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.

I've experienced this several times, in both knees. Finally the problem in the left led to three 'scopes, a reconstruction and finally to a joint replacement.

What I can say with some certainty is that time may well lead to less discomfort, and ibuprofin does help. But minisci - if indeed that is what the problem is - do not heal. They have no, or very little, blood flow. So any tear is a done deal.

If it were me, if the problem persists, I'd check with knee guy.

If you completely lay off of it for five days, you may find it heals itself. No bending under load, do not use on stairs, and don't try to ''exercise'' it. Keep leg straight and take short steps.

What have you got to lose ?

Hey Chris, how's the knee today? Didn't realize from your original posts what your background was. That said, despite all of the speculation on this thread, if you don't see improvement in a few days, do yourself a favor and seek a REAL professional assessment. As others have noted, accidents happen all the time, and even those without insurance coverage are not turned away (and those of us with insurance pay eventually :(). BTW, I've never waited more than a couple of days to see a specialist with knee injuries...don't know how it is where you live. Even with ins., your co-pay "down the road" could be more than what you'd be hit with now. Take care of yourself, and that knee, and QUIT WRESTLING 215LB'ers ya big dummy :)

ps: Any "sports medicine" facilities, med-schools, etc. in your area? Just thinking out loud..

thanks for the concern, the status today is limited swelling (it seems to have gone down)and minor pain, maybe a 1on a scale of 1-10, pedal and post tib pulses are strong and knee flexion from about 10*- 100*

Fantastic...:)

so, did you end up luckily dodging the big $$ bullet here???:)

I believe I did dodge the bullet.

Still have tenderness and a longish mass below the patella and to the median.

The swelling has gone down and the range of motion is almost normal, 0* - 130*.

I still don't trust the knee and from what I can tell there isn't a ligament or tendon where I feel the tenderness.

I figure I can test the knee in another week or so

Don't go training again until you are absolutely sure your knee is fine to train with.
it would be a shame to have a limp for the rest of yer life cause you couldn't wait to be sure.

In the 6-week wait time I mentioned in my first post, that was with the understanding (or maybe not) that you're supposed to take it easy on the knee for those 6 weeks.

Medicaid sounds great on paper...until you've really got to use it. Even if you qualify (and were able to process the paperwork overnight), you'd likely wait longer than 6 weeks trying to find an orthopedist who accepts it and can schedule you for a visit.

It's not impossible (nothing's impossible in the world of medicine), but it's pretty unlikely that you'll do much damage on your knee just walking around for the next 6 weeks. If you're paranoid enough, you can wear a knee splint during that time. Or at least stop wrestling.

You don't know John. His comments should have been in green text.

Maybe I got ahead of myself.

The knee feels greatly improved, the only issue is inside and below the kneecap, about 1-2 o'clock.

Thanks for putting the brakes on my competitive nature and my calendar has February 22 circled and starred.

Well, the majority of meniscal problems I see being surgically addressed are medial meniscal problems. The number of ways a meniscus can get messed up is pretty remarkable. It can tear and leave two ends attached, a bit of it can give way, a portion of it's thickness can come loose...on and on. I can't know if that is your problem but the meniscus has really poor blood supply so it tends to not heal really well and/or, if does, not quickly. It seems that by now, you'd have noticed some knee instability if you totally took out a ACL/PCL or MCL.

I'd keep my wrestling/twisting/stressing stuff to as little as possible until you can get it looked at. Good luck!!