Yes, the irony burns – as I posted last week, our dog is going in for knee surgery soon :eek:
Standard Doper disclaimer: I know (most) of us aren’t doctors/I’m seeking advice from folks who have had a knee injury/YMMV/Not good with other coupon offers.
On Tuesday I stepped on a stair wrong and a bolt of pain shot through the outer edge of my kneecap. This has happened a few times in the past, but after a few minutes all is copacetic. Not this time.
For the last two days I’ve RICE’d and limped around. I’ll get up to walk, thinking things are better, then Jesus hurls a white-hot lightning bolt around the edge of the kneecap and a little bit under (there’s a kind of “circle of hurt”) around the sides and just a bit under the cap).
It doesn’t happen every time I put full weight on the leg/swing my hooves off the couch/get in and out of the car, but when it does . . . ZAP! It’s literally screamin’ time. Climbing stairs are out of the question and it hurts to flex my toesies downward.
My doctor is useless (I’m changing to a new one next month) and I don’t want to be the crybaby at the ER with a knee boo boo. What sayeth those who have dealt with knee hurts? RICE over the weekend and stay down? Like I said, it’s just mildy achey when I immobilize.
See an orthopedist. It may be something needing repair/intervention, or it may be something that in time will go away. I took a similar-sounding misstep on a stairs, and in my case it took time for it to heal. 3 months(!), but it eventually healed.
Yeah, this seems to be the general advice herein. I just don’t want to be a snowflake complainer, since I can do some walking without thunderbolt pain happening
Worst case scenario is a chip of bone broke off and it’s moving around and tearing up tissue as you move. This is not a thing you want to ignore. The longer you go without getting it treated, the more damage it will cause.
IANAD, but I do have experience with knee injuries. If it were me, I would schedule an appointment with an orthopedist (given that you don’t like your PCP). It’s highly likely that an x-ray will be insufficient to diagnose the damage, most likely an MRI will be required. The only thing an urgent care or ER can do is to rule out a break (unlikely given your description of the injury), schedule an MRI and maybe prescribe some pain killer and or anti-inflammatory meds. Even if the ER got you in for a Saturday or Sunday MRI, the next step would be the ortho referral. In your shoes I would take OTC NSAID’s and visit the ortho on Monday.
My non-medical opinion is that you have minor to moderate damage of the meniscus. The course of treatment will depend on the MRI findings - anything from rest to physical therapy to surgery.
Definitely get it checked out as soon as you can. The ER is probably not the place to go. Go to an orthopedist who can get you in quickly. In the meantime, you might consider going to a medical supply store and get a leg or knee splint thing that keeps your knee from bending. The sharp, specific pain probably means that one spot has been damaged in some way (tear, cartilage bruise, etc)
Knees are one thing you don’t want to just wait out for something like you’re describing. Most people will have knee problems as they get older regardless of injury. If this is something more than just a sprain, you’ll want to get it taken care of to avoid chronic issues. And stick to any physical therapy schedule to ensure it heals properly. I seem to remember you like working out, so a full recovery will be crucial to avoiding knee problems which could limit your choices.
I agree with this. Don’t bother with ER if you can hobble around and aren’t constantly screaming in pain. But if, after three days, you’re still getting lightning bolts, then go see a knee doctor.
[My experience was that the ER told me it was just a tweak and everything was fine. When it never quite got better, I went to an orthopedist who needed about 30 seconds to correctly diagnose that I needed surgery. ]
Standard disclaimer: I am an Emergency Department doc but not your ED doc. I can’t really offer an assessment of your injury since I can’t examine you over the internet. Etc, etc…
It’s unlikely but not impossible that you have a bony injury with the mechanism of injury you describe. Most likely to be a ligamentous injury (sprain vs partial tear) or a cartilage injury like a meniscus tear. If you go to the ED they can examine your knee to make sure you don’t have instability of your knee joint such that you need to be completely non-weightbearing and they can do an XRay rule out fracture or dislocation. If you need an MRI you’re unlikely to get one today in the ED. There are very few indications for a truly emergent MRI and knee injury that hurts sometimes but you can still mostly walk on is not on the list.
If it were me and I wanted an exam/XR today and didn’t like my PCP I would go to Urgent Care. I would then make an appointment with an orthopedist and do the RICE thing in the meantime. Maybe use an ACE wrap, crutches or knee brace if that helps with the pain.
My non-expert guess is that you have a chronic patellar tendon tear, which you recently aggravated. IANAD; I’m a lawyer who deals with knee injuries in my practice, and my dad is an orthopaedic surgeon who likes to discuss medicine with me.
I’d go to an urgent care facility too, though if you can get a quick appointment with an orthopedist I’d skip that part.
There are three menisci, and pain around the kneecap is very rarely correlated with a meniscal tear.
Another guy who deals w/ knee injuries and had undergone them himself. Absolutely no reason to go to the ER. Not trying to be critical, but what do you expect the ER to do for you. The ER is the least economic way to deal with so many medical concerns - including yours. But that is fodder for a different thread.
If you want someone to prescribe you pain meds or something right away, go to urgent care. But if you are able to hobble around and the wait is not too long, make the apt with the ortho. Get a cane to use, wrap it with an ace bandage or buy a cheap flexible brace at the drug store, and take it easy until you can see the appropriate Dr.
There are tons of orthos in most urban areas. Every time I have needed to, I’ve been able to see orthos within a day or 2. (Yeah, I injure myself too often!)
Alternatively - go to a chiro or a pain clinic. They’ll be happy to provide PT and injections as long as your insurance/$ holds out! (Yeah - I’m just a BIT cynical…)
Speaking as a doc who’s evaluated a whole lot of knees:
Unless a bone is protruding, or it’s swollen to bursting or other similar extreme situation has occurred, I’d avoid the ER. A convenient urgent care facility would be a better place to go; get an assessment, possibly an x-ray if indicated (X-rays are diagnostic, not therapeutic, and not always called for right away in every situation), maybe a nice brace or immobilizer, appropriate meds, and good orderly directions for what type of follow-up it needs.
Just dropped in to say that this is seriously wrongheaded thinking.
I’ve been to the ER plenty of times with other people and a few times on my own, and no one ever acted like I was a whiny baby. Usually the ER staff is as relieved and happy as you are when it turns out not to be serious. Of course, you should evaluate for yourself whether an ER visit is warranted, but “not wanting to look like a crybaby” should not be part of that consideration.
The one thing I NEVER want to hear from any doctor is, “If only you had seen to this sooner… but now it’s going to be much harder to deal with.”
(Yeah - I’m just a BIT cynical…)