Knee pain?

[Devland]

A day or two ago I woke up with a slight pain in my knee like I twisted it. Every so often this would happen years ago and my knee would swell up like crazy only to disappear later. This hasn't happened in years so I thought it was gone for good. It's not a big deal, it can last just a few days or in some cases a few weeks. It always hurts the most at night and in the morning like most things, I can deal with the pain but would like to get rid of the swelling, in the past it has swollen to double the size of the other knee and walking becomes difficult. Always assumed I had some sort of meniscus tear that never healed right but never saw a doc about it, maybe it's just bursitis or something else. Is there anything good to do to stop the swelling besides ice and elevating it as much as possible.

I had something similar about ten years ago. My left knee would buckle and swell up on occasion. I hurt it originally back in high school. It was x rayed then(MRI's were not done back then) and diagnosed as a sprained knee. When I finally had it checked out, an MRI showed that I had a torn ACL. The doctor told me that there are a lot of people my age walking around with torn ACL's that were never diagnosed.

 

[Husky25]

I had something similar about ten years ago. My left knee would buckle and swell up on occasion. I hurt it originally back in high school. It was x rayed then(MRI's were not done back then) and diagnosed as a sprained knee. When I finally had it checked out, an MRI showed that I had a torn ACL. The doctor told me that there are a lot of people my age walking around with torn ACL's that were never diagnosed.

Technically, you weren't misdiagnosed. A ligament tear IS a sprain.

 

[Greathusky]

A day or two ago I woke up with a slight pain in my knee like I twisted it. Every so often this would happen years ago and my knee would swell up like crazy only to disappear later. This hasn't happened in years so I thought it was gone for good. It's not a big deal, it can last just a few days or in some cases a few weeks. It always hurts the most at night and in the morning like most things, I can deal with the pain but would like to get rid of the swelling, in the past it has swollen to double the size of the other knee and walking becomes difficult. Always assumed I had some sort of meniscus tear that never healed right but never saw a doc about it, maybe it's just bursitis or something else. Is there anything good to do to stop the swelling besides ice and elevating it as much as possible.

Ok I confess. I was slightly relieved when the knee pain was NOT from one our UCONN players.

 

[B1GEast]

Take fresh cow dung and rub it all over your knee for a week, worked for me

 

[August_West]

I would say this is not true regarding basic arthroscopic surgery to clear out scar tissue that might built up on the side related to a meniscus tear. Quick healing, no impact on function or degeneration. At worst, in general, this type of surgery does nothing.
own.

No, at worst the anesthesiologist screws up and you never wake up. I DO NOT like going under, so I obviously am colored there. I need to be in real bad shape to agree to any type of surgery. Some occasional swelling and tolerable pain is not enough *for me* to entertain that idea again. Thats what pisses me off about the different Dr.s Ive seen. They all want to go back in and re repair my meniscus, meanwhile telling me that within 5-10 years I will need to have my knee replaced. Either way. I told them I will just wait for the replacement.

 

[8893]

Synvisc

This is the injection that my client's doctor wants to try on her next.

 

[boba]

The RICE regimen is usually the best course; the thing to remember is you are old, and healing happens slower, sometimes r e a l s l o w. Heat followed by ice may help bring the inflammation down quicker, but pain remains. Had similar problem with elbow, probably a small tear; took 5 months to go away completely. It would flare up, hurt like heck couple days, then nag for the rest of the time. Hey if you're feeling pain (and you can bear it) then it gives you something to look forward to, when it finally goes away.

 

[uconnell]

I do not going under either, as I have many times, so I think I am due sometime. Will do just about anything to avoid it.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

We live in an age where getting medical advice is so simple that you can even facetime with a real doctor...

But as long as we're going to stick with the boneyard diagnosis I'd say you prolly just want to take ibuprofen for swelling, and smoke some weed for any pain.

 

[BUConn10]

I had a similar issue. Hurt my knee badly one day, swelled up for a week could barely walk on it then got better and forgot about it until the next time I'd play a sport that's hard on the knees like bball and it'd always end up in a 3-4 day bout of swelling. After a couple years got fed up with doctors saying its a sprain and getting an MRI, turns out I had a torn ACL and meniscus.

If you have intermittent inflammation in the knee, you should go get it checked out, it could likely be damage to the ligaments which can get worse if not treated. Good luck.

 

[Uconnrick]

Get to a good ortho and find out what's up. Years of toughing it out and ignoring it have left me sitting here in my recliner recovering from a total knee replacement performed last Mon.
The good news is that I'm pain free for the first time in years. The bad news is that I'll be laid up for at least 3 more weeks.

 

[Hankster]

Is this Shea Ralph?

LOL. Didn't Shea Ralph have numerous knee tears, fractures surgeries. Really not funny. Remember her finishing therapy, return to play only to repeat the same injury. Did she ever play a full year? Man she had a great handle on the ball.

 

[TheRealKBuks]

Do you hear any slight clicking in the knee when you rotate to the side on your plant foot? If so, likely meniscus. There's no 'cure' for a meniscus tear, just rest, ice, and strengthening the muscles around it. That said, if you did tear your meniscus years ago (and I don't know if you have), there might be some scar tissue that can be cleared out with simple arthroscopic day surgery. That usually helps to alleviate swelling and clicking.

There are no braces that satisfactorily support a meniscus tear. But a wrap style brace would help to alleviate the swelling and support the knee in general. There are comfortable ones for night time.

I totally agree with seeing an ortho. You can't diagnose these things properly without some imaging being done. If you have insurance, you might as well use it. Good thing to address asap, as you may be able to avoid further complications down the road.

any chance you're orthotist or PT? (I'm an orthotist)

There really are no great knee braces for just a meniscus tear. For knee pain I typically provide an anterior overlapping hinged KO with adjustable ROM joints to prevent full knee ext. Preventing full knee ext blocks the screw home mechanism reducing torque on the meniscus, and the anterior overlap provides compression for pain relief while accommodating fluctuations in swelling.

OP if you have questions about potential braces feel free to PM me

 

[Hankster]

I went the whole route. Knee pain. surgery. A couple of years later, injections. Finally 2 years ago, no more shots, bone on bone. Surgery, full knee replacement. Rarely have any pain. Any pain is related to the weather. A truly medical break through. More knee comfort but screws up my TSA Pre-Check.

 

[Dove]

Its unreal how men avoid doctors. I had a small bump on my cheek. It slowly grew. It got to a point where it held my glasses up and I loved it. In the end I needed to get it checked out. Yep, guinea worm.


Get the knee checked out @superjohn .

 

[intlzncster]

any chance you're orthotist or PT? (I'm an orthotist)

Nope, just play one in real life RE my own extensive injury history. I've played a ton of team and extreme sports in my time, still do, and I've also spent more time than I care to remember doing physiotherapy, MRIs, xrays and what not. Sprained and broke both ankles a number of times; broken collar bone; busted up my shoulder pretty good, tears in both menisci, strained everything under the sun, broken thumb, wrist sprains, cracked ribs, numerous concussions, lower back problems, nerve problems in the feet, and probably other stuff I can't remember. I probably won't be able to walk at 70.

I pretty much do it all my physio on my own at this point, unless I have a major injury or surgery that requires a specific plan, metrics, goals/monitoring, machines etc.

I'd obviously defer to your expertise in terms of giving advise.

 

[intlzncster]

Its unreal how men avoid doctors. I had a small bump on my cheek. It slowly grew. It got to a point where it held my glasses up and I loved it. In the end I needed to get it checked out. Yep, guinea worm.@superjohn .

Should have kept him. He was doing nice work for you w the glasses thing.

 

[HuskyHawk]

This is the injection that my client's doctor wants to try on her next.

It worked well for me after I has what they thought was a torn ACL and MCL and what instead was damage to the articular cartilage (similar to Greg Oden). I'm no athlete, so microfracture surgery wasn't worth it. They cleaned it up (said it looked like a hand grenade went off in my knee) and later tried the synvisc. Dr. said it was hit or miss, helps some, not others.

Of course now I seem to have torn the hamstring tendon just behind the same knee on the outside. Been suffering for two weeks and I am now thinking about a Dr. visit. RICE isn't cutting it.

 

[intlzncster]

No, at worst the anesthesiologist screws up and you never wake up. I DO NOT like going under, so I obviously am colored there. I need to be in real bad shape to agree to any type of surgery. Some occasional swelling and tolerable pain is not enough *for me* to entertain that idea again. Thats what pisses me off about the different Dr.s Ive seen. They all want to go back in and re repair my meniscus, meanwhile telling me that within 5-10 years I will need to have my knee replaced. Either way. I told them I will just wait for the replacement.

True! I'm always optimistic about these things. I do try to avoid surgery at all cost though. I will say that the type of arthroscopic I'm talking about wouldn't bother me at all. I'll probably have it done whenever I get around to it.

I'd be LOATH to get a meniscus repair unless I was involved in competitive sports. As you say, just wait for the reconstruction.

 

[TRest]

I had a similar issue. Hurt my knee badly one day, swelled up for a week could barely walk on it then got better and forgot about it until the next time I'd play a sport that's hard on the knees like bball and it'd always end up in a 3-4 day bout of swelling. After a couple years got fed up with doctors saying its a sprain and getting an MRI, turns out I had a torn ACL and meniscus.

If you have intermittent inflammation in the knee, you should go get it checked out, it could likely be damage to the ligaments which can get worse if not treated. Good luck.

I did the same, 3-4 separate incidents where the knee blew up and subsided, basketball injuries mostly. Never had an MRI and when they finally went in to repair the meniscus (the knee practically locked up) they found my ACL had severed and withered away. I probably need another cleanup as that was over 20 years ago but as long as I can walk pain-free most days I'm putting it off.

 

[Sky ball]

Knees, meniscus, are funny things. A guy on my softball team had a meniscus tear, it seems a piece was floating around so he had no pain and then all of a sudden a lot. I remember a game where he was running in the outfield like a deer, batting he had a couple doubles and a triple and was fine. His last at bat he had a base on balls and while WALKING to 1st he went down in pain. It was almost funny as running was no issue but don't walk anywhere.

 

[Edward Sargent]

A day or two ago I woke up with a slight pain in my knee like I twisted it. Every so often this would happen years ago and my knee would swell up like crazy only to disappear later. This hasn't happened in years so I thought it was gone for good. It's not a big deal, it can last just a few days or in some cases a few weeks. It always hurts the most at night and in the morning like most things, I can deal with the pain but would like to get rid of the swelling, in the past it has swollen to double the size of the other knee and walking becomes difficult. Always assumed I had some sort of meniscus tear that never healed right but never saw a doc about it, maybe it's just bursitis or something else. Is there anything good to do to stop the swelling besides ice and elevating it as much as possible.

See a real doctor not a boneyard doctor. A bone doctor will do. Sounds like a meniscus tear and maybe a cortisone shot may be in your future.

 

[dogpause]

Having meniscus surgery, while unavoidable, tends to put you one step closer to knee replacement. I had bilateral replacement on August 26th, and I've been amazed at how well, and how quickly I've recovered. Had them done at Hartford Hospital, by Doctor Paul Murray. Highly recommend both. As a bonus, you end up a little bit taller.

 

[superjohn]

Well the pain got to be too much and I went to the doctor on Friday and unfortunately it turned out to be a worst case scenario kind of deal. Dove was right and I have the dreaded guinea worm, it probably wouldn't have been a huge deal if I dealt with it earlier but as of now they may have to amputate the leg. Advice to everyone, if you have any sort of knee pain see a doctor immediately, the guinea worm is a nightmare.

 

[Uconnrick]

Quinea worm is easily treated with massive quantities of any quality bourbon.