Hello folks. About six weeks ago, I strained or sprained my knee. I slipped on the stairs and it folded under me. At the three week mark, I got to about 85 percent recovery. But since then I have stalled. It’s even been worse on some days.

I’m assuming I’ll need some kind of therapy. I know it’s not possible to get a medical diagnosis here, but some advice from people who have been through this would be helpful. Is more light walking a good idea?

The pain isn’t incapacitating, just tiring and annoying.

Any advice?

Sounds like me when I tore the cartilage in my knee.

Thought it was just a sprain. Tried to recover on my own. Recovery stalled. Dealt with the mild-to-moderate pain for months, figuring it would go away. Ended up sucking it up and going to the doctor. Got an MRI. Diagnosed with torn meniscus. Quick knee scope surgery to clear the shredded cartilage. Back to 100% within a month.

Go see your doctor.

Yeah, I wrecked my right knee and the only cure was surgery.

Go see bone doc.

P.S. You can make it worse without proper treatment.

Not a doctor but have you taken anti-inflammatory pills like Aleve or Advil for several days to see if it's just inflammation?

quote:

Is more light walking a good idea?

No idea. You really should get it looked at by an orthopedic doc.

Six weeks is a while to be still having issues. NSAIDs can help but again without knowing the underlying issues, it's hard to tell.

Lots of things could have happened when you fell.

As someone that has had knee issues, I would see a doc. If your insurance allows you too without a referral do some research call one and make an appointment. This is what I did years ago when I had knee issues that didn't go away. An MRI later and I knew what the issue was and what would help and what wouldn't.

FWIW my doc, who was a highly recommended orthopedic surgeon, didn't say the surgery was my only or best option.

I did the same thing while dirt bike riding many moons ago. It got a little better after awhile but I ended up at a doctors office and it turned out to be torn cartilage. Minor surgery fixed it right up.

Jim

Thanks for the replies. You’ve been very helpful. I’ll start looking for a doc.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:
I did the same thing while dirt bike riding many moons ago. It got a little better after awhile but I ended up at a doctors office and it turned out to be torn cartilage. Minor surgery fixed it right up.

Jim

Different reason, but same result for me about 14 years ago.

I was doing leg presses at the gym using good form and a weight I could do 12+ reps on, and my knee kept getting inflamed. I would take Alleve or Motrin on a schedule for a few days, and not do legs in the gym for 2 or more weeks. Then, I'd test it out and it'd feel fine so I'd go back to my normal leg routine. Then it'd inflame again, then it'd heal again, rinse and repeat.

Finally, I switched my leg routine up and did squats instead of leg press. A few weeks into it, I heard and felt a pop in my knee.

Sports Med knee surgeon examined, sent me in for MRI, the MRI showed a tear in the meniscus (i.e. cartilage), and he scheduled me for knee surgery. Once he got the scope in there, he was surprised to find scar tissue from hundreds of tears in cartilage. He estimated some were 10 to 15 years old and some were from that same year.

Spokane,
I hope you get better. I kept putting off going to the dr about my knee until I could not walk. Not a good plan. I ended up finding out I had a torn miniscus which let to arthroscopic surgery. After 2 years, I would say I am back to 80%.
In my case, I will say “Getting old sucks, but it’s better than the alternative”.
Hang in there.

quote:

Originally posted by Spokane228:
Thanks for the replies. You’ve been very helpful. I’ll start looking for a doc.

Depending on your age and activity level you'll want to decide between a regular orthopedic doctor/surgeon and a sports med orthopedic doctor/surgeon.

If you're real active, the sports med guy/gal will likely have a different goal for your knee in terms of what to live with (i.e. not recommend surgery) and goals of physical therapy. On the physical therapy end, in my experience it's night and day going to a sports med physical therapy where everyone is trying to get right back to their old high activity level versus a regular physical therapy place who mainly sees hip and knee replacement people just thrilled to be walking pain free again.

When I tore up my other knee 2 years ago, I did two physical therapy sessions at the regular physical therapy place closest to my office. There were only two of us in there who had not had a joint replacement, and they were planning to discharge me after 4 measly visits. I switched over to the sports med physical therapy place, and they had a 6 week plan for me that not only had me walking without a limp but they had me doing agility drills and other strenuous activities which was one or two orders of magnitude further than the regular PT place would've pushed me.

I am guessing you are in Spokane. If you need the name of a good ortho in town let me know.

quote:

Originally posted by Stlhead:
I am guessing you are in Spokane. If you need the name of a good ortho in town let me know.

You’d think, but I just like the way Spokane sounds.

Doing research online I’m seeing that after a year, arthroscopic surgery has similar outcomes as doing nothing. And without the possible complications. I suspect doctors are beginning to think surgery in many cases is over prescribed. It’s really confusing.

quote:

Doing research online....

Is one of the worst things you can do. How are you doing "research" without a diagnosis?
Find a guy or gal with letters behind their name, get a diagnosis, hopefully an MRI and a professional opinion.

If you don't need surgery, GREAT.
If you do, wasting more time does not make it better, easier or faster to recover from.
Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:

quote:

Doing research online....

Is one of the worst things you can do. How are you doing "research" without a diagnosis?
Find a guy or gal with letters behind their name, get a diagnosis, hopefully an MRI and a professional opinion.

If you don't need surgery, GREAT.
If you do, wasting more time does not make it better, easier or faster to recover from.
Good luck!

The sports med orthopedic surgeon had a good comment about people who accuse surgeons of being cutters. He saw 10 patients an hour 4 days per week and only performed surgery 1 day per week. In other words, the pros only perform surgery on people who rest & anti-inflammatories or PT won't cure.

Most orthos I know have plenty of business and make one of the highest salaries in medicine. Ask to see an ortho who specializes in knees.

When I had my knee done, the good doctor did 10 surgeries in the same day. It was his first day working after a vacation. I was #10. 3 tiny scars and I was walking normally in 5 days. Everything has been fine for 25+ years.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:

quote:

Doing research online....

Is one of the worst things you can do. How are you doing "research" without a diagnosis?
Find a guy or gal with letters behind their name, get a diagnosis, hopefully an MRI and a professional opinion.

If you don't need surgery, GREAT.
If you do, wasting more time does not make it better, easier or faster to recover from.
Good luck!

The sports med orthopedic surgeon had a good comment about people who accuse surgeons of being cutters. He saw 10 patients an hour 4 days per week and only performed surgery 1 day per week. In other words, the pros only perform surgery on people who rest & anti-inflammatories or PT won't cure.

Have you tried icing your knee?
Frozen peas work well as they conform to the contours of your knee.
Keep a layer of cloth, tee shirt, between the ice and your skin.
I've had knee problems for years and a total replacement is scheduled for late July.
Anyway, icing 3x daily and acetaminophen provide some relief.
Hope your situation improves soon.

quote:

Originally posted by Spokane228:

quote:

Originally posted by Stlhead:
I am guessing you are in Spokane. If you need the name of a good ortho in town let me know.

You’d think, but I just like the way Spokane sounds.

Doing research online I’m seeing that after a year, arthroscopic surgery has similar outcomes as doing nothing. And without the possible complications. I suspect doctors are beginning to think surgery in many cases is over prescribed. It’s really confusing.

You can't know how to fix your problem until you know what your problem is.

Go see a doctor.

quote:

Originally posted by msfzoe:
Have you tried icing your knee?
Frozen peas work well as they conform to the contours of your knee.
Keep a layer of cloth, tee shirt, between the ice and your skin.
I've had knee problems for years and a total replacement is scheduled for late July.
Anyway, icing 3x daily and acetaminophen provide some relief.
Hope your situation improves soon.

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