Please help!

[Tom_cahill]

About a year ago I started having knee pain in my left knee when running and playing football. I have played football for many years without any knee pain at all and thus pain coincided with starting Brazilian jiu-jitsu although I never felt any pain when doing it. I pretty much stopped doing any sport when it started and over the last year I've seen several physios. One said it was caused by a tight IT band, one said it was due to tight quads and one said it's just due to an imbalance in strength between lateral quads and VMO. I have done all the rehab exercises prescribed over a year and nothing changes or improves. I feel no pain walking but as soon as I break into a job I feel anterior knee pain that feels it's coming from behind the knee cap, centrally.

Please can anyone advise anything that I should try? My mental health is really suffering because I can't do sports any more.

[vickster]

Have you had an MRI to rule out anything structural or within the joint?
How old are you?
If you want to be active, swimming (front crawl or backstroke rather than breast stroke) are great for fitness and non weight bearing. Cycling also but make sure the bike is the right size and properly set up

[Tom_cahill]

Have you had an MRI to rule out anything structural or within the joint?
How old are you?
If you want to be active, swimming (front crawl or backstroke rather than breast stroke) are great for fitness and non weight bearing. Cycling also but make sure the bike is the right size and properly set up

Thanks for the reply.

I'm 33. No MRI no. Should I request one when I next see the physio?

[vickster]

What country are you in, as access to scans etc varies between health systems.
If the U.K., and you have private insurance or can pay, you’ll likely need to see an orthopaedic knee surgeon or possibly a sports physician and if they think warranted, they can refer you for a scan. Physios can only refer to a specialist.
If wanting to stay with the NHS, most areas you’ll need to see your GP, get referred to the local msk service physios, they can then refer you to a surgeon and then the MRI…that will realistically take months (versus a week or two privately). If you have private healthcare, you’ll need to follow their referral protocols.

Is your physio private? Have any given any indication it could be an issue in the joint like damage?

If not in the U.K., you’ll need to find out how things work there!

[Tom_cahill]

What country are you in, as access to scans etc varies between health systems.
If the U.K., and you have private insurance or can pay, you’ll likely need to see an orthopaedic knee surgeon or possibly a sports physician and if they think warranted, they can refer you for a scan. Physios can only refer to a specialist.
If wanting to stay with the NHS, most areas you’ll need to see your GP, get referred to the local msk service physios, they can then refer you to a surgeon and then the MRI…that will realistically take months (versus a week or two privately). If you have private healthcare, you’ll need to follow their referral protocols.

Is your physio private? Have any given any indication it could be an issue in the joint like damage?

If not in the U.K., you’ll need to find out how things work there!

I'm in the UK and an currently seeing NHS physios after a referral. They've done a lot of tests on my but haven't done any scans. I think it'll be best if I push for a scan next time I see them.

[vickster]

Certainly worth asking the question about the process after a year with no improvement
Good luck