22 year old with moderate knee pain?!

[paulgreeny83]

Hi everyone

I am (or was) a fit and healthy 22 year old who played lots of sports and could run forever!  Over the last couple of years however I have had a progessive hinderence in my knees and ankles which started with a noise but turned fairly painful. I recently saw a bio-mechanical guy who filmed me walking.  He said that aswell as other slight walking abnormalities (rear foot front front verus?), that as I my feet strike the floor, they turn inwards, making the appearance of walking 'pigeon toed'.  He did further tests and concluded that I have extremely tight hamstrings, due to my younger years of sport without ever stretching properly!

He explained that my hamstrings are too tight to allow my feet to hit the floor in a normal way and it's caused damage and wear in my ankles and knees over the years (he says at the tendor age of 22!  ).  He suggested hamstring stretches and shoe insoles.  The noise in my joints I have researched to be 'crepitus', but mine is extremely load, and extremely often (every other footstep in both ankles!) which actually causes pain if the crack is a REALLY load one!!, my knees also 'pop' and grind if I go down to a squart position and is painful to push back to the standing position again.  I received a knee injury at football last year, a sharp blow to the front of the right knee just below the patella, which still hasn't healed and is still tendor to touch... 

I also have slight back trouble when standing in one position for a while which I think is all related to the same problem.

Does anybody suffer similar symptoms?... or does any expert in this field know of a better solution than what I have been given?  I am worried that I will have arthritis in my knee's and ankle's within 10 years if i'm suffering to this extent already!!

Any replies would be apprectiated!..

Cheers

Paul

[blackbeltgirl]

Paul -

You need to start with an appointment with an orthopedist, and possibly a podiatrist as well.  The "rule of thumb" is that noise without pain isn't a big deal, but I understand your concern that it will lead to pain down the road.  As to squats - if you can't get up without pain (and without pulling/pushing yourself up with your hands) you shouldn't be doing squats.  As a general rule, deep squats aren't good for the knees and ankles anyway.  You may find yourself with a few PT sessions to learn to stretch the muscles safely, and strengthen those you need to strengthen.

But don't put it off.  You're young now, and can possibly avoid major problems down the road.  Be a pro-active patient - ask lots of questions, make suggestions if you see stuff here that sounds like it has potential.  Don't let your doctor brush you off. 

Good luck.
Jess

[paulgreeny83]

Thanks for your fast reply Jess!

I have seen a podiatrist, and she referred me to the biomechanic (think thats a podiatrist that specialises on the joints and mechanics of the body?).. he was the one that said my symptoms were all mostly due to my tight hamstrings..  there is also pain with the noises I can hear, but the pain is more often in the knee than the ankles.

My kness are tendor to touch on the patella which has not eased but only worsened in the last 6 months.  As to being a pro-active patient, i'm afraid my problem is that i'm too pro-active!!.. I have researched all sorts of knee/hip complaints and have loads of words bouncing round my head now (meniscus, patello femoral syndrome, chondritis to name but a few), and the research has only worsened my fears and complicated my understanding of just what is wrong!.. would you recommend a MRI scan?

The biomechanic also said that due to the irreversable cartalige wear in my ankles and knees already that osteoarthriris would probably set-in in later life...

[blackbeltgirl]

On the main page of this site there are a couple of free classes.  One is about pain around the patella - you should take that class.

Two - I'm not a dr, and I have no idea if an MRI would help.  I don't have that much faith in them personally.  I think they work better to confirm a diagnosis than to make one.  There are all sorts of physcial tests drs use to diagnose different problems.

As to the word arthritis - I HATE that word.  But, if you have cartilage wear anywhere in the body, technically you already have arthritis.  You may not be able to reverse it, but you should be able to slow it down and change how big an impact it has.  If your patella is sore to the touch you should probably have it x-rayed.  There may be a fracture, or a bone bruise, etc.  There are other soft tissue things that can affect that part of the joint too.  Your next step is to see an orthopedist.  As a general rule, you'd want to see someone who specializes in the joints that bug you.  But it seems that a lot of knee specialists are also shoulder specialists (but not hip or ankle).  I can't quite figure it out, because I'd think the ankle/knee/hip connectin is an important one, so if you specialize in 2 joints, they should be things that work together.  And since you're young, look for a sports medicine practice.  They tend to be involved with newer procedures and their goals are to get you back to your active lifestyle. 

Also, think about what YOU want from your body for the next 40 years.  Be able to clearly explain the pain - type, time of day, what brings it on, how bad it is - to the OS.  And tell him what you want to be able to do.  Will you be happy if you can walk 2 miles without pain?  Or do you want to be able to run?  Will you be happy if you can ride a bike, or use an elliptical trainer at the gym?  Or do you want your body to be able to handle the stops and pivots of sports like soccer, tennis, etc.?  Tell the OS your goals, and look for someone who thinks he can help you reach them. 

Hope this helps.
Jess

[paulgreeny83]

Thanks very much for your advice Jess - i'll get my gp to refer me to an OS!