Long Term Knee Injury

[Marky Mark88]

I injured my right knee a number of years ago whilst i was drunk (i know)in a nightclub. Basically, i fell up some stairs and my knee hit the edge of one of the steps. It didnt help that these were the kind of stairs that had that metal edging on them so could have contributed towards the severity of the injury, albeit self inflicted. I visited the doctors shortly after who examined the knee and said that it would probably sort itself out over time, possibly even taking as long as 4 years to correct itself. I wasn't convinced that it would heal itself but decided to take the leaflet entitled 'Knee pain in young adults' and the doctors advice and let nature run its course.

I was around 17 at the time, and am now almost 23 and it hasn't really changed. My right knee feels a fair bit larger than my left and is also visibly bigger. The pain worsens after activity such as football but tends to ease after a day or 2. If i feel under my kneecap i can feel an area that is painful which is there all the time and is not exercise dependent. I am reluctant to go back to the doctors in case i get the same advice as last time. I think at some point i may need to have a scan and possibly surgery of some kind to repair the damage that has been done, which also worries me as i dont want to be immobile for any period of time or develop arthritis or similar in later life.

Any PHers have/had any similar problems?

[RemainAllHoof]

Get an X-ray done in 2009. Dunno why you've put up with it for so long. Go into A&E but be prepared to wait about 5 hours as you're not an emergency case.

[NAS]

I've got a crutch standing next to me right now.

Busted my knee 5 weeks ago. It's always been weak and I've given it some abuse in the past. However, this was the first time it really gave me serious problems. Went to a sports-therapist. He said : "strechted the muscle, take it easy for a month, you'll be fine"

I did, the pain went away, I could walk normal again.

2 1/2 weeks later : it gave out again. Seriously this time. As in : they had to wheelchair me through the airport (was in Spain at the time) and I couldn't walk anywhere for a few days. Immediately went to hospital when I came back.

Manual examination : don't know what it is.
X-ray : nothing.
MRI : big tear in meniscus.

Doctor's appointment next week regarding possible surgery.

Moral of the story : MRI. It's your knee. You're going to need it again.

[RemainAllHoof]

Looking on the bright side... he's got another one.

[garrykiller]

shot gun will sort it out.

[Marky Mark88]

Would i need to go back to the doctors first to get a referral for an X-Ray/MRI scan at the hospital?

Thanks for that NAS, sounds pretty serious and certainly wouldnt my condition to escalate and get to that point, although its been pretty much the same for the last 6/7 years so i think its gonna stay like this pretty much indefinitely, but i suppose you never know. Its more of a lingering problem than anything that i would rather sort out now than later. Guess i just need to drink less

[goldblum]

Yes.

Go back to the doctors and get a referral to see a knee specialist/surgeon.

[NAS]

Marky Mark88 said:

Would i need to go back to the doctors first to get a referral for an X-Ray/MRI scan at the hospital?

Thanks for that NAS, sounds pretty serious and certainly wouldnt my condition to escalate and get to that point, although its been pretty much the same for the last 6/7 years so i think its gonna stay like this pretty much indefinitely, but i suppose you never know. Its more of a lingering problem than anything that i would rather sort out now than later. Guess i just need to drink less

Just do it now. Trust me on this. I ignored possible signs of upcoming issues for years. Just get it checked out, you'll thank yourself later.

[Marky Mark88]

NAS said:

Just do it now. Trust me on this. I ignored possible signs of upcoming issues for years. Just get it checked out, you'll thank yourself later.

Thanks for the advice, think i will ring the doctors this afternoon and get myself booked in. If he says it will sort itself out, i will kindly point him to his records and tell him thats what he said 6 years ago and insist on seeing a specialist.

[BliarOut]

Marky Mark88 said:

Any PHers have/had any similar problems?

Supra intercondylar comminuted compound fracture of the left femur resulting in 2' of leg lost do ya?

And it's still improving 27 years on

[Marky Mark88]

BliarOut said:

Supra intercondylar comminuted compound fracture of the left femur resulting in 2' of leg lost do ya?

And it's still improving 27 years on

You can always take comfort in the fact that theres always someone worse off than yourself!

[BliarOut]

I suppose the point I'm making is the body has an amazing capacity to heal. To still be improving after this length of time is bloody good going

[The Ferret]

Marky Mark88 said:

Any PHers have/had any similar problems?

Bipartite Patella for me.

Stats say it affects approx 1% of people, but likely to be more as the condition only becomes apparent if the knee is traumatised, or picked up on an x-ray when looking for something else. Most people that have it never even realise, I always knew it wasn't 100%, but its when you damage it you really know about it.

Mine happened last year when I walked into a steel frame. Instant pain and within a few hours the knee had completely locked up and was swollen, felt very hot to touch, much like a break.

That was 10 months ago, and I went on the treadmill this week for the first time since.

You wont know what the problem is without a referral from your GP, who will probably require you to see a physio first. Do what he asks, your main aim is to get the MRI. That will tell you exactly what is going on, anything else really isnt going to cut it. Even my consultant didn't expect mine to be what it is, which proves the need to have the scan.

I only found out after I was diagnosed that Andy Murray suffers from the same problem. I've a new found respect for him, I could barely walk for 3 months and even now can't manage more than a light jog on tarmac. How he manages to play tennis at top level with it is beyond me. Granted he probably has a wealth of physio at his disposal 24/7, but he still feels pain just like the rest of us.

[Maxf]

2 knee operations in 11 months (on different knees) - both ACLs torn and repaired with hamstring grafts.

Get it looked at. If you are overcompensating with your good knee, you might be in for trouble down the line. I'm fairly sure thats what caused my second one to 'go'.

[RobM77]

Forget the NHS, all they'll do is send you on a merry go round between useless doctors (Sorry, bitter experience from my back problems and a couple of other things!!!). I found this place good, as did my ex with her knee problems: http://www.londonkneeclinic.com/

[BliarOut]

RobM77 said:

Forget the NHS, all they'll do is send you on a merry go round between useless doctors (Sorry, bitter experience from my back problems and a couple of other things!!!). I found this place good, as did my ex with her knee problems: http://www.londonkneeclinic.com/

Meh, I owe my leg to a fantastic American surgeon who was working for the NHS.

[RobM77]

BliarOut said:

RobM77 said:

Forget the NHS, all they'll do is send you on a merry go round between useless doctors (Sorry, bitter experience from my back problems and a couple of other things!!!). I found this place good, as did my ex with her knee problems: http://www.londonkneeclinic.com/

Meh, I owe my leg to a fantastic American surgeon who was working for the NHS.

Just my soapbox talking I'm afraid I shan't bore everyone by expatiating further, but I've recently been on two huge, long and dissapointing wild goose chases seeing a series of completely incompetant "specialists" within the NHS, and am thoroughly cheesed off by the whole thing. I still have the two aforementioned problems, and have now had to open my cheque book and go private instead, despite paying thousands to the NHS in my taxes every year!

[mph1977]

RemainAllHoof said:

Get an X-ray done in 2009. Dunno why you've put up with it for so long. Go into A&E but be prepared to wait about 5 hours as you're not an emergency case.

prepare to get an earful and send away for misuse of the EMERGENCY department...

if the OP wants imaging his GP can refer him if his GP feels that the restrictions of IR(ME)R allow him to request it.

[mph1977]

goldblum said:

Yes.

Go back to the doctors and get a referral to see a knee specialist/surgeon.

+1

[mph1977]

RobM77 said:

Forget the NHS, all they'll do is send you on a merry go round between useless doctors (Sorry, bitter experience from my back problems and a couple of other things!!!). I found this place good, as did my ex with her knee problems: http://www.londonkneeclinic.com/

There are no magic cures for back pain and the risks associated with the surgical options are such that the benefits really need to outweigh the risks ... the risk of even less mobility , having to do manual evacuations to have a poo and being unable to pee unless you stick a tube down your jap's eye plus the nerve pain ...