kneed advice

Berked up my left knee Sunday night while climbing at work, ankle twisted and tweaked the knee sideways w/ stabbing pain making it to want to drop out instantly, caught myself and once on the ground w/ everything straightened up it was OK. Later while just walking on uneven ground the knee moved sideways again and almost put me on the ground, several times later too. Started wearing an elastic compression wrap w/ decent results but if the joint is not perfectly straight it wants to bug out. It takes a conscious effort w/ every step to keep it aligned.

Saw the express-docs Tuesday, X-rays of bones are OK, been using their recommendation of compression, rest, elevation and ice w/ some relief but any twist, turn, pivot or excessive load can still cause the stab and drop if I don't calculate every step.

Opted to upgrade to a pharmacy off the shelf adjustable knee brace w/ hinges Wednesday, takes the load off the joint and the hinges help keep the joint aligned straight... no more sideways E36 M3. Also, it prevents the leg/ joint from moving backwards (exaggerated)... but that was a problem too while walking or standing.

No doubt I'll definitely follow up w/ a orthopedist at this point. The express-docs kinda fluffed it off but the stabbing pain/ drop tell me otherwise... this kinda E36 M3 ain't s'posed to happen. Yea, it can be downright scary.

Google fu'd out at this point but kinda narrowed it down to meniscus, arthritis or ligament at this point.

.... and this is where I ask for GRM advice... cuz ya know, good advice/ experiences are always found here.

TIA

Orthopedist and MRI - ASAP! Sounds like some ligaments to me.

Ligaments to me too, ACL or MCL. I am surprised the doc in the box didn't do a simple knee stabilization test checking the ligaments. X-ray would somewhat remove meniscus issues, outside of a tear.

You need an alignment. Your camber and angle are off.

Might be a good time to ask this crowd for recommendations on joint pain/ irritation and joint health/ supplements. At 54, I kinda thought I was doin' okay but anymore these annoying gremlins seem to set up camp in my wrists, knuckles, shoulder, neck, ankles etc for days/ weeks or months.

I've always been able to work through it but... no E36 M3, anymore it's turned into a berkeleying traveling road show around my skeleton.

I mother-berked my knees (yes both of them) in the same year about a decade ago. In similiar fashion twisting and falling sideways. It was very unpleasant to say the least. Consulted with all the right people and they concluded I had pulled some ligaments badly but not broken anything. They concluded I needed to wear a brace with the side supports for about 6 weeks and keep it elevated, try not to do any major physical stuff for a while and such. They both healed independantly, but have never been quite the same. I still wear the brace with hinges when I do serious twisting excersise (skating, hockey, and such) I would consult a real orthopedist as your resuts may vary. The orhtopedist also said knee surgery would likely be in my future but not yet. I am hoping to holdout on surgery until they damn near perfect knee repair/replacement.

My left knee has been broken once and dislocated three times, the last go round resulted in a torn ACL. On an MRI it looks like two feathers trying to berkeley. This was circa 1998, they were talking an ACL from a cadaver, uh, no thanks.

Instead, I got a stairstepper and started working it out to build up the muscles. Since twisting type injuries cause the most damage, I got a pair of CTi custom fit knee braces and wore them when racing dirt bikes. It worked well for years; as of today I have not had to have knee surgery. I occasionally get a twinge or two, once in a while I do something dumb and it swells up for a day or so and I really do not want to run too far, but generally walking and other everyday activities are no problem.

Doc in the box did you no favors. Stay off of it, until you get to a real ortho doc. Need to get the swelling down. Don't keep immobile, but keep weight off of it.

Well it's been a little over 5 weeks since arthroscopic surgery. After initially discussing the procedure w/ the surgeon I first thought it was just going to be a ten minute tune-up. In post-op I was told there was a minimal tear in the meniscus that was repaired and a small piece of cartilage that was floating around was removed. Ligaments were OK. Vicodin for 36 hrs, elevation and ice pack, and using a crutch for less than a week kinda reaffirmed my thoughts of easy button surgery.

Two weeks later at the follow up appt. I learned differently when the PA said: dude, I don't know what you did to that knee but you really berkeleyed it up good. The major problem was the bones were scraping and abrading. They did a scrape and polish, routine I was told. I about fell off the table when she told me I'll need a partial or full knee replacement down the road.... mileage unknown at this point but I never saw that coming and well, that changes everything... work, hobbies, projects... that's all gonna be affected... but most of all my rude awakening that I'm not bulletproof anymore. PT is coming along well, should be back to work in a coupla- few weeks.

Bottom line: You are never as bulletproof as you might think. I'll jump on the soapbox and reiterate what many have said here and get it looked at immediately. Yea, I'm a whiny ass bitch when E36 M3 don't go my way but as I see it now I'm not gonna build my new garage-majal, finish my project truck, drag new projects home etc. ... pretty much I'm losing my GRMness.

prolly giving up the third pedal for the time being, now that hurts.

I royally screwed mine up when I was a teenager. At 15, I rolled a gokart and bruised one bad enough that the cartridge softened and got all kinds of nifty ridges in it. It still grinds and creaks going up stairs and ladders. The following summer I helped roof a house. Favoring the bad knee, I destroyed the good one. It's not as bad as the first one, but it's close. The doc said surgery by age 25. I'm 45 now, and haven't seen a orthopedist since. I'll go see him when I can't do deep knee bends without a crane. Yes, they hurt on occasion, if I do something stupid, but not bad enough to spend $$$$$ on surgery.

Like Curmudgeon said, strengthen the muscles around the knee. Muscles will take a whole lot more abuse than joints will. Make them do the work and take some of the load off the joint.

When you go see the doc, tell him you want to try PT first unless something is obviously, badly, screwed up. A lot of them are quick to whip out the knife for a look see. It rings the cash register for them a lot better than exercise does.

I have issues with my right knee (swelling, fluid on the knee, and a bakers cyst), but 2 MRIs later and the ortho doc still can't figure out what's wrong with it. Had the fluid drained off twice only to have it come back in under a week. Did braces and PT without much luck, so the doc recommended a cortisone injection. I wasn't too keen on that, but the next step was exploratory surgery. The injection itself sucked (straight in the front under the knee cap) but the relief was incredible. The fluid and the bakers cyst are gone now and half the pain left too.

Toyman01 wrote: Like Curmudgeon said, strengthen the muscles around the knee. Muscles will take a whole lot more abuse than joints will. Make them do the work and take some of the load off the joint. When you go see the doc, tell him you want to try PT first unless something is obviously, badly, screwed up. A lot of them are quick to whip out the knife for a look see. It rings the cash register for them a lot better than exercise does.

PT has been excellent, they really know their E36 M3. Isolating muscle groups in workout is really paying off in strengthening muscles as mentioned but the last few sessions they really stepped up my workout, thought they way over did it a few times but they always bring me back at the end. I walk and climb stairs on my own to my limits, usually the mall or grocery store etc. One good day of walking so far usually equals ice that night and resting the next day, so I'm not ready for work at all as I walk a E36 M3load ton plus stoop, climb and crawl etc. I use an elliptical at home to keep loosened up on my days off PT but my cable weight machine is off limits per therapists.

I absolutely dread the knife route, will trust my PTers to get me back to where I need to be and stick to their recommendations religiously. So far, so good there. I'll see where it goes from there, this is really the first major time in my life at over 50 that I'm totally dependent on other peoples recommendations for my well being into the future. But one thing for sure is I don't wanna rely on berkeleying pills just to get me through a shift at work anymore.

In reply to fasted58: i played rugby for 20 years, so both my knees are all berkleyed, a few years ago my left knee was having some of the same symptoms, in addition to pt my ortho had me get some custom made orthodic shoe inserts, amazing results for $250 spent. apparently the inserts help redistribute your weight so the knee doesn't have as much outward presure, in my case not only is their damage, i'm also carrying more weight. you may be too

grouperalley wrote: In reply to fasted58: i played rugby for 20 years, so both my knees are all berkleyed, a few years ago my left knee was having some of the same symptoms, in addition to pt my ortho had me get some custom made orthodic shoe inserts, amazing results for $250 spent. apparently the inserts help redistribute your weight so the knee doesn't have as much outward presure, in my case not only is their damage, i'm also carrying more weight. you may be too

Thanks grouperalley. I have prescription insoles for arch support/ heel spur on same side as the bad knee, not sure if they are specific to relieve knee pressure tho. I'm about 25 pounds over my comfort weight which doesn't help the knees and joints. Wasn't that long ago I could walk up to seven miles/ night and keep the weight off. Besides adjusting my diet I'll ask PT for a exercise/ weight loss regimen next time in.