Diagnosed with contusion of the left knee

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I had pain in the outer part of my left knee for about 2 weeks. It gets noticeably more when its fully bent and my calves are closer to my thighs (like in squats)

The orthopedic asked for an X-Ray and today he told me that I have contusion of knee (to be more technical : early osteoarthritic changes of the left knee joint in the form of narrowed tibio-femoral joint space)

I got used to doing bootcamp sessions for 1 hour , three times a day. Does that mean I have to stop? Doctor says stick to walking and loose weight to lift pressure off the knees.

walking just doesn't cut it for me, not to mention I will miss boot camp and my work out buddies !

What to do ?

Replies

  • knightreader
    knightreader Posts: 813 Member
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    soooooooooo, you're looking for some stranger over the internet to give you better advice than your ortho doctor? you know the answer to your question, you are just looking for someone to tell you what you want to hear since the doctor didn't.

    having had my share of knee issues, i will agree with your doc. i don't think boot camp is out of your life forever, but drop some weight, which can be done by walking and eating better, trust me, i did it, then once there is less pressure on your knee joints, you will be able to enjoy boot camp again. and your body will thank you.

    good luck.
  • AADarwish
    AADarwish Posts: 29 Member
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    soooooooooo, you're looking for some stranger over the internet to give you better advice than your ortho doctor? you know the answer to your question, you are just looking for someone to tell you what you want to hear since the doctor didn't.

    having had my share of knee issues, i will agree with your doc. i don't think boot camp is out of your life forever, but drop some weight, which can be done by walking and eating better, trust me, i did it, then once there is less pressure on your knee joints, you will be able to enjoy boot camp again. and your body will thank you.

    good luck.

    Thanks for the advice knight, this will be my new task to get back to BC asap !
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    I had pain in the outer part of my left knee for about 2 weeks.....

    The orthopedic asked for an X-Ray and today he told me that I have contusion of knee....

    I got used to doing bootcamp sessions for 1 hour , three times a day. Does that mean I have to stop?.....

    Doctor says stick to walking......

    What to do ?


    Wait, what was the question again?

    And who the heck does boot camp 3x per day? Marines don't do boot camp 3x per day. Please tell me that's a typo and you meant per week. Normally I would assume you meant per week but if people are eating entire packs of cheese dogs every single day I'm going to stop making assumptions about what is and isn't likely
  • AADarwish
    AADarwish Posts: 29 Member
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    I had pain in the outer part of my left knee for about 2 weeks.....

    I got used to doing bootcamp sessions for 1 hour , three times a day. Does that mean I have to stop?.....

    Doctor says stick to walking......

    What to do ?

    LOOOL sorry to put you in such a confusion back there, yes its 3 times a week, 1 hour per session
    Wait, what was the question again?

    And who the heck does bit camp 3x per day? Marines don't do boot camp 3x per day. Please tell me that's a typo and you meant per week. Normally I would assume you meant per week but if people are eating entire packs of cheese dogs every single day I'm going to stop making assumptions about what is and isn't likely
  • frangrann
    frangrann Posts: 219 Member
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    You probably need to do something less hard on your knees. It's not worth suffering pain and injury, that could sideline you even longer, to continue at this time.
    A contusion is like if you got hit or fell on your knee. The dx sounds like arthritis which gets worse as we age. Loosing weight and strengthening quads/hams will certainly help. Boot camp is tough on knees because of all the quick movements, jumping and side moving.

    Good luck.
  • AADarwish
    AADarwish Posts: 29 Member
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    You probably need to do something less hard on your knees. It's not worth suffering pain and injury, that could sideline you even longer, to continue at this time.
    A contusion is like if you got hit or fell on your knee. The dx sounds like arthritis which gets worse as we age. Loosing weight and strengthening quads/hams will certainly help. Boot camp is tough on knees because of all the quick movements, jumping and side moving.

    Good luck.

    Thank you frangrann .. I guess I will put my BC days on hold for now
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    Early oa =\= contusion

    Re-discuss with doc. Early oa could be degenerative. A contusion is generally swelling following injury which self resolves. Two very different things.
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
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    I'm not a doctor and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but for what my opinion is worth...

    More is not necessarily better when it comes to fitness. If you are indeed doing boot camp classes 3 times a day, stop it! That's too much and you don't need to do that. At some point, you need to up the intensity of exercise instead of the duration. Follow your doc's advise and let your knees rest for a month and allow the acute inflammation to resolve. When you resume working out, find something that is more intense that you can do for 30 - 60 minutes a day to get the same calorie burn. Also look at changing up your routine on a regular basis to alleviate the repetitive strain you are placing on your joints. Our joints are mechanical devices. Repetitive motion is the enemy of mechanical devices, as it causes wear and tear.

    Once you allow the acute inflammatory process to resolve (by following your doc's advice), work in some exercise that is easier on the knees, such as swimming, cycling, yoga, and pilates. Also, consider lifting heavy weights (heavy weights at low reps) and see how your knees tolerate that.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    I'm not a doctor and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but for what my opinion is worth...

    More is not necessarily better when it comes to fitness. If you are indeed doing boot camp classes 3 times a day, stop it! That's too much and you don't need to do that. At some point, you need to up the intensity of exercise instead of the duration. Follow your doc's advise and let your knees rest for a month and allow the acute inflammation to resolve. When you resume working out, find something that is more intense that you can do for 30 - 60 minutes a day to get the same calorie burn. Also look at changing up your routine on a regular basis to alleviate the repetitive strain you are placing on your joints. Our joints are mechanical devices. Repetitive motion is the enemy of mechanical devices, as it causes wear and tear.

    Once you allow the acute inflammatory process to resolve (by following your doc's advice), work in some exercise that is easier on the knees, such as swimming, cycling, yoga, and pilates. Also, consider lifting heavy weights (heavy weights at low reps) and see how your knees tolerate that.

    Squats and deadlifts?
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
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    I'm not a doctor and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but for what my opinion is worth...

    More is not necessarily better when it comes to fitness. If you are indeed doing boot camp classes 3 times a day, stop it! That's too much and you don't need to do that. At some point, you need to up the intensity of exercise instead of the duration. Follow your doc's advise and let your knees rest for a month and allow the acute inflammation to resolve. When you resume working out, find something that is more intense that you can do for 30 - 60 minutes a day to get the same calorie burn. Also look at changing up your routine on a regular basis to alleviate the repetitive strain you are placing on your joints. Our joints are mechanical devices. Repetitive motion is the enemy of mechanical devices, as it causes wear and tear.

    Once you allow the acute inflammatory process to resolve (by following your doc's advice), work in some exercise that is easier on the knees, such as swimming, cycling, yoga, and pilates. Also, consider lifting heavy weights (heavy weights at low reps) and see how your knees tolerate that.

    Squats and deadlifts?

    Please note that I specifically advised the OP to allow the acute inflammation that he is experiencing to resolve before trying to lift, and I also implied in my last sentence that his knees may or may not tolerate heavy lifting.

    I would suspect that he has two processes going on in his knees. He likely has the chronic issue of degenerative osteoarthritis, which is exacerbated by repetitive motion and being overweight. He also likely has an acute process that is causing an effusion, or collection of fluid in and around the joint capsule, which is likely caused by the stress and overuse of engaging in boot camp three times a day.

    Once the acute process of effusion and inflammation is resolved by rest and refraining from extreme overuse, the OP may tolerate heavy lifting for an hour or so three times a week quite well. I have degenerative OA in both knees due to grade 4 (bone on bone) chondromalacia. I tolerate squats and deadlifts quite well.
  • AADarwish
    AADarwish Posts: 29 Member
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    I'm not a doctor and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but for what my opinion is worth...

    More is not necessarily better when it comes to fitness. If you are indeed doing boot camp classes 3 times a day, stop it! That's too much and you don't need to do that. At some point, you need to up the intensity of exercise instead of the duration. Follow your doc's advise and let your knees rest for a month and allow the acute inflammation to resolve. When you resume working out, find something that is more intense that you can do for 30 - 60 minutes a day to get the same calorie burn. Also look at changing up your routine on a regular basis to alleviate the repetitive strain you are placing on your joints. Our joints are mechanical devices. Repetitive motion is the enemy of mechanical devices, as it causes wear and tear.

    Once you allow the acute inflammatory process to resolve (by following your doc's advice), work in some exercise that is easier on the knees, such as swimming, cycling, yoga, and pilates. Also, consider lifting heavy weights (heavy weights at low reps) and see how your knees tolerate that.

    Squats and deadlifts?

    Please note that I specifically advised the OP to allow the acute inflammation that he is experiencing to resolve before trying to lift, and I also implied in my last sentence that his knees may or may not tolerate heavy lifting.

    I would suspect that he has two processes going on in his knees. He likely has the chronic issue of degenerative osteoarthritis, which is exacerbated by repetitive motion and being overweight. He also likely has an acute process that is causing an effusion, or collection of fluid in and around the joint capsule, which is likely caused by the stress and overuse of engaging in boot camp three times a day.

    Once the acute process of effusion and inflammation is resolved by rest and refraining from extreme overuse, the OP may tolerate heavy lifting for an hour or so three times a week quite well. I have degenerative OA in both knees due to grade 4 (bone on bone) chondromalacia. I tolerate squats and deadlifts quite well.

    Hi MyownSunshine, actually it was a typo and I meant 3 times a week, each session is 1 hour :)

    but thank you for the input and I do like your analysis of the injury.

    The doctor at the first visit checked the knee by presses and pressure and found nothing, when then he asked for an X-Ray this showed the contusion and reduction of joint space
  • siqiniq
    siqiniq Posts: 237 Member
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    I had pain in the outer part of my left knee for about 2 weeks. It gets noticeably more when its fully bent and my calves are closer to my thighs (like in squats)

    The orthopedic asked for an X-Ray and today he told me that I have contusion of knee (to be more technical : early osteoarthritic changes of the left knee joint in the form of narrowed tibio-femoral joint space)

    I got used to doing bootcamp sessions for 1 hour , three times a day. Does that mean I have to stop? Doctor says stick to walking and loose weight to lift pressure off the knees.

    walking just doesn't cut it for me, not to mention I will miss boot camp and my work out buddies !

    What to do ?

    Squatting is one of the worst things you can do to your knees.
  • AADarwish
    AADarwish Posts: 29 Member
    Options
    I had pain in the outer part of my left knee for about 2 weeks. It gets noticeably more when its fully bent and my calves are closer to my thighs (like in squats)

    The orthopedic asked for an X-Ray and today he told me that I have contusion of knee (to be more technical : early osteoarthritic changes of the left knee joint in the form of narrowed tibio-femoral joint space)

    I got used to doing bootcamp sessions for 1 hour , three times a day. Does that mean I have to stop? Doctor says stick to walking and loose weight to lift pressure off the knees.

    walking just doesn't cut it for me, not to mention I will miss boot camp and my work out buddies !

    What to do ?

    Squatting is one of the worst things you can do to your knees.

    Yes, the doctor told me to avoid anything that has to do with squats, lunges, tuck jumps, etc.

    I need to get more walking and swimming into my routine
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Try to join a "proper" swimming class where you learn competitive swimming styles. Trust me, an hour of that will leave you as spent as bootcamp with way less pressure on the knee. Once you lose the weight and the inflammation (hopefully) goes down, you could try to rejoin you previous class.
  • SusanUW83
    SusanUW83 Posts: 152 Member
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    Water running and water aerobics another really good rehab activity.
  • AADarwish
    AADarwish Posts: 29 Member
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    Thank you, I do enjoy swimming, but not having proper access here in Saudi to public pools without having to pay loads of money for a yearly membership has cut my swimming enjoyment :(
  • GeminiFitness1
    GeminiFitness1 Posts: 63 Member
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    Have you tried any foam rolling the IT bands because they connect from the upper quad to the outer knee.
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
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    I have severe osteoarthritis in my hip. My doctor told me not to do anything high impact. With trial and error I have found exercises that work for me. The elliptical is great, better than the treadmill because of the sliding motion. I just recently started adding leg presses but I have to watch it. If my hip hurts at all, even the slightest, I stop and will return in a few days with lighter weights. There are exercises I simply can't do and I have to accept that.

    You don't have to give up exercising totally and in fact you shouldn't. Exercise will help with the pain. I've felt so much better since I started exercising to the point that I'm almost totally off my pain meds for my arthritis. But you do have to be smart about it. If it hurts your knee, stop doing it. Find something else that will hurt less but still move that knee.

    And foam rolling! I am a huge fan of foam rolling. I will limp into the gym, in pain, foam roll and start my workouts with a spring to my step. I highly recommend foam rolling.
  • AADarwish
    AADarwish Posts: 29 Member
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    Never heard of foam rolling before, will deff get one and give it a try and check some moves on YouTube :) Thanks all