A few months ago, I was experiencing pain in the back of both my knees. After x-rays, it was determined that the muscles on the outside of my leg were much stronger than the muscles on the inside of my leg. As a result, my kneecap was being pulled off-center. After several weeks of stretching and physical therapy, I felt much better. However, a few weeks ago, after running around with some little kids at a church function, I felt something in my left knee tighten. The next morning, my knee was very swollen. Over the next few days, the swelling went away, but now my left knee feels unstable and “loose”. With the fall season starting in a month, I am very concerned about this injury. Has anyone dealt with something similar to this? (Sorry for the novel)
Go talk to your knee doc, not a bunch of referees on the internet. That's nothing to mess around with.
Youngref you need to see an orthopedic surgeon. The swelling and subsequent laxity is concerning for ligament damage, probably acl or pcl (if it were one of the lateral ligaments you would be tender over the ligament). See someone who specializes in sports- sure all orthopedists do but perhaps see who the local college or professional sports teams use. Hope it goes well!
Definitely don’t ignore it, especially even if it “starts to get better.” I was going to do that after coming back from a ski trip with a swollen knee that was starting to improve but I was forced into the doc’s for an MRI and I ended up with a slight tear to the ACL and meniscus when I would have tried to do mental gymnastics to not go. It’s not worth trying to ref with injures. Reffing isn’t worth destroying your knee, especially if you have plenty of years to go.
As a slight comfort, unbalanced/unequal type injuries aren't that uncommon for people who do a lot of games or high level games without focusing on other muscles. Think about this, while sidestepping on a line, you're engaging so much of your abductors (outside of your hip) but not your adductors (inside of your hamstring/groin. On top of whatever your doctor says, don't forget to work out each part of your hip/core when you get healthy. Squats, lateral leg raises, groin work, high knees, and leg curls are all super important.
Yes, I have had that twice in the last 5 years... medial meniscus. The latest tear included massive amounts of fluid being drained (which was the cause of the pain in the lower knee), 2 months of physical therapy and not feeling completely stable for 6 months. I'm also in my 40s so recovery varies. After this injury, I called it a day on my adult soccer playing. I've seen several ACL/MCL tears and those athletes were in extreme distress immediately.
Yeah. After the first doctor visit a few months ago, they gave me exercises to help strengthen the inside of my legs.
I talked to my neighbor (who is a physical therapist) when the swelling was going on. She said that the injury might be an MCL sprain.
Went to the doc today. The X-ray revealed No structural damage whatsoever. The doctor theorized that a free-floating or extra piece of cartilage in my knee caused the swelling and inflammation. It also caused my kneecap to be a little looser when I straighten my leg. She said no strenuous activities for the time being, and to take anti-inflammatories 2x a day. So hopefully I will be ready to go in 3.5 weeks!
Glad to hear you are only minimally damaged. I fear that you will end up like a lot of my soccer playing peers of old - every single one of them is in bad shape, knee wise. Of course, they were the good players who got all the playing time. I sucked and rode the bench. Also switched to ice hockey for 20 years (which has very little knee stress). And now I'm reffing/running my butt off!!!
Wow. Many guys in my area have knee problems as well. My knee feels much better, as I have been resting/stretching it and taking Aleve.
Good choice on the Aleve. I had an issue this summer that caused me pain. I didn't manage it very well and got up to six Advil a day. A few weeks ago I spent an entire week vomiting and diarrhea-ing. I think I mildly OD'd on it. My doc changed the prescription I was on for the issue and the new one has lidocaine in it. No more Advil and no more vomiting out my mouth and backside. Now hopefully this issue will finish healing quickly.
Interesting. Be careful with overdoing it with any NSAID. My son's girlfriend had some liver problems leading to jaundice from too much of either ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen sodium (Aleve), can't remember for sure which one it was. Also note carefully that the dosage for Aleve is different (lower) than it is for Advil, so it's even easier to get too much.
Aleve (naproxen), like Advil (ibupriofen), is an NSAID. All can have side effects, particularly at higher doses and over long term. Anyone taking any of them at higher doses or for extended periods should be consulting with a doctor as to how they are using them.
I don't know about hockey being better. I used to play against a guy who'd played for the Flyers in the NHL. You could always hear him coming at you because his knee braces clanked.
Currently I am only taking one or two Aleve a day. I feel fine while walking. I’ll probably start trying to run in about a week.
Ya - that is a whole nother level. I'm talking about O30+ mens C/D league playing 1-2 nights a week. Get a real good sweat, no checking, and lots of gliding rather than pounding on the legs. Sucked at this sport too, but I ran the team so guaranteed playing time!!!