Knee problem not easy to research

[Zeke]

If I bend my knee to put my socks on it hurts to push my leg outward. I can walk, run and do squats more or less except fully folding of the knee. It hurts at night when I'm on my side but fine all the time if I'm on my back.

All the google hits talk about meniscus tears but the symptoms are not my symptoms. Going on 4 weeks now and no change for better of for worse. I have worn a brace during the day and only during the night. No benefit during the the day and some benefit at night to keep the knee from having lateral pressure. But the braces are biased for the hinge type of activity, not much lateral support.

The initial injury was a very slight hyperextension, if I remember, but I have no problem fully straight even doing leg lifts. Where it's really bothering me is getting up and down off the floor if I need to get down on the floor. What's going on?

[gchappel]

Collateral or other ligamental injury? Any swelling or effusion? Any prior issues or prior injuries?
If it has not gotten better in a month- go see your ortho doc.
A full exam will give them a better idea of what is going on.
Mri if you really want to know.
Good luck- hope it heals on its own
gary

[Zeke]

No prior injury to the left knee which is the one bothering me. Yeah, I know to see the ortho but I like to know what I can when I can. Going through the shoulder replacement thing keeps me leary.

If I was diagnosed as a candidate for surgery I know who and where I'm going. But Hoag Orthopedic is a long way to go through the initial appt, the MRI, the diagnosis, approval, etc. when I can do that locally with the local doc.

Some things will heal, others not so much and putting it off makes things worse. Just looking to see where I stand WRT others here that have either healed up or had a surgical repair. If I can figure the sleeping thing out I think it will heal.

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by gchappel

Collateral or other ligamental injury? Any swelling or effusion? Any prior issues or prior injuries?
If it has not gotten better in a month- go see your ortho doc.
A full exam will give them a better idea of what is going on.
Mri if you really want to know.
Good luck- hope it heals on its own
gary

Yeah, agree. Go very easy for a bit but keep mobile. See if it improves, if not, MRI to at least tell you what it is/isn't and where to go from there. Conservative tx at our age is a better bet.

[Zeke]

Tx?

[Tobra]

Treatment

You are old and worked construction for a hundred years

[pavulon]

Have you tried rest, ice, compression, elevation and anti-inflammatory meds? Age and injury takes forever to improve. Even longer if you're not working at it.

[Zeke]

This doesn't seem to be an inflammatory problem. However, I had a particularly active days yesterday and did not wear a brace to sleep. I did change my mattress to something different. I use a pillow at my knees. Today the problem is there if I bend my knee. So it has become passive.

Yes, rest will quiet it down. So will not getting down on the ground. That's sounds easy enough until you realize that weeding and many things require getting on your knees. I don't have one of those garden carts and I don't plan on getting one. I'll use a 5 gallon bucket if it comes to that.

One more week to see where this goes and if it's too annoying I'll see a sawbones.

[Tobra]

Thereis a garden stool that is a low stool that you can flip over and it gives you a padded kneeler with stout handles on either side. Like gold it is

See also, voltaren gel

[jyl]

Originally Posted by Tobra

You are old and worked construction for a hundred years

You make Zeke sound like Yoda.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Zeke

This doesn't seem to be an inflammatory problem.

Good luck with it.

Maybe try a few days with heavy duty anti inflammatories (spelling). It just makes a bit more room in there, and if it is a tear, makes it a better environment for it to heal.

I have them whenever I hurt myself and they work really well for me.

[Zeke]

I will do that, Bill. I don't feel or see any swelling but I wore a brace all day yesterday and IDK the pressure of the bands is doing me any good. Last night I was miserable. I do more injury by sitting in a chair with my feet up on an ottoman. Having my leg straight for a couple hours reading or watching TV is the worst thing I can do.

I need to keep it bent slightly or be moving and I have no pain whatsoever. It seems a difficult decision to have to have any surgical repair if I can climb ladders, ride my bike and all the other things I do. And yet I can't stop and relax? How f'd up is that?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I need to keep it bent slightly or be moving and I have no pain whatsoever. It seems a difficult decision to have to have any surgical repair if I can climb ladders, ride my bike and all the other things I do. And yet I can't stop and relax? How f'd up is that?

You need to get a stationary bike and do everything while pedalling away! Maybe hook a generator up to it so you can power a lamp or something!

[pavulon]

If you can discern where your knee pain is located (deep vs more superficial), that might help guide your treatment and recovery course. Having gone through a good case of patellar tendonitis this past summer and like you, worrying that it could be a surgical thing, it has (after 3 months of really gradual improvement with mindful rest and ibuprofen) mostly resolved. My symptoms were pain, popping and cracking with movement at night and being really sore when kicking or fully extending my lower leg.

It sucked and I'm still nervous about aggravating it again.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by pavulon

If you can discern where your knee pain is located (deep vs more superficial), that might help guide your treatment and recovery course. Having gone through a good case of patellar tendonitis this past summer and like you, worrying that it could be a surgical thing, it has (after 3 months of really gradual improvement with mindful rest and ibuprofen) mostly resolved. My symptoms were pain, popping and cracking with movement at night and being really sore when kicking or fully extending my lower leg.

It sucked and I'm still nervous about aggravating it again.

Thanks. No popping or crunching. I've had knee injuries before and they did heal. The pain is along the joint line if that makes sense, but not near skin nor sensative whatsoever. I had the patella thing where the pain is below the knee cap. And that one swelled to the point that I thought I would have to have it drained. No fluid present with this injury.

Frankly, if I remember to put a pillow under my knee when sitting legs out, I have no problem afterwards. I think if I stop aggravating it then healing may be possible. I just don't realize I'm aggravating it until later.

[gchappel]

Ortho can do a lot besides surgery.
But, you are guessing at which therapy to use if you have no idea what is wrong with it.
Simple things tend to heal with rest- but this does not seem to be that. Something is torn or strained.
At least get a diagnosis, and go from a knowledgeable position.
gary

[Zeke]

I've determined that the soreness is in the muscle in the back of the thigh. It wants to radiate up to the butt. When things get tough it's always on the weekend. Always.

[gchappel]

So it is a hamstring injury/pain and not a knee injury?
Now really not sure how to proceed.
Rest, ice best guess until you actually know.
gary

[pavulon]

The most worrisome thing would be a popliteal vein DVT.

https://www.webmd.com/dvt/thrombosis-bakers-cyst

After that, it can go to a few less worrisome but still painful issues like hamstring problem, baker's cyst, sciatica, lumbar radiculopathy...all of them are varying degrees of the suck but are unlikely to evolve into a potential show stopper like a DVT->Pulmonary Embolism (PE).

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by gchappel

So it is a hamstring injury/pain and not a knee injury?
Now really not sure how to proceed.
Rest, ice best guess until you actually know.
gary

Well, not quite. The pain is really located at the back of the knee but seems to be muscle/tendon/ligament involved. I don't really know much about that group of tissue.

What I can say is avoiding aggravation is paramount. I managed to keep it quiet all night by being very careful in what position I slept. So 2 things to avoid are sitting with the leg extended and having any lateral pressure at night. If I can do that then I'm comfortable even putting on socks.

Yeah, the DVT thing crossed my mind. Since I can trigger or not trigger this, that might not be a diagnosis since I don't have the tenderness or swelling described. I'll likely get a look see when I can get an appt. If it's gone by then I'll just cancel. I figure the way things go that it would be 2 weeks before anyone could see me, another week to get the scan and another week for the follow up.

You have to have a chronic problem to go through all that. So far I have learned that I can manage the problem if I don't aggravate it.

You know, I wear work boots a lot of the time. I'm getting to the point that I don't think that is the best footwear for me. I'm going to replace the boots for the most part with some decent light weight sneakers like a cross trainer. I hate to spend the money just to end up getting shoes like that dirty.

So I guess I won't buy bright yellow.