Knee Saga, Continued
I just thought I'd post this for anyone who is interested. The saga of Kara's knee continues....
So nearly 2 months after Regionals my knee continues to hurt enough that I notice it when I am walking, going up or down stairs, etc., despite lots of PT and massive doses of antinflammatories. Running or even riding a bike is out of the question. Last week I got an MRI done and yesterday I got the results.
Results were still inconclusive. There was fluid in the joint, which indicates inflammation, but no clear evidence (according to the doctor, who I am not convinced reviewed the pictures for more than 3 minutes) of what is causing it. The latest theory is it is either a small meniscus tear or damage to the articular cartilage at the ends of the bones (basically pre-arthritis). His advice was to get a cortisone shot now and continue the "wait-and-see" approach for 3 more weeks. The next step would be to have arthroscopic surgery to really see what's going on. The bad news is that if it's articular cartilage damage there's nothing they can do and apparently it doesn't really heal.
Dr. Jerkface asked me "well, how important is running to you, anyway?" (!!!!!) Are you kidding me???
My knee is now all swollen up from the cortisone. My plan is to wait three weeks and then get a second opinion on the MRI.
Has anyone else ever had any issues like this or known anyone who did? Any advice or thoughts? Anyone know how to reaad an MRI? I used to pride myself on my injury -free knees and now I'm wishing it was an ACL tear instead, because at least they could figure out what was wrong and fix it!
Kara
So nearly 2 months after Regionals my knee continues to hurt enough that I notice it when I am walking, going up or down stairs, etc., despite lots of PT and massive doses of antinflammatories. Running or even riding a bike is out of the question. Last week I got an MRI done and yesterday I got the results.
Results were still inconclusive. There was fluid in the joint, which indicates inflammation, but no clear evidence (according to the doctor, who I am not convinced reviewed the pictures for more than 3 minutes) of what is causing it. The latest theory is it is either a small meniscus tear or damage to the articular cartilage at the ends of the bones (basically pre-arthritis). His advice was to get a cortisone shot now and continue the "wait-and-see" approach for 3 more weeks. The next step would be to have arthroscopic surgery to really see what's going on. The bad news is that if it's articular cartilage damage there's nothing they can do and apparently it doesn't really heal.
Dr. Jerkface asked me "well, how important is running to you, anyway?" (!!!!!) Are you kidding me???
My knee is now all swollen up from the cortisone. My plan is to wait three weeks and then get a second opinion on the MRI.
Has anyone else ever had any issues like this or known anyone who did? Any advice or thoughts? Anyone know how to reaad an MRI? I used to pride myself on my injury -free knees and now I'm wishing it was an ACL tear instead, because at least they could figure out what was wrong and fix it!
Kara
posted by Kara at 12:39 PM
4 Comments:
my knee hurts ever since i jammed it into the ground during nationals in 03. the theory on mine (without any scans, just theories) is there is fluid buildup and probably a slight meniscus tear.
it doesn't really swell up (at least not to the naked eye), but gets really stiff if i keep it bent for a long time (like more than four seconds). i don't know if that is like your pain at all, but that's what i have. i'm sure it's not as severe as yours, it doesn't keep me from playing. i really only notice it when i'm sitting around.
i hope you get a conclusive diagnosis so you can at least work toward a treatment option.
Kara,
I showed your latest knee report to Jeremy (he works in a place near many people who read MRIs). He said that he can probably recommend another doctor so that you can get a second opinion. He also suggested that you try to find someone in sports medicine, as then they'll atleast understand how traumatizing it is to be asked (in jest or otherwise) if you want to run again.
We'll be in touch with you soon about this!
I too suffered a knee jamming incident and my knee seems to not be acting correctly. Anyway, Stacy Mates had some mysterious knee injury a few years ago. She may have some suggestions on who to talk to/what her final diagnosis was..nothing was torn, i think just some severe bruising.
Thanks everyone for the info. I would appreciate anyone's knee doctor referrals. I have an appointment in a week with a sports medicine guy, Dr. Jewell. Update: the cortisone shot did nothing except give me hot flashes!
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