Alright docs
 

I am a random poster, usually offering help. I need a little help.
I'm not due for insurance until March but i popped something in my knee.
For the first few days, i didn't feel pain, just discomfort. now that i can localize the pain it seems to come over the knee and descend into the fibula. I figure i am riding this until then. Are there any exercises i can do to preserve the cartilage.
Sorry to impose.

Not a Doc but I've had exactly what you are describing.

My Ortho said it's a function of time and it will heal, which it did, took a while, like months.

ice is your friend

If you don't go get a medical diagnosis, it is not "pre-existing" by the last policy I read (and I sell the stuff for a living) Think about that if you are tempted to go to the urgent care center.

I also had a similar deal. It got better. Slowly.

Good luck,
Larry

Ibuprofen and ice.....

Chris, if the pain goes out to the head of the fibula, it sounds like a possible, lateral meniscus tear (cartilage tear) or a lateral collateral ligament tear. Without examining or MRI, it is obviously impossible to know for sure. The prognosis will typically depend on how much of the fibers are torn. At this point in time it would be wise to rest the knee and ice. As Joe Bob mentioned, ibuprofen may also help. I wouldn't recommend any exercises at this point. You may consider wearing a knee brace to stabilize if needed. Chances are it will heal in time. Fyi, I'm a retired chiropractor. Good luck, Tim

Even if it's a meniscal tear, many orthopods will avoid intervention or even an MRI for about 6 weeks. Give it (whatever it may be) a chance to heal itself. It could be just a ligament or tendon strain, for all you know. That's where the 6 weeks come in. If it's still aching after an adequate attempt at conservative management, then do something about it (i.e. MRI).

Disclaimer: this is an internet diagnosis (you get what you pay for ;)).

Thanks for the replys.

The 6 weeks fits nicely into my window.

What happened is I was wrestling another 215 pounder, sat back into him, dug my heels into the mat and moved him backwards. When I did that heard and felt something pop, just like as if you were cracking a joint. For the next two days minor swelling occurred and like I said, no pain just discomfort. The troubling thing is that sometimes when walking and often when clutching I feel a clunking in the joint that wasn't there before.

What I am hoping to gain is advice so I don't do more damage in the meantime.

Thank you again for the replys, rest and ice are on the agenda but I have also been wearing my neoprene kneepad to keep the joint warm and hopefully improve circulation

Personally, I wouldn't wait to see an orthopedic specialist. Many folks tear their ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), or other and don't even realize it until later. What might be easily fixed NOW via an arthroscopy will atrophy if you wait six weeks. BTDT, except I was in a full leg cast and had no choice in the matter (basketball injury years ago). Don't depend upon me (or any of the fine docs on this board) for a internet diagnosis is my .02 worth. Good luck!!!

Doesn't sound like an ACL tear to me. ACL's are torn when the knee flexes sideways.

I am not a doctor, do not play one on TV and did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply an ACL injury with my post. A "pop", could be anything...waiting could turn an easy "reattachment" via a scope into a reconstruction under the knife 6 weeks later. By the time I had healed from the cast (fractured tibia and ACL tear in hindsight), and hit the courts (again) after rehab, the next "pop" was even more damage :(.

Chris, sounds like a tear... The popping is from "joint play", which comes from the instability of the joint caused by tearing tissue that is suppose to stabilize the knee. Try and take it easy and not stress the joint any more then necessary. Continued use to a damaged joint can cause DJD, degenerative joint disease (arthritis). Good luck, Tim

I think you guys are nuts attempting to make a diagnosis based upon Chris's post. If it were my knee, I know what I'd do...that is all :(.

ps: My .02 worth, worth even less...ya DO get what you pay for :)

If it were me I'd go to the emergency room since you can end up crippled for the rest of your life and then possibly see if they have a shrink you can talk to. I find it amazing that someone would actually seek medical advice on a website where the posters can not agree if it is okay to roll through a stop sign or what brand of oil to put in a 40 year old car!!!!!

Here's some advice

If you don't have insurance don't put yourself in a position to need medical care.

Stop wrestling...

YMMV

He doesn't have insurance until March, if he gets it checked out now guess what? His knee problem will be excluded from his insurance. I can't speak for him but many folks can't afford say 50 k for knee surgery. I also can't speak for the others but I do have 20 years experience treating joint problems including extremities. It won't be the end of the world if he waits. I can say this with confidence. If he had insurance anyway it could take him months to see an orthopedic surgeon. So relax. Tim

John, he's obviously not asking this on the tech forum. Maybe he has no other avenue for information. What you and others can't seem to comprehend is HE HAS NO FLIPPING INSURANCE. If you had my medical knowledge you would know with CERTAINTY that he won't be crippled for life. Tim

c-bola may qualify for state medicaid and be able to get it addressed. If he doesn't qualify for medicaid, he may qualify for hospital community assistance which would help. In the end, he should get seen in an orthopedic office and explain his situation. He's not the first in this way and any decent service will recognize it for what it is. Worst case scenario, it may cost him as much as a few $K for MRI images and diagnosis. If he doesn't have a few $K war chest, then perhaps a (or a second) job would have been a better time investment than wrestling 215 pounders. Sucks, but accidents generally do. Good luck to you...maybe it's nothing to surgically address.

To be a total idiot,I went to practice last night.

I got caught up in the moment and I think i popped it back into place.

There is now pain.

You know how the inside head of the fibula is relatively flat and then there is this ridge, the ligament or tendon is back in there. The joint feels tighter but there is now a localized burning pain. I haven't clutched today.

As far as the insurance goes, I live a relatively sterile life and chanced the exposure while I went to nursing school, while there were no jobs and I finished top of my class. I have an idea of what I did. That is a chance i decided to take.

As far as in home rehab, my choices are limited. I would like to use every resource at my disposal to limit my exposure to damage.

you may want to search knee exam and/or knee injury on youtube. It may help you figure out what could be wrong.

Knee Exam - YouTube

Also, IMHO get to the ICU and then to CRNA school ASAP.