Knee injury - does it sound bad?

tomhenryford

Hi,

Just looking for general opinions on a knee injury. I have a constant popping/clicking in the area just above my kneecap with some tenderness on the inner side of my kneecap.

I can more or less walk normally without pain and the same going downstairs however, I can't walk upstairs or squat without the popping. It gets very stiff if I'm off it for any period of time. I can't do any cardio or leg training. It's nearly three weeks like this and I can't remember doing anything in particular to it and I didn't feel a pop at any particular time, it just started out of nowhere. I train a lot and this is really hindering me.

I was in A&E and had an X-ray which was clear and was told it was probably just ligament damage. Went to my doctor a week after and asked for a scan, could be waiting ages for it.

Have seen a Physio and they're not sure what it is and told me to do some cycling. The knee pops/clicks with every rotation on the bike, it's very uncomfortable.

I feel nothing short of exhausted dragging this leg around it has me worn out, I'm not in pain with it and it's not swollen which is what I think is puzzling everyone but it is so stiff, driving is hard work and getting up and down out of a chair is a nightmare trying to straighten it to start walking.

I'm going to be waiting ages for a scan and in the meantime I can't stop thinking what if I have a tear that needs surgery or something.

Has anyone any idea that if it was a tear that would require surgery, would I actually be able to walk and have no pain?

I initially thought it might be dislocated which is why I went to a&e because it feels like I have no stability in it and it feels like it's going to give way or lock.

I'm not looking for medical advice just opinions or thoughts from people who have had knee injuries before as I'm at my wits end googling it and coming up with all types of worst case senarios.

Thank you.

Oryx

If a real life xray, a physio and a doctor cant tell you, we surely cant tell you. I get where you are coming from but can't see how this won't stray into medical advice. I'll leave it open briefly, but if it goes into diagnosis of any kind, I will have to close it.

cc87

Have you gotten an MRI scan?
An X-ray is pretty much useless at diagnosing soft tissue damage such as ligament or cartilage tissue.

I would advise not doing anything that exacerbates the condition such as you where you mentioned cycling made it worse.

In terms of the need for surgery and being able to walk, theres plenty of little bits and pieces in the knee that can be damaged and require surgical repair yet still allow you to walk and move around with little or no pain.

cc87

tomhenryford wrote: »

Hi,

I initially thought it might be dislocated which is why I went to a&e because it feels like I have no stability in it and it feels like it's going to give way or lock.

Based off what you describe here (lack of stability and feeling like it will give way or lock) I would strongly advise visiting a good physio and getting an MRI scan sooner rather than later.

If you mention where you are living I'm sure someone on here could recommend a physio to visit.

Hanley

Possibly knee aids.

Will need an MRI to confirm.










...it's not knee aids.

But you do need an MRI.

MD1990

Hanley wrote: »

Possibly knee aids.

Will need an MRI to confirm.










...it's not knee aids.

But you do need an MRI.

:rolleyes:
someone worried about possibly a bad knee injury & u make a joke about it. Nice one.

Hanley

MD1990 wrote: »

:rolleyes:
someone worried about possibly a bad knee injury & u make a joke about it. Nice one.

Get a life.

I told him to get an MRI. It's the only thing worth doing in this situation.

athtrasna

I had something very similar. Definitely a job for an mri. Knees are complicated structures, so much that can go wrong.

MD1990

Hanley wrote: »

Get a life.

I told him to get an MRI. It's the only thing worth doing in this situation.

Get better jokes it wasn't even funny tbh.
Yes I obviously seen u mentioned for him to get an MRI still no need to make a joke that isn't even funny.

MD1990

Since u haven't got an MRI yet. You should do lots of stretching & foam rolling to take any pressure off your knee if your legs are tight.

Yer Aul One

Yea I would consider going to a recommended physio. Be patient with the physio too. It is rarely an easy prognosis, it is a trial and error thing but a good physio will eventually find the route of your issue or at least strengthen something to mitigate the symptoms

tomhenryford

cc87 wrote: »

Based off what you describe here (lack of stability and feeling like it will give way or lock) I would strongly advise visiting a good physio and getting an MRI scan sooner rather than later.

If you mention where you are living I'm sure someone on here could recommend a physio to visit.

Thanks for the reply. I'm in Sligo.

tomhenryford

athtrasna wrote: »

I had something very similar. Definitely a job for an mri. Knees are complicated structures, so much that can go wrong.

Did it resolve itself or did it take long do you mind me asking?

cc87

Yer Aul One wrote: »

Yea I would consider going to a recommended physio. Be patient with the physio too. It is rarely an easy prognosis, it is a trial and error thing but a good physio will eventually find the route of your issue or at least strengthen something to mitigate the symptoms

Don't be patient with the physio. If he isn't recommending an MRI after one visit, get an MRI.

tomhenryford

cc87 wrote: »

Don't be patient with the physio. If he isn't recommending an MRI after one visit, get an MRI.

Got a date for an MRI, May 5th and that's me paying €300.

Mars Bar

tomhenryford wrote: »

Got a date for an MRI, May 5th and that's me paying €300.

:eek:

I paid €150 in the Limerick Clinic for an MRI to be taken a week after I booked it.

I see it's €295 in Merlin Park alright.

JJayoo

Sounds nasty, avoid anything that causes discomfort, you could investigate the areas around your knee with a rolling pin looking for tender areas, comparing good leg to bad leg.

And try to find a good physio, not all are created equal.

Dtp1979

tomhenryford wrote: »

Got a date for an MRI, May 5th and that's me paying €300.

Cancel it and travel somewhere that can fit you in within a couple of weeks. 5 months is crazy

I have similar issues, but the physio realized that because I was a cyclist for a long time, my upper thigh muscles became extremely overdeveloped, but the ones around my knee was underdeveloped, because cycling doesn't involve the full rotation of your leg. He told me that this essentially caused my knee to move wrong. This can be rectified by doing exercises designed to strengthen my knee. Painful as hell, of course. Was told that the alternative is a dislocated knee or torn hamstring (both are extraordinarily tight).

Book another physio/sports injury appointment and see what they said.

ford2600

Mars Bar wrote: »

:eek:

I paid €150 in the Limerick Clinic for an MRI to be taken a week after I booked it.

I see it's €295 in Merlin Park alright.

I'm Cork based and paid 140 recently in South Infirmary. All other places were similar price. Had my choice of places with a weeks wait

Ring around. 300 and 5 months is a joke

Sofa King Great

As others have said go to a good physio and get an mri.

I have had similar symptoms in the past which were caused by extremely tight quads which were putting pressure on my knee cap. Lots and lots of stretching helped, although obviously this may not be the same thing at all