Healed bone bruise but knee catching

[vickster]

If talking about articular/meniscus cartilage, if the bits are very small, they may not cause any issues.  The holes in articular cartilage will not heal themselves permanently, the best you can hope is that they are asymptomatic.  Similarly, most meniscus tears don't heal, but they may not cause any bother.  If the joint is locked due to trapped tissue, surgery is usually needed if it's ongoing / causing problems

[MDAL]

Like Vickster said, once cartilage is damaged it doesn't grow back... exceptions are very young people which may have some level of regeneration capability.

Break down yes, loose bits may generate inflammatory response (interpreted as foreign bodies) and a clean up army goes into the place (macrophages) and a series of others... We are talking about small bits, bugger pieces may not be so fast or so easy...

Exception to this are also meniscus teared flaps which may cause catching... in this case of meniscus flaps or bigger pieces then surgery might be needed to clean up...

[kneegurubro]

My problem probably isn't cartilage as the mri report did not state any problems with it, only that there was an edema and cyst problem (6 months ago) , i think the cyst may still be there (which could also be why it still catches), i don't feel a bump but there is still less rom on my bad leg, and when i stretch my knees by pulling them into my backside it's a lot tighter and harder to do on the bad leg, is there any medication that would help remove it, would anti inflammatory be useful? I do the stretching exercises everyday 

[vickster]

Perhaps you need to go to a good sports physio, perhaps try ultrasound, massage, acupuncture and have a review of any stretching programme to ensure it's appropriate for you and not potentially causing more harm

For the cyst to go, you need to know what caused it and to confirm there is no meniscus tear or similar which could be exacerbating

[kneegurubro]

I will try them , the doc said there's no meniscus  tear and the cyst was caused by the blow, which leaked fluid into the back of the knee. For me i think the tightness may be due to my left hamstring being tighter than the other, do any of you know good exercises to loosen it?

[vickster]

You could try a professional sports massage for muscle tightness and a physiotherapist for a tailored exercised programme

[kneegurubro]

Will do, do you know if a bone spur usually shows on an mri?

[vickster]

In my case, more clearly seen on X ray.  I have them on both fibulas it seems.  MRI generally better for soft tissue and inflammation, X rays better for bones

[kneegurubro]

I may do an x ray then. Another doctor said (a few months ago) it was damage to the epiphyseal cartilage, here is my mri scan if anyone is interested or has a similar problem. https://plus.google.com/photos/100775428279953905040/albums/6051875412622851857?gpinv=AMIXal9JUSBYxL9zx8BBemortiaRzyIRZWAaMMjfqiwVCzpFQov2JzhpesHmUd0kdDsLaJR-NQ9p-_2qYkMlOpug2s8IX-Bv8u0JxSBPB_hSGPgfNOAZ0E8&cfem=1&authkey=CNSqxpeijKj19AE
When it happened i went practicing footy the next day (as i could still run though it hurt) and i didn't stop until 6 weeks ago (i'm at a disadvantage with my knee so i'm waiting until it's fully  better). I should have done RICE but i didn't do that until a couple of months later. Maybe that's why it's taking so long

[kneegurubro]

Also my knee seems to have become hyperextended, does this mean it would be lax?