Knee Pain?

[davidlee4]

This started around 2 Weeks ago. I have NO swelling, full range of motion, no discoloration, no prior history of knee problems- ever. There was no "sudden injury" - exercise a lot, and it started hurting after a long day of working out. The pain is mainly on the inner side and below of my right knee. I also feel a soreness over my kneecap, but I'm not sure if that's just secondary pain. I'm not taking anti-inflammatories because I'm afraid that they will interfere with the healing process. The pain isn't killing me, but it bothers me, and I'm afraid that this isn't going to recover. I can walk without a limp, but honestly I do feel tenderness and a little pain when I do walk. I have been icing the injury 2 times a day and am not sure if I should continue icing my knee, since there has never been any visible swelling. I also can feel my knee "grinding" when I move it, like a vibrating feeling. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[razzle51]

sounds like you may need : arthroscopic surgery

Its out patient deal .

[firesmurf]

the most likely cause would probably be some level of chondromalacia.this is more of a wear and tear type of injury actually.i had this under my kneecap two years ago along with some other structural problems.the areas of chondro are kind of 'torn up" or somewhat shredded?its just an ongoing deterioration from constant wear,espescially if you are a runner or are doing specific types of knee bending excercises?it just adds to the problem if it is kind of pre existing in some form?this really does sound like what you are describing.i also had about five other problems all going on within one little knee,but the chondro was my 'kneecap' problem.it is a pretty straight forward arthroscopic type surgery where they make little holes in your skin and stick a scope inside to look around and then use tiny little tools to remove the shredded tissue.it just "cleans out' the crap.it is a pretty non invasive procedure.taking anti inflammatories wont head or stop the healing process and would probably make you much more comfortable.there is some level of inflammation going on just from what you have described as symptoms.obtaining an MRI of the knee would really show the best possible look into it.i am willing to bet that you do have at least some grade of chondro going on given what you have stated here.cortisone injections can sometimes help with pain and possibly stop that bone on bone scraping feeling.

our knees just take ALOT of punishment just in walking every day.thats alot of force coming down on it when you stop and think about it.any added wear and tear,well,it will eventually cause some issues along the way.i had no clue tho that mine was as bad as it was til i saw the MRI report.i am only 46.

at the very least here,just seeing your primary doc and having a basic eval done wouldn't hurt.most primarys can do cort injections for you.it is worth a try just to see how things go.it may help for some people,a few months.but as hard as you are on it,well,it may not do as well,ya know?icing,even tho you cannot actually see any real obvious swelling can help.if you actually feel any real relief when doing this,then it IS helping to reduce something,you know what i mean?

aleeve really helped me with alot of my knee and c spine pain way back when those were my only real pain issues when i was still actually working.things have changed now for me in a very big way.but aleeve really helped me tons,and you only have to dose twice a day with it vs multi dosing all day long with like advil or something.but get that knee checked out with your primary.he or she may send you for an MRI of it just to see how things really are in there.when you have a bone against bone scraping,there could be other reasons for it besides just the chondro,even tho the chondro is still probably a part of your problem.its just that common but in varying degrees or 'grades".when it comes to the knees,you just really do need to see whats up in there.some can be not too much of a problem one day and then a week or even days later,the sh%& hits the fan.

just get it evaled and see where you stand.but don;t be afraid of the anti inflammatories,they will not 'do' anything as far as limiting the healing process,but actually help by taking that inflammation away or down a few notches.nothing will actually 'heal' or get much better when it is in constant inflammation.i wish you luck with the knee stuff.hopefully things aren't too bad for you at this point and some cort can get you going again.but you do need this looked into a bit more in depth just to really know whats up in there.you just don't want to end up making things worse becasue of a problem that you just were not actually aware of.please let us know how things go with the eval.Marcia

[Sue Pendleton]

If you got methylprednisolone when you were injured then get an xray of the knee before any steroid shots. You may have some steroid induced damage. If you do a regular xray will show it.

[davidlee4]

sounds like you may need : arthroscopic surgery

Its out patient deal . Does arthroscopic surgery for menuscal problems cause any side effects like calcification at your knee. And what is the exact procedure in arthroscopic surgery. Do they just remove the menuscal tissue or do they sew the torn tissue?

[firesmurf]

an arthroscopic surgery is pretty minamally invasive as far as surgical procedures go.what they actually 'do' in there really depends on what they find that needs attention.that is determined by an MRI and an orthosurgeon.i know many many people who have had this done with no real lasting side effects from it.but there is always some level of risk that just comes along with any surgery.it just does.you really don;t know just what you may or may not even need yet at this point.see your doc about this and go from there.you really just need to find out whats up with your knee before getting to the surgery stage,you know?you may not even need it.just obtaining that MRI will tell you that.

my meniscus was torn along with also having another tear that was causing a bakers cyst to form behind my knee.unfortunetly i also have RSD in this same knee so my surgery was kind of a big deal,much more than someone without RSD would have.i was very lucky to have one of the best 'knee guys' in our area do my surgery.he is going to be fixing my torn rotator cuff here at some point,but he doesn't know that yet.my range of motion really didn't 'feel' affected in any way from the sewing up of the tears i had done.just see your doc and obtain the MRI.that will tell you what really needs or doesn't need fixing.trying to just guess here really isn't helping you,ya know?hopefully whatever is wrong there isn't too severe and can be removed or sewed or whatever has to be done without causing you any major problems.unless a surgeon has to do a removal of like the cyst i had or something like it,most knee surgerys are really very minimal as far as any cutting goes.they can do alot thru the tiny holes they make thru artho.i had both done.the back was cut to remove the cyst but you cannot even tell now where he went in thru the front now.please keep us posted as to what you find out,K?good luck,marcia

[davidlee4]

This happened two years ago, and it was very painful. I'm not in pain yet but my knee keeps getting bigger each day for the last week or two. The surgery didn't seem to help last time. Frequent painful needle drainage's didn't help. The only things that helped some was a cortisone shot and some prednisone pills.

Please suggest something other than surgery if possible.

[mike]

I have also recently developed knee pain. My orthopedist xrayed my knee and saw no evidence of arthritis or any other damage. He recommended exercises to strengthen the muscle around the knee to see if that helped. I still have the pain. Would a problem with the meniscus show up in an xray or would it require an MRI? I have no swelling or redness in the area.

[sjean423]

Here is something it probably ISN'T, due to the lack of swelling. I tore my acl recently when I hit the floor during a bad transfer into my wheelchair. My knee was swollen at least twice it's size. Since it is below my level of injury I can;t feel it directly, but it sure kicked up my spasticity and back pain. Since you don;t have any swelling associated with this, I think you can rule out torn ligaments. :)

[firesmurf]

any level of swelling in the knee is normally due to an inflammatory response of some level.if you keep collecting fluid that needs draining,there IS something triggering it to be there.my best advice would be to just obtain that MRI and see what you have there.anything beyond that is kind of up to the ortho and what actually shows on an MRI.a plain x ray will not show the inner areas of the knee itself,just the boney structures.you NEED to see into the actual knee.my chondro did not show really on the x ray i had but boy did things ever show on my MRI.it even showed what was called an "old sprain'.don't know just how they knew that but it was a finding in my MRI report.also the tear that caused my extra knee swelling and the bakers cyst all showed really well upon MRI.you really do just need to get that done.there is just no way to tell you what to do here until you know what is actually going on in there.having artho surgery really is not a huge deal for most people.small holes and a pretty quick recovery time.just get that looked into soon.what exactly was wrong two years ago that required that surgery then?i just got the impression from your posts that this was a newer injury of some sort.

one other option would be to see a rheumy doc about this.i was sent originally when they couldn't figure out the real reason(this was before my RSD was Dxed)for my ongoing swelling and pain.it was also generating ALOT of heat,just over that knee area.the rheumy did like this four page set of labs on me that was really the most in depth comprehensive type blood work i have ever had in my life.it just tests for ANY possible condition that could be stemming from some type of an inflammatory condition or disease process.everything from lyme disease to lupus was tested for.everything came up neg but wow,what a huge bunch of tests all in one shot.this is just another option.it would at the very least,rule out a TON of possible inflammatory type of condtions ya know?but realistically,you really just need to obtain that MRI too.you just wont know what you have to or not have to do here til you get that good look inside your knee.an x ray is not enough to check all the many ligaments and tendons and cartiledge.only an MRI could do that for you.i just think you are going to really need an MRI eventually you might as well get it done sooner vs later.plus if there actually IS some level of injury there,the longer you keep walking on it,the more possible damage you could be doing,you just need to know whats up.this is just kind of the way things are for you right now.i wish you luck and please let us know how things are going for you.marcia

[davidlee4]

Thanks for your all replies.

[firesmurf]

good luck to you david,and please let us know just what you find out,K?Marcia

[mike]

I saw my orthopedist two days ago and complained that my knee was not getting any better. He re-xrayed my knee and found no problems. Then when I mentioned that my knee did not always hurt as in walking or doing leg presses, but did hurt when I tried to climb stairs, he said that the answer was probably runners knee. He prescribed Mobic once a day and after two days I am completely free of pain for the first time in about three months. As I mentioned in my previous post, I had no swelling, or redness in the knee area. Just hopes this might help someone else with similiar symptoms.