Hello KneeGuru Community!
I wanted to see if anyone could have a good idea of what may have happened to my knee. Last summer (2011) I hyperextended my right knee while playing softball. I had been running after a ground ball in the outfield and my right knee had just hyperextended in mid-stride. I had to go through the slow recovery process but my knee had been feeling great for some time now but it has been very weak and over the last month I have re-hypered it so to speak but very mildly. Well this past Friday September 14th 2012, I was up to bat and on the first pitch I hit a nice base-hit and then on my first step towards first base out of the batter's box something happened in my knee. It wasn't necessarily a pop, but it was a weird feeling. Well now I can not straighten out my knee, I walk with a retty noticeable limp and when trying to straighten it out, there is a pain below my knee cap and to th right that feels like a pressure that will pop if I force it to straighten out, but I'm afraid I could make something worse than it may be now. I can bend it by kneeling carefully but I can not fully straighten it out. I also can not do and sudden twists or turns on the knee because it feels like it will buckle if I do it with most of my weight on it. If you have any answers or advice I what I need to do from here, please let me know. The reason I have not seen a doctor is because I do not have health insurance to be able to just go anywhere, but at the same time, being self emloyed, I make too much money to be accepted into a free walk-in clinic.
Thank you for your time!
Sincerely,
-Brian

+1 with allyd on the torn meniscus. Better to go to a doc right now then have to fish out money for a surgery which is going to be way more. I'd also suggest not 'testing' your knee with these sudden movements.

When I had a meniscus tear, my doctor suggested that I lie prone on the ground with a rolled up towel under the injured knee and push down onto the towel. That movement basically pulls the knee-cap towards you and forces extension. It forces you to get the Range of Motion back. It worked in getting my RoM back but I don't know if that's the best thing to do. I'd still see a doctor if I were in your place.