knee injury folks, i could use some input

CeleryStalker · February 2014

Not quite sure which forum to stick this under, but since the root of the issue is exercise, I guess here's as good a place as any. So, I got a jump start on my new year's resolution and started my workout and eating plan back in October. Made some pretty good progress, and was really into a great routine with a mix of working out at home and in small groups at the local gym.

Then came the fateful day of January 23rd. I was headed to the gym for leg night, of all things, and before I got to the sidewalk, slipped on some dang ice. My ankle and leg both twisted around with loud popping noises, in directions they weren't meant to go, and my not-so-small body came down hard on my leg as it was twisted underneath me.

I've seriously never felt anything more excruciating. Couldn't get up. Had to flail around on the ice crying until someone noticed and was able to carry me to the car where I waited for my husband to come and bring me to the ER.

Xrays show nothing broken, and they sent me home with pain meds, crutches, and a leg brace. Followed up with Dr after a week, who sent me to the orthopedic specialist. By the time I saw him, it was 2 weeks from my fall and I was so swollen he couldn't perform a proper exam. Scheduled me for MRI, which happened earlier this week. I get the read out on Tuesday.

So here we are, 3 weeks to the date of my fall. I'm still unable to bend my leg, although the swelling appears to be all gone. I am very 'stiff' for lack of better word, along the inside of my knee. I can walk with a neoprene brace and a cane, but even then, with light pressure on this leg, my knee often buckles.

I'm bugging out because as each day goes by, I am seeing my leg atrophy. I'm noticeably less fit than I was just 3 weeks ago. I'd imagine bed rest will do that to you, but this is a new experience for me so I'm kind of just freaking out. I'm assuming I've done damage to my MCL, with possible damage to my ACL, given the extensive research I've done on knee injuries whilst laid up in bed.

At this point, I just want to get back to my normal routine, but without being able to bend my leg, that's not even remotely possible. I'm nervous about what they will find, if anything, from the MRI, and hopeful it will be 'yep, you hurt yourself, keep up the brace and rest for a few more weeks and everything will be alright.' Plenty of knee injury articles out there state that MCL injuries aren't typically treated with surgery, so fingers crossed there.

At any rate, for those of you who have suffered knee injuries, can you shine a little light on what to expect, what you might think is going on, anything at all? I'd really appreciate the conversation!

CeleryStalker · February 2014

Forgot to ask the important question.....what to do in the meantime? This has wrecked my workouts! Maybe some TRX and upper body strength training...what about cardio tho? I'd love to get in some cardio, but with a bum leg, all my traditional methods are kind of off the table at this point.

knra_grl · February 2014

ouch! How about swimming? You could do most of the work with your upper body while gently introducing some movement to your leg? Sorry about your mishap!

CeleryStalker · February 2014

Thanks. It's been rough. I'm active like a toddler so sitting around doing nothing is about to kill me!!

Swimming would be nice but we've got about 6" of snow out there on the pool cover right now and the gym i go to is just a one-man shop. A room with some equipment and him.

knightreader · February 2014

the mri will most likely tell you whats wrong. x rays are pretty useless on knees, b/c they only show bone and most people don't break their knee caps. well, i guess some have them broken for them if they owe money to the wrong people.

to me, and i'm no doctor, but have had 13 knee surgeries so i know my way around the knee pretty well, it doesn't sound like acl or mcl. your leg would likely bend if that is the case. based on how you fell and that you can't bend it, my guess, and it is only a guess, is a torn meniscus.

if that is the case, physical therapy is an option, as is surgery, depending on the level and location of the tear. one thing to keep in mind is that a torn meniscus can possibly be fixed surgically athroscopically and have a quicker recovery time than physical therapy. my pt became my best friend and he often tells meniscus patients to have the surgery. its a 4 week recovery time with guaranteed results of improvement, whereas you will go to physical therapy for 4 weeks and possibly still need surgery after that. now you are 8 weeks in to it, and that is if your doc can schedule you right away, and if he can, you might want a different doc.

having said all that, you might have something different. it is impossible for someone on one end of a computer screen to diagnose someone on the other end. that's why doctors actually make you come in to the office and get some tests done.

good luck.

amflautist · February 2014

I would be back at the orthopedists asking these questions, and requesting a referral to a physical therapist.

LishieFruit89 · February 2014

Arm bike.

CeleryStalker · February 2014

the mri will most likely tell you whats wrong. x rays are pretty useless on knees, b/c they only show bone and most people don't break their knee caps. well, i guess some have them broken for them if they owe money to the wrong people.

to me, and i'm no doctor, but have had 13 knee surgeries so i know my way around the knee pretty well, it doesn't sound like acl or mcl. your leg would likely bend if that is the case. based on how you fell and that you can't bend it, my guess, and it is only a guess, is a torn meniscus.

if that is the case, physical therapy is an option, as is surgery, depending on the level and location of the tear. one thing to keep in mind is that a torn meniscus can possibly be fixed surgically athroscopically and have a quicker recovery time than physical therapy. my pt became my best friend and he often tells meniscus patients to have the surgery. its a 4 week recovery time with guaranteed results of improvement, whereas you will go to physical therapy for 4 weeks and possibly still need surgery after that. now you are 8 weeks in to it, and that is if your doc can schedule you right away, and if he can, you might want a different doc.

having said all that, you might have something different. it is impossible for someone on one end of a computer screen to diagnose someone on the other end. that's why doctors actually make you come in to the office and get some tests done.

good luck.

Thanks for the insight. Definitely not looking for diagnosis, just some chatter from folks who have been there, done that. Total suckage, that's for sure. This has been a total drag. I've busted my jaw as a kid, and had to endure two cycles of having my jaw wired shut for 8 weeks each time. That was no picnic, but a lot more tolerable than this. Being immobile is just the pits!

Oddly enough, I can't wait for the official diagnosis. I know it's common for the specialist to order MRI, especially if swelling is too severe to do a proper diagnosis just poking, pressing, pushing, pulling, etc. Kind of figured the xrays were just a bill buffer. What more do you expect from the ER? LOL I wish I had asked for an MRI then. Had I known it would be 2 weeks before I could get one, I would have!

Again, thanks for the feedback. 13 knee surgeries, Wow man.... I don't envy you!! Hope all that is in your past and not to be repeated!

dittmarml · February 2014

Another 13 surgery veteran here. Ditto guess on the meniscus, but double ditto on not basing decisions/choices on an internet forum. Like it or not your only "safe" choice for cardio right now is an arm bike as was suggested by another poster. I wouldn't even get in a pool, even if the option was available. The only other thing you can do is quad exercise; tighten and do straight leg lifts as long as there is no pain. If there is, quit. You need to wait for the orthopedists' input and referral to PT. I understand the regret associated with loss of fitness due to injury but here 's the thing to remember - your body will also remember, and you can recover what you lose...caution is best rather than risk more or worse injury or persistent inflammation as result of over stressing your knee and ending up with tendonitis for example. Good luck.

RllyGudTweetr · February 2014

First off, focus on healing, not on the 'lost progress' your injury is causing. Failure to allow for a complete recovery before I was bending my injured knee too far was called a likely contributing factor to my arthritis by my doctor.

Here's a link to 'chair exercises' you can do to get a little bit of blood flowing to your other muscles:

http://internalforcefitness.com/chair-exercises-for-work/

bheathfit · February 2014

Going to recommend that you find a Sports Medicine doctor. If your doctors are this laxed about your current situation, they likely do not know what is actually going on. When I tor my meniscus, it was a similar sound and pain. I was in surgery within 48 hours and in Physical Therapy in less than 2 weeks.

I'm not a doctor, so I'm not diagnosing anything, However, if it is meniscus, you may have a bit of trouble walking after surgery, but it comes back when tendons tighten back up. Get a good workout regiment from your physical therapist while in therapy, so you can continue to workout after therapy. Squats, bicycle and leg strengthening help my knee, running, jumping and downhills hurt my knee. Good luck and God Bless!

amybg1 · February 2014

While I've had no knee surgeries as of yet in my short-ish life, I have injured my knee and tibia five different ways at the least... As a poster suggested, arm bike if you want to do some cardio. Using crutches is hard enough on your arms workout-wise all depending on the length of time you're on them but if you feel up for it, hit the weights and do some upper-body work. Make sure the weights are comfortably heavy and don't go TOO slow on the reps but at the same time not too fast either - this always gets my blood flowing/heart pumping steadily.

If nothing needs surgical repair do the PT and follow instructions given. If they say stay home and take it easy then do it, if they encourage certain exercises do them even on the days you don't want to.

And again all depending on the injury and how your recovery is going, after the arm bike go find an indoor pool (they should have a drop-in fee) at least once a week when you're up to it and the PT gives you the go-ahead. Don't necessarily have to do laps but just neing in a pool and stretching at the hip and whatnot will be better than nothing as the water will take most of the load off

suncluster · February 2014

Another 7x knee surgery veteran here.

I empathize with your situation. I am sorry for the pause you take before every movement wondering if it is going to cause you pain. That was the most intolerable for me. I applaud you for continuing on your fitness quest. That is a testament to your strength and determination

If it is the meniscus do everything you can before you go under the knife. PT, Synvisc shots, Glucosamine, anything and everything. Surgery with Stem cells finally helped me regrow cartilage that had been scraped away over and over again till there was barely anything left.

Take comfort and remember that your pain is only temporary. You will heal it just may take some time. It will heal even faster if you supply it with all the nutrients, minerals, protein, and water it needs. This is a great opportunity to try a clean diet free of processed foods and junk that just slow your body down.

If you do need surgery look up arnica montana and nox vomica. For me, they were life savers

CeleryStalker · February 2014

All great advice, and it's greatly appreciated. Thanks so much everyone! Happy Valentine's Day!

CeleryStalker · February 2014

Hi everyone

I know you've all been on the edges of your seats waiting for an update :laugh: lol I did have some inquiries, so I thought it'd be nice to post since I had my follow up with the ortho today. He said after reviewing my MRI that it appears I have a tear in my MCL, however the majority of damage was to my medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL), in addition to a dislocated knee and a good deal of bruising. Sounds yummy, doesn't it?

He said that since I'm a 'first timer' in regards to knee dislocations, he really would prefer to opt AGAINST surgery (YES!!!!!!!), and see how we do with PT and some exercises at home. He advised that should I experience repeated dislocations (as they apparently happen more easily after your first one), or should my knee fail to stabilize with PT, surgery would be an option down the road. Said of course that everyone is different, but I should at least be recovered enough for bike riding by March, but obviously encouraged me to lay off the lower body stuff at the gym. No more box jumps for a while? Oh darn!

Things look on the up and up, PT starts tomorrow, and full recovery without surgery is the expected outcome so YAY! I'm glad it wasn't as bad as I thought, perplexed that in all my reading I never came across any information about the MPFL, and grossed out over the idea of having a dislocated anything. Super gross! :sick: I was looking over my 'exercises' that I need to start doing. One of them is physically moving my kneecap with my hands, pulling it back into position. Come on, man! LOL! Heebie jeebies just thinking about it. :noway:

Thanks again for the conversation and support!

knee injury folks, i could use some input

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