I have anything in my pockets, or if I have metal in my knee. When I try to get info ("do you ever see this with other people?"), I'm met with the Impatient Authority Figure gaze and told, "sir, please move along."
It's all security theatre. It's infuriating. The scanners themselves are unnecessary in my opinion, so getting molested makes it all worse. It's just one more thing we've all accepted out of fear, that makes flying even more miserable of an experience than it already was. I wonder if people ~35 or younger even realize how easy it used to be to fly.
Nicely put
Recently I went through airport security in Memphis on my way to New York. For the first time I was flagged with squares on my right neck and shoulder and also around my groin. I have had severe neck and shoulder pain for ten years and I have had pain in the periformis area for a year. I was shocked to see this since I have been through this airport at least three times in the last year. The TSA lady asked if I had inflammation in those areas. I said, "probably". Curious that this is just showing up. Don't know if Memphis security has been amped up recently.
Wonder if anyone else has had this happen at that airport.
Neck has been x-rayed in past and only showed "moderate" arthritis even though I feel persistent pain. Periformis is in constant pain after extreme training for rowing competition.
Good to see all this anecdotal evidence and hope it leads to greater understanding of these machines.
Post a Comment