Knee pain

[nneJ]

Two weeks ago I felt a little *ping* in my knee as I was standing up from a push-up position.  I thought nothing of it until I went to put weight on said knee and it exploded in pain.  Walking it off didn't work, so I finished the weights class I was doing one-legged.  The knee got more and more painful as the day went on, cumulating in having to crawl up the steps and being kept awake all night.  I made a somewhat panicked doctor appointment.  Naturally, one hour before said appointment the pain vanished almost completely.  I kept the appointment because with my luck if I didn't the knee would go assplodey again.  Anyhoo, me and the doctor decided that while the fact that the pain was clearly in the joint (hello cartilage), cartilage injuries just don't get better that fast.  So I had probably just "pinched" the cartilage a bit.  Having a rather serious attachment to my cartilage, I liked that explanation a lot.  We said that if it wasn't better in 2 weeks we'd reassess.

An hour later, my knee regressed to the unable to climb stairs even a little bit level.  Over the course of the following two weeks and with complete rest it has gradually gotten better.  Around day 12 I could climb stairs pain free, but was still getting a fair number of twinges.  Day 14 I went for a short run and it felt ok, twingy, but ok.  Day 15 I went for a longer run and it still felt ok.  Day 16 I went for a bike ride and it felt ok, but then got real sore after and is now back to being pretty sore and stairs aren't awesome.



I'm not sure I can mentally handle another two weeks off.  I don't want or need an MRI.  If there is a tear there, it's a small one.  I'm not sure if I should go back to the Dr or not.  Not sure there's anything he can do for me other than tell me to rest.

Is there any chance that I can just run easy and get through this? Is there value in going to the Dr? 

[iwuzwilson]

Two weeks ago I felt a little *ping* in my knee as I was standing up from a push-up position.  I thought nothing of it until I went to put weight on said knee and it exploded in pain.  Walking it off didn't work, so I finished the weights class I was doing one-legged.  The knee got more and more painful as the day went on, cumulating in having to crawl up the steps and being kept awake all night.  I made a somewhat panicked doctor appointment.  Naturally, one hour before said appointment the pain vanished almost completely.  I kept the appointment because with my luck if I didn't the knee would go assplodey again.  Anyhoo, me and the doctor decided that while the fact that the pain was clearly in the joint (hello cartilage), cartilage injuries just don't get better that fast.  So I had probably just "pinched" the cartilage a bit.  Having a rather serious attachment to my cartilage, I liked that explanation a lot.  We said that if it wasn't better in 2 weeks we'd reassess.

An hour later, my knee regressed to the unable to climb stairs even a little bit level.  Over the course of the following two weeks and with complete rest it has gradually gotten better.  Around day 12 I could climb stairs pain free, but was still getting a fair number of twinges.  Day 14 I went for a short run and it felt ok, twingy, but ok.  Day 15 I went for a longer run and it still felt ok.  Day 16 I went for a bike ride and it felt ok, but then got real sore after and is now back to being pretty sore and stairs aren't awesome.



I'm not sure I can mentally handle another two weeks off.  I don't want or need an MRI.  If there is a tear there, it's a small one.  I'm not sure if I should go back to the Dr or not.  Not sure there's anything he can do for me other than tell me to rest.

Is there any chance that I can just run easy and get through this? Is there value in going to the Dr? 

Maybe a meniscus tear. Sometimes they heal on their own, sometimes it's just a little snip through arthroscopy. Could be less could be more (but hopefully not the latter). My rule of thumb, if something sets you back for three weeks (and rest/ice ibuprofen, etc don't help) it's time to get it checked, and that means if you're into your third week of pain then it's time to make an appointment.

[siamesedream]

I don't have a lot of experience with injuries, but I would say: don't run through it, you might cause further damage.

[nneJ]

I don't have a lot of experience with injuries, but I would say: don't run through it, you might cause further damage.

What if I make a puppydog face?  Does that change your answer?   

[nneJ]

Maybe a meniscus tear. Sometimes they heal on their own, sometimes it's just a little snip through arthroscopy. Could be less could be more (but hopefully not the latter). My rule of thumb, if something sets you back for three weeks (and rest/ice ibuprofen, etc don't help) it's time to get it checked, and that means if you're into your third week of pain then it's time to make an appointment.

IF it is torn, it's the smallest tear ever.  Surgery would be massive overkill.

But, yeah. 

*grump*

[siamesedream]

What if I make a puppydog face?  Does that change your answer?   

I would admire your cuteness, but my answer would be the same.

[diablita]

pregnant women have strange knee problems

[nneJ]

pregnant women have strange knee problems

I am not pregnant.  Not even a little bit.   

[nneJ]

Also, I sent an email to my Dr.

[wherestheportojohn]

 

[nneJ]

Had an MRI this morning and the tech let me look at the images.  I saw a pretty hefty bone bruise on my medial condyle of the femur.  I saw maybe a wee bit of clouding on the edge of the cartilage or maybe that was just an edge effect.  I didn't get a good look because 1. I'm not that good at reading MRIs and 2. she was going through the sections pretty quickly and I didn't want to take up her time taking the time *I* would need to get a good read.

I can't find a google indicating that a bone bruise can come from a cartilage tear, but I can't imagine how standing up from a push up created a bone bruise either.

I'm an enigma, wrapped in a mystery and deep fried in intrigue.

Or I should just wait to see what the radiologist has to say about it.   

[wherestheportojohn]

 

[nneJ]

Got the OFFICIAL MRI results this morning.  I have bone bruise.  And the edge of my cartilage is starting to wear down/fray.  The word "osteoarthritis" was uttered at me.  I *might* have called the dr a bastid at that point.  BUT, the wear is pretty minimal, there is still plenty of cartilage left for me to grind through before this becomes an actual issue.

So I'm cleared to do low impact type stuff (bike, swim, etc.) and if that all goes well I can start running again, but basically build up from nothing to bring the bone along.

[siamesedream]

Yay!

[iwuzwilson]

This is both bad and good news for you. Now you know what you are dealing with. Have they prescribed any PT? That helped me a lot. They had me do exercises to help stabilize my quads. I still get some knee pain most days but it's fleeting.

Have told my story of bone bruise/fracture/osteoarthritis here. That all happened in 2009 and 2010. Since then I've put in about 8000 miles of running plus another 4000 miles of xc skiing and can still run ca. 1:20 for the half marathon on a good day.

[radial]

Getting the first of three Synvisc injections in a few minutes.

[nneJ]

This is both bad and good news for you. Now you know what you are dealing with. Have they prescribed any PT? That helped me a lot. They had me do exercises to help stabilize my quads. I still get some knee pain most days but it's fleeting.

The doctor threw out PT as an option, but I know my PT well enough to know what he would have me do.  So I'm going to give it a week or two of my own work and go from there.

Rode ~15 miles on the bike last night - pretty low level of effort except for one hill that you can't half ass up.  My knee twinged several times, but feels no worse today.  I do declare woohoo about that. 

[nneJ]

Getting the first of three Synvisc injections in a few minutes.

My dad gets those.  Says they seem to help.

 

[radial]

My dad gets those.  Says they seem to help.

 

You hear about such a wide variety of results.  Some people experience no improvement at all.  Other people people get excellent results.  I figured, what the hell.  Osteoarthritis has been eating my right knee for 15 years and I will eventually end up with a TKR, so I have nothing to lose by giving this a shot (heh).  The injection yesterday was painless and over in about 30 seconds.  I get two more, one every week for the next two weeks, to complete the series.  I know I should keep my mouth shut to avoid the jinx, but my knee feels SO much better this morning that I'm really hopeful this is going to provide some relief for me.   Pain has gone from a constant 4.5 to a 1.0.  Maybe placebo, maybe not.  But it feels really good to be able to walk without the constant sensation of pain. 

[nneJ]

You hear about such a wide variety of results.  Some people experience no improvement at all.  Other people people get excellent results.  I figured, what the hell.  Osteoarthritis has been eating my right knee for 15 years and I will eventually end up with a TKR, so I have nothing to lose by giving this a shot (heh).  The injection yesterday was painless and over in about 30 seconds.  I get two more, one every week for the next two weeks, to complete the series.  I know I should keep my mouth shut to avoid the jinx, but my knee feels SO much better this morning that I'm really hopeful this is going to provide some relief for me.   Pain has gone from a constant 4.5 to a 1.0.  Maybe placebo, maybe not.  But it feels really good to be able to walk without the constant sensation of pain. 

 

and