Early Cartilige degeneration?

[Erica]

Dear All,

I wonder if somebody could help me out by clarifying few things if possible??

I have had a knee injury at the gym in early September 2009. I went to a toning class and we did some lunges, etc. I haven't felt anything at the time however, when i got home my knee felt a bit funny and the following day it was so painful and swollen!

I had MRI scan done some 4 weeks later and was told that my knee catilige was grade 4, which means the cartilage has lost all of its thickness, leaving the bones of the joint exposed. My doctor has told me that according to the MRI scan report the cartilige was very very thin.

I was told I had a condition called early cartilige degeneration. Can this be possible? i am 27 years old and this injury was caused at the gym! I used to do quite a bit of running but not that much so that my knees would be degenerating...

I was also told to go home and read about my condition on the internet. I think the doctor has mentioned marrow stimulation as one of the treatments I could have.

The swelling hasn't gone since and I have noticed that the knee got a bit more imflamed recently. I have booked an appointment to go and see my doctor on Monday. However, I am not sure what to do? Do I ask him to refer me to a specialist? What can be done to sort this out?? Is Arthroscopy an option for me?? Or perhaps I should go for this marrow stimulation. Will I be able to exercise afterwards? I have stopped running completely and only do an occasional cross trainer session for no more than 10-15 minutes. Is this very bad for my knee??

All your comments would be very much appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance.

 

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

In all likelyhood the degeneration has been happening for some time and the incident at the gym aggrivated the area.  I had grade 3 lesions behind my kneecaps since I was 12 or 13 years old.  I just had my left kneecap replaced because it was pretty much naked back there and causing loads of pain.

It may be of benefit to see an OS.  What can be done for you will depend on where the damage is.  I don't think the cross trainer is going to be bad for your knees.  If it causes more pain and inflammation though back off.  I now ride a stationary bike and can do an ellipitcal without any pain.  High impact like running has been out for me for quite some time now so I am used to that.

I hope this helps some.

[jt801]

Is the doctor you're referring to an orthopedist? If not you should definitely see if you can be referred to one. You didn't state how big of an area your cartilage loss encompasses or where its located. The marrow stimulation techniques are generally used to treat small areas-mine was about the size of a quarter. If its not in a weight bearing area thats a plus. As for how your problem occurred is difficult to pinpoint-in my case my doctor was unable to tell me if the cartilage lesion was the result of a single trauma or years of wear and tear. There are several diffferent procedures available to treat cartilage loss problems and i'm sure a good orthopedist would be able to figure out what is the best option for your particular situation.

[Erica]

This is so helpful. I was reffering to a GP... I will ask to be referred to orthopedist asap.
I am not sure about the size of the problematic area... I was never informed about it. I guess I need to be more pushy and sort this out.

Thank you guys!