Left knee injury

[tony1233]

Hello everyone ,

My actual name is anthony and here is my issue with my left knee .

In late april/ early may of 2006 I hurt my knee playing volleyball, I dove to get the ball and then the upper half of my knee wanted to go forward but the lower half decided to saty put . I had minor pain but then in mid-July of 06 I was playing football (soccer) and someone "chopped me off" and my knee began to hurt very bad after I recovered from the compartment syndrome suffered from the inital blow during the game . Then I went to see my GP and he sent me for X-rays on the knee but he said they came back as negative for serious problems . I thought , " how can you see ligament or cartlidige injuries from a X-ray ?" . so anyway I couldnt play any sports this past winter which was absolutly devastating . So finally before the softball  and football season began I went to see my GP again and he decided to send me to see a OS .


Here are some of the symptoms of my injury :

Severe pain everyday
I wake up very often with pain during the night
A very loud "snap" or "pop" along with pain when I bend my knee
Pain is usually behind, inside, just below the kneecap or on the medial side
Lowered ROM
Unstable
No power in my kick ... along with pain if I try haha

Well sorry for making this so long but anyone that can help please do


Admin: I just wanted to ask this on the forum and and as well to you in PM to see what difference I get from the answers . Thanks

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Hi Anthony,

Sorry about your injury.  Firstly, you are correct in that you cannot really see soft tissue damage from an x-ray.  You need an MRI or CT scan to see those.  MRI's are not always accurate in what the damage is, but it gets much closer than an x-ray.  You may have a few issues with everything that poor knee has been through.  Bring along the list of symptoms to the OS appointment.  You can try RICE at home , which means to rest the knee, ice the knee, wrap it with an elastic bandage, and elevate (above the heart).  Take care and good luck with the OS.

Milly

[tony1233]

Thanks Milly,

I have tried RICE another member on thsis board mentioned it when I used to come on before . It works for about a half hour and then it goes back just as bad as before . Thank you for mentioning it though .

Any ideas on what my injury could be milly ? or any other user ?

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

No problem.  Have you tried tylenol or advil?  They don't always work with severe pain, but sometimes it's enough to take the worst edge off.  I will often take them right before I ice my knee, then in about 15-20 minutes when the icing is done they have kicked in a bit.  It may get you more that 1/2 hour.  I am not a doc so this is just my opinion:  you may have some meniscus damage, or other cartilage damage, the ligaments along the medial side may be sprained.  It's hard to say.  I can say that I once knocked my left kneecap out of alignment by bashing it on a cinder block (I was sledding at the time).  Maybe this will give you some ideas about what to look at.  Your OS should be able to give you definate answers.  If he/she does not, see someone else.

Good luck.

Milly

[tony1233]

Thanks Milly,

I have tried tylenol and andvil but, can no longer do it because my GP is worried that with the amount I'd have to take I would become immune to the pills . But with a sprain, how long would the pain last . I mean this has been well over 5 weeks now . I took two weeks off also in the begining of the summer to rest it .

Anthony

[ex-gymnast]

Sprains can take along time to heal.  (Worse than a broken bone really).  If you can find a good neapron (spelling) brace it may help.  I just about live in one.  It reduces the swelling I have. 
I have had some 90 XRays and 3 MRI's Xrays are useless when it comes to my knees.  My ortho continues to do them only because I have problems with hardware displacing itself. 
I know that soccer is the 2nd most dangerous sport for knees (In the US).  The worst is gymnastics number 3 is football.

Hope you are up and going soon,
Becky

[trainwreck]

You really can't get an answer until you see your OS. There are so many things that could have happened and I sure am not qualified to diagnose.  I found that tylenol or other otc's did not work for my pain either.  I quit taking them becuase I was eating handfulls of them daily and they gained me nothing.  Unfortunately you will probably just have to bite the bullet until you see an MD.  I wouldn't take the heavy duty pain killers if at all possible.  They really have nasty side effects.  Honestly, Ice and Elevation (above your heart) are your best friend.  You just have to be dilligent and use them continually.  Good Luck to you and try to hang in there. Don't' worry about the unknown it won't solve anything and will just stress you out.  Whatever has happened has happened and you can't change it.
Allison

[tony1233]

Thanks to both of you!

I have been using a brace, while it does cut down on swelling it does nothing for my pain. I am now near 30 X-rays after going for two sets  . And the technicans ( spelling) didn't look too happy about what they saw. haha I guess I intensified my existing injury by playing the #2 most dangerous sport for knees in the US .

Trainwreck thanks for your insight, right now I am extremely thankful that there is less then 3 weeks until my appointment with the OS . The pain is unreal but after about a year of this pain its just normal now . haha Im just so curious though cause from what I have been reading there could be 3-5 different things wrong with my knee and I'd like to know which one(s) it is . Kinda like a child 2 or 3 days before christmas . So curious to find out what I have . You're dead on about the stressing me out part. I've been stressed because of this issue for a while now .

Thanks once again

Anthony

[tony1233]

also for the last 4-5 weeks I  havn't been able to crouch or squat... there goes baseball ( I play catcher ) . What could that be a result of ?

[trainwreck]

Please stop driving yourself crazy and trying to self diagnose.  You can't squat cause your knee hurts.  It could be a million things some big some minor.  You gotta learn some patience. If you aren''t careful you're going to walk into your appointment with all these preconceived notions and expecting a diagnosis you are just guessing at.  You won't know until you see an os and have some tests and an exam done.  When is your appointment and is it with a  OS specialising in knees and sports?  Why are you so determined to get non medical people to diagnose you?
Trainwreck

[tony1233]

sorry, it is just driving me CRAZY . I thought that there were some doctors on this board  My appointment is the 11th

[trainwreck]

don't be sorry. I wasn't trying to make you feel bad.  There may be MD's on this board but noone will be able to diagnose you without a hands on exam.  Your appointment isn't that far away.  Try not to stress out. You may very well get in there and find out it is noghing major. Keep your chin up.
Trainwreck

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Hang in there.  It does get tough when you know something is wrong, but you are not sure what.  The not knowing eats at you.  You appointment will get here faster than you think.  Bring a list of questions to ask after the exam is done.

[tony1233]

don't be sorry. I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. There may be MD's on this board but noone will be able to diagnose you without a hands on exam. Your appointment isn't that far away. Try not to stress out. You may very well get in there and find out it is noghing major. Keep your chin up.
Trainwreck

Thanks, I sure hope so

Hang in there. It does get tough when you know something is wrong, but you are not sure what. The not knowing eats at you. You appointment will get here faster than you think. Bring a list of questions to ask after the exam is done.

Thanks for the advice, yeah its kinda getting to me haha oh well less then 3 weeks now

[kaci74]

Hi Anthony, I really don't have much more advice to give about your knee symptoms, but I do have advice about getting a doctor's appointment.  Have you tried calling to see if there has been a cancellation?  Are you in the UK?  I don't know how the system works there, but I have on occasion been able to speed up my appointment schedule by asking to be placed on a waiting list.

Good luck, and take it easy.
Kaci