I’m usually hesitant about going to the ER unless I can’t stem the bleeding. Mom was an ER trauma nurse and was very 'suck it up, buttercup, don’t clog up the ER unless the bone is sticking out."
I second this.
Good grief. That’s a hell of a tape to have playing in your head.
Here’s a handy list of when to go to the ER vs. urgent care vs. see your own doc.
Use of the ER for non-emergency issues is a real problem. ERs don’t want to discourage people from using the facilities legitimately but they do try to get the word out as to what really needs to be seen emergently and what does not.
And with the wide availability of the internet, most people can be reasonably expected to be able to access this sort of information now.
Urgent care would be good; most of the time they have in-house x-ray machines and can make the call of whether to refer you out to an orthopedic surgeon or to conservatively treat it.
Plus, they’re not as pricey as just setting up an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon probably is.
That said, when I last hurt my knee, I took an ambulance ride straight to the ER*; I’d completely ruptured my patellar tendon and couldn’t actually get up on my own or really go anywhere on my own steam.
Good thing I did; I had reconstructive surgery the following morning and was good as new a few months (and a LOT of physical therapy) later.
- the same exact ER that treated(?) Eric Duncan for ebola virus several months later. No complaints from me though; they did a bang-up job on me.
As Q says - and knows far more than I - ER misuse/abuse is a huge issue.
Your emergency may be someone else’s booboo.
I wouldn’t hesitate to see some sort of medical professional about a painful knee, the important load-bearing, complicated, piece of meat, bone and gristle that it is.
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright;20507922There are three menisci, and pain around the kneecap is very rarely correlated with a meniscal tear.[/QUOTE]
Huh, not in my personal experience. And WebMD says:
I am a rare bird, however!
There are plenty of good, sound, sensible reasons NOT to go to the ER. Being afraid of being seen as a “whiny crybaby” is not a good reason. Just sayin’. Carry on.
So now the truth comes out, Mr “Person Who Has Had Experience With Knee Injuries Jackson”.
I suppose next we’ll find out that’s not really you on the twenty dollar bill.
Well, it’s actually a composite photo of the 5 of me.
OP didn’t start this thread until 2½ days after injury. Does he need to seek medical advice? Absolutely. Does he need an ER at this point? IMO, no. If the OP has been able to live with it for a few days, I wouldn’t call it an “Emergency” at this point.
You have more than three menisci? 
He probably has jars full of 'em.
So I saw an ortho and had an MRI, waiting on the report. My knee, thankfully, has improved quite a bit (I’m still RICEing at night).
I also have my father’s eyes.
Take those out of your mouth!