[Jr_Bullit]

Wish me luck! I get to go see an Orthopedic dude today - he's going to poke at my knees and see what's wrong and why it hurts so bloody bad to run or walk down hill. The x-rays, fortunately, said it's not arthritis, so we've ruled out the ickiest problem.

Now to see if I can avoid surgery or more pain .

 

[biggins]

i thought this was gonna be a post with a bunch of long articles about knees......


however let me kow cause i have the same problem in my right knee. walking down hill (not running cause i despise running) my knee feels like its gonna explode out the side.

 

[Jr_Bullit]

Sounds familiar when I was a kid I always complained of (and wore big fancy braces on my legs as a result) a popping sound that actually felt like my leg did explode. I would get stuck on crutches for a week or two as a result. Back then my family didn't a) have the insurance to pay for a lot of high falutin tests, and b) the doctor we did have always said I had a partially torn tendon (amazing considering it didn't swell at all), and that there was no available surgery for the problems I was having that would allow me to return to my active life.

Right now it feels like a whole lotta pressure in my knee, on the lower outside corner especially. It feels like the knee cap is just going to blow off...and somedays you just wish it would hurry up and pop off cuz the ache is so uncomfortable you think it would feel better for it to just "pop".

 

[biggins]

thats the exact location of mine and it is only one knee. i can ride all day without it hurting but as soon as i start walking downhill for any amouint of time it starts and the pain builds till it is pretty much crippling. I ahd the knee specialist at my Physical Therapy place look at it and he was telling me it didnt seem like anything was moving irregularly in it but thats all he wanted to say because he is not a doctor.

i am very interested to hear what it is that is wrong with yours becuase i bet mine is the same thing.

 

[Jr_Bullit]

I'll let you know what they find. From what I understand, tonight is the first of probably many visits to this dood. The xrays show there's no problems with the bones in my knees - so it's not arthritis thank goodness. They suspect some form of soft tissue damage, but aren't entirely sure about that yet either. I'll probably have to go in for an MRI to get to the truth of the matter.

My general practitioner hypothized it might be the ACL, but she's not sure. One of the issues i have that stymies my doctors like crazy is I don't swell or bruise in a "common" fashion - my knees have never swollen up from injury, and ice only does so much good. When I broke my ribs, there was no swelling or bruising in the area where they were broken or where I complained of pain. Weirdness I tells ya!

 

[biggins]

i know. mine dont swell at all either or bruise they just hurt like theres no tomorrow. i took 1000 milligrams of vitamin-I and it didnt phase it.

 

[Jr_Bullit]

Alrighty the first diagnosis! And it may be easy to fix...

The doc is 90% positive that the problem is my kneecaps, more specifically that my kneecaps are not sitting properly in the joint, and whenever I'm going downhill or running (so high impact) the pressure where my kneecap is rubbing over the wrong place on my joint is huge and super painful.

People who have this problem the worst will frequently dislocate their kneecaps. Mine's pretty minor.
He said that it most likely developed when I was a kiddo during a growth spurt. Most kids grow out of it, but he believes that because I was so super active as a kid the muscles actually developed in such a way that the problem persisted long past I finished growing.
If this really is 100% the problem, then the fix is super easy, though requires work on my part. Basically, I have to build the opposing muscles until they are strong enough to pull my knee cap into position when I flex/bend my knee or apply weight.

However, on Wednesday he's going to run an MRI on my right knee, the one that's the worst, just to confirm that this is the problem and that I don't have any soft tissue damage in the miniscous/cartilege area.

Kinda cool...I'm hoping for the best, but not looking forward to being only allowed 5oz of liquid until 1:30 on Wednesday. They say that too much liquid tends to make people wiggle a bit inside the MRI machine, and I have to be good and hold absolutely still.
If my MRI on Wednesday shows any soft tissue damage, it means surgery.

 

[Potroast88]

You wanna hear about some messed up knees? Pull up a chair. I've had problems with my knees for years beginning in about 1985. I raced BMX for many years so sprains and strains were the norm. I'm 36 now and my knees have been bothering me more lately so I decided to have them checked out since I've got good medical coverage now. After 2 MRIs I was diagnosed with TWO ruptured ACLs, torn miniscus in BOTH knees, chondro-malacia (sp?) and the early stages of osteo-arthritis. After several consultations and a 2nd opinion I decided not to have the 2 ACL replacements because I'm 36 years old and don't see myself joining the men's basketball league down at the local YMCA. I have decided to undergo arthroscopic procedures on both knees to clean up the cartilage damage and hopefully get some pain relief. My first surgery is scheduled for January 21st.
Eventually I will more than likely be looking at total knee replacement for both of them. That should be fun.

 

[ioscope]

If I sit with my head between my knees, I hear a popping sound. Especially when I'm doing heavy lifting.

 

[HippieKai]

i have avoided knee surgery for the last 4 years. But it will come sooner or later, later would be better, much later like in 90 years!

 

[Jr_Bullit]

Oh no, I'm not getting into scar wars regarding knees . I know that if this is all that's the problem, I can count myself lucky and work on my exercises for a few months.

For the past several months I've felt like a cripple when I try to run, and I hike up a hill like a pro, but when I come down, I hobble like an old crone. It's awful to feel like that at any age, but I won't accept it until I'm too old and broken everywhere else to care.

Gymnastics, track, diving, and multiple other sports, wrecked havoc on my body really young and most of it hitting after my major years in gymnastics. Some things I'll live with forever, like my messed up posture and over-arched spine from years of working on that perfect gymnast posture, but my knees are unacceptable. I'll do what it takes so long as I've got great insurance to get them fixed up proper like.

 

[Silver]

Man, I don't know how I avoided zippers on both knees. Basketball, volleyball, hockey, skiing, and soccer...and I never managed to hurt my knees.

Computer use has brought me back to earth though...I need surgery on both wrists

Anyways, let us know how the MRI went. Hopefully they put you in feet first

 

[Potroast88]

MRIs on your knees are a piece of cake. You go in feet first and your head doesn't go in the tube. I've never heard of not having anything to drink before one, though. You just lay still and try to listen to music over the noisy machine. 45 minutes later, you're done.

 

[Silver]

I managed to score an open MRI on my shoulder, which is nice, because to get me head first into a regular MRI machine would require...ketamine...lots of it

 

[MtnBikerChk]

The doc is 90% positive that the problem is my kneecaps, more specifically that my kneecaps are not sitting properly in the joint, and whenever I'm going downhill or running (so high impact) the pressure where my kneecap is rubbing over the wrong place on my joint is huge and super painful.

People who have this problem the worst will frequently dislocate their kneecaps.

I had this as a kid. My knees would dislocate - talk about painful - I get creeped out thinking about it.

luckily, I grew out of it.

 

[Jr_Bullit]

Ouch! When I was a kid I would describe it to my doc like it felt like my knee popped out of place, but my doc usually just patted me on the head and said it was a tendon problem (which it apparently never was), and years of wearing knee braces was wasted as I could have just changed my workout pattern to target a different muscle group in my leg.

All I can say - is thank goodness for good insurance

 

[Brian HCM#1]

You wanna hear about some messed up knees? Pull up a chair. I've had problems with my knees for years beginning in about 1985. I raced BMX for many years so sprains and strains were the norm. I'm 36 now and my knees have been bothering me more lately so I decided to have them checked out since I've got good medical coverage now. After 2 MRIs I was diagnosed with TWO ruptured ACLs, torn miniscus in BOTH knees, chondro-malacia (sp?) and the early stages of osteo-arthritis. After several consultations and a 2nd opinion I decided not to have the 2 ACL replacements because I'm 36 years old and don't see myself joining the men's basketball league down at the local YMCA. I have decided to undergo arthroscopic procedures on both knees to clean up the cartilage damage and hopefully get some pain relief. My first surgery is scheduled for January 21st.
Eventually I will more than likely be looking at total knee replacement for both of them. That should be fun.

You should have your ACL's redone, I had my right ACL replaced when I was 34 and also had some damaged miniscus removed. It's been 4 years since I had it done and it was well worth the pain after the surgery. I'm not playing as hard as I used to but I like the fact of having a stable knee.

 

[Heidi]

Yep, just had an MRI on my knee about a month ago and you do go in feet first. That friggin thing is LOUD!

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Yep, just had an MRI on my knee about a month ago and you do go in feet first. That friggin thing is LOUD!

try having it done on your head!

CLUNKCLUNKCLUNKCLUNKpingpingCLUNKknockknockknockCLUNKpingPING.....

 

[llkoolkeg]

Wish me luck! I get to go see an Orthopedic dude today - he's going to poke at my knees and see what's wrong and why it hurts so bloody bad to run or walk down hill. The x-rays, fortunately, said it's not arthritis, so we've ruled out the ickiest problem.

Now to see if I can avoid surgery or more pain .

Perhaps you're just not spending enough time on them.





























You know...taking proper care of your knees and all.

 

[Jr_Bullit]

Out of curiosity - for you knee/joint folks - have any of you had acupuncture done?

Those I know that have had it done, really swear by it. I haven't yet, I'm not sure my insurance would cover it unless my doctor referred me to it.

 

[Heidi]

Out of curiosity - for you knee/joint folks - have any of you had acupuncture done?

Those I know that have had it done, really swear by it. I haven't yet, I'm not sure my insurance would cover it unless my doctor referred me to it.

I'm currently having it done on my knee. I go twice a week..but it isn't covered by my insurance. It's hard to say if it is helping...it takes from 6-8 appointments and I'm on my 5th. I am taking some herbs along with the treatment. They are promoting the movement of chi energy. The swelling HAS gone down and it no longer hurts to walk.

 

[JRogers]

When I read the first few posts I immediately thought of a friend of mine that, as it turns out, has basically the same exact problem you found. She's 19 or 20 and in the last few years, dislocated her knees 4-5 times, a few on each knee. Every time it happens, she goes on crutches for a week or two and cannot do anything physical for a while. It would happen at really random times too. Once just running, once doing a handstand etc. Sounds like a scary problem to me. She had surgery this summer, which seems to be holding up so far. She was told it would continue happening if she did not get surgery.

 

[Jr_Bullit]

This doc didn't want to do anything invasive if other stuff could solve it (which I greatly appreciate). Perhaps her constant dislocating lead to some other kinds of damage in that area? I know he (my doc) was relieved at how relatively minor my problem is, considering the years of hard abuse on my knees.

But ya, your friend sounds like a much more advanced problem of the same kind. The weirdest times it would "pop" were when I was in the air - like mid backflip type of thing....no strain at all on the knee, yet it just decided to go - for no apparent reason. ick.

 

[Jr_Bullit]

Well, the MRI is done...Monday they tell me the results.

Two things I didn't know - one was that my insurance fully covers all this nonsense - even surgery if it comes to that - the other is that surgery for the miniscus joint (which is what mine would be if damage shows from the MRI) is not invasive at all...they use scopes and I should walk out with a couple of bandaids.

As for the MRI itself - way cool. I was in this white metal screened room (felt kinda like bubble-boy-esque). I laid on this bed with a blanket and a pillow and my knee was tucked under a little arch, and then the bed slid betwen two big plastic things for the MRI. It wasn't very loud, and the lady running the machine chatted to me from her little booth outside the white room.

I asked a million different questions and am curious what the doc will say come Monday afternoon....fingers crossed!

 

[bdee]

I just went through dealing with my primary doc with knee pain and he kind of blew it the 1st time around. He thought it was a small meniscal tear but turns out it's bursitis (not the end of the world at all). My symptoms confused the heck out of him, no swelling at all and where/when it hurt didn't fit anything. My PT got to thinking it was bursitis and after my GP checked me out again and sent me to another doc that's what it is. After I stopping running (been doing it for almost 15 years and riding road/mtb for about the same amount of time) my knees feel a lot better in general. Also the stretching/workout routine my PT gave me has helped a ton, as has actually taking days off now and then (imagine that ). Hope the results of the MRI are good!

 

[Jr_Bullit]

Wahooo!!! No surgery

It's official, my miniscus is in great shape, no cartiglege damage whatsoever...my only problem is my kneecaps are on crooked!

This is great news - it means that for hiking, or impact-related activities I will need to wear a brace again (ew). I picked that up today, boy have they evolved since I was a kiddo! I'm also to do a few weeks worth of PT to learn the proper type of muscle building exercises and pull that kneecap back to where it belongs.

I feel sooo lucky right now!

Biggins, before you go jumping for joy for your own knees - I'd say if you can go see your doc about yours. Mine said my knee problem is seen most commonly in women - we're curvy - so I guess there's some weird strain on the knees when growing, especially if active.

I've been given the lecture about running, but he said that if I must, I must wear the brace. I don't need it for cycling (I don't really have a problem when cycling anyways).

I'll let y'all know what funniness the PT folks have for me after I schedule the appointment. I remember when I damaged my neck in college so badly one of their weird exercises was a rubber bal between my forehead and the wall to strengthen my neck musclies. Thus - while very effective - I think PT people are nutty with some of the exercises they invent.

Off to go skip some rope and jump up and down for awhile.

 

[Velocity Girl]

I've been dealing with this problem since my early 20's and although painful, the good news is that with PT and watching what you do, the pain can eventually go away. (Mine got to the point that my knees that I was in constant pain and went for about 2 months of not sleeping thru the night! ) The one drug my docs gave me to help relieve the pain that wouldn't knock my out was Daypro (or it's generic equivilant). I still keep some handy for flare-ups every now and again.

I also haven't had to wear my braces for years now. I wore them for about 3 years I think and then starting to slowly see if I could go without them.
I did stop running all together though, the after math was just too painful. But I have done a bit over the past year and have been ok.

And yea, unfortunately it's seen more commonly in women due to wider hips and for those of us with no arches. I don't know how your arches are, but I had orthotics in my shoes for awhile that helped as well (I should still wear them but other feet problem prevent it).

Good luck getting the knees back in shape.

 

[Heidi]

I wish I could skip.

What's my problem...I don't have hips!

 

[Jr_Bullit]

I wish I could skip.

What's my problem...I don't have hips!

Woah - no hips literally? Or no hips cuz you're a skinny hard core biker chica?

I wish I could skip - I can't blame my hips or anything ...I just don't have rhythm and am a natural klutz

VG - bummer about the knees. I don't have need for orthotics yet (thank goodness), the knee problem is pretty much only related to a growth spurt when an active kid. I'm going to miss running - but cycling after work is always fun - and eventually I'm hoping I can sign up for a Yoga or Pilates class again.

Considering my mom just got out of surgery for leg problems that are apparently genetic - I'm counting myself lucky for now.