Reply With QuoteSuffered knee twist injuries as a kid that basically scuppered my chances as a footballer. Recently soreness and stiffness when rising from a chair. Old age looming I guess. Now Im off to tae kwon do
Welcome.
This is the first in a series of TZ specials where we take a look at specific parts of the human anatomy. No, not that part.
The knee is very useful. Most of us have two. Take a look at them. They're just above your sandals and socks. But below your cargo shorts.
Stop me if I'm getting too technical.
As we get older, some of us may experience some knee twinges. This could be during exercise, rest or during acrobatic activity with a friend.
At present, I am finding that I have some pain behind my knee. It's there when I hold my hands out horizontally and bend my knees while keeping a straight back.
I'm headed to the GP and then probably the physio. I'm supplementing with chondroitin and glucosamine.
Do share your knee experiences.
Suffered knee twist injuries as a kid that basically scuppered my chances as a footballer. Recently soreness and stiffness when rising from a chair. Old age looming I guess. Now Im off to tae kwon do
You have a knack for thread topics that are both surprising (wacky?) and interesting, AO
Just the sort of thing that takes you off guard and can jeopardise your balance, thus imperilling... your knees.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Am suffering ATM from a horizontal plane twist during a day of intense exercise - didnt even know that I'd done it until the morning after.
Introduced a weakness after injury maybe 3- 5 years back when doing rapid squats.
Knee strap and take it easy for 8-12 weeks (gentle non twisty exercise).
Good luck with yours
B
Going for Arthroscopic surgery next month for medial meniscus injury.
Injured back in Oct doctors thought it was house maids knee or sprain turned out to be more serious.
I have suffered from bad knee's since the age of 18 and carrying far too much weight as an infantry soldier did not help. I suffer from bi lateral alterior knee pain and it's getting worse with age especially walking up the apples and pairs.
I now take Naproxen 500mg my daily pain killer.
Dear Dr. AlphaOmega,Originally Posted by AlphaOmega
I have a friend who has been following your new clinical advice thread with interest....
However, he has told me that when he looks below his cargo shorts he cannot see his knees.
In fact he has told me that he cannot see beyond his waistline due to a rare condition brought on by Covid.
Should he be worried that he cannot see below his waistline, and is there any other method you can recommend for checking that he has two knees please?
Thanks Doctor
(on behalf of my friend)
Bilateral arthroscopic meniscectomies for me. I don't run any more as I want what's left of them to last!
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I doff my cap to your interesting thread title choices.
Cheers..
Jase
Here is a haemophiliac knee with an internal bleed. Been causing me misery for almost 2 months now.
The left knee was replaced in 2003.
Look after your knees folks☹️
Wow, thats a strong painkiller. I occasionally take it for a shoulder injury I suffered in August but a side effect is shortness of breath especially when wearing a face covering (ideal in the current pandemic!)
I was advised not to take it regularly?
My left knee is totally shot.
I wrecked it as a lad playing rugby, there is not much cartilage left,I can only run with it heavily strapped now. I am too stupid to listen to my body and still try and play.
It really plays up in wet weather, they joys of getting old.
I take 2 per day. Smacked out of my t..'s Robin.
And yet if someone you didnt know made this thread you would take a dump on itYou have a knack for thread topics that are both surprising (wacky?) and interesting, AO
Just the sort of thing that takes you off guard and can jeopardise your balance, thus imperilling... your knees.
Left knee replaced at 49 Right knee needs replacing but that won't be for a long time.
All due to a motor bike crash in my younger day's.
Shattered my left knee and all torn ligaments in my right knee.
I take 30mg of Zomorph twice a day everyday due to Arthritis but life goes on :D
Ohh and both elbows are shot but that's another self inflicted story.
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We should all take the knee seriously, because black lives matter.🙃
Ouch
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Had an arthroscopy on my right knee after bending it sideways (hurts a bit not recommended) and damaging the ligaments. Kept dislocating and joint was loose, but surprisingly was fixed by the brilliant consultant. Couldn't believe they could do so much without a major invasive operation.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
That sounds really painful mate, hope it improves soon for you.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Mine are getting very clicky nowadays.
I put it down to years of kneeling in the ballast when track welding on the railway.
Both my knees are a bit dodgy but the right is worse. Occasionally when I am walking downstairs it feels like it is turning inside out (!) but it soon returns to normal.
I was doing some squats as part of an exercise scheme but it ruined my right knee so I had to leave that bit out.
Still reasonably agile for a pensioner though and there are a lot worse off.
Cheers,
Neil.
Pethidine takes the edge off😈😈
My knees are fine, I seem to have the feet of a octogenarian though.
Cheers..
Jase
Broke mine a few years ago skiing.
It was a Tibial Plateau fracture (basically the top of the lower leg snapped off, but only about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the way - I could turn my skis one way but not the other, without serious pain).
I was told the injury was more commonly associated with motorcycle accidents, which didn't seem terribly surprising given the speed of my crash!
Healed OK without surgery and, surprisingly, the ligaments didn't snap, just stretched a bit (My consultant said he'd consider it normal if the other didn't exhibit much less movement).
I do get pain (a throbbing really) in the knee, though if I walk any distance (multiple miles, usually, although it can be bad over a few hundred yards) and now and then I'll get a stabbing pain from it, but generally I think I got off quite lightly.
I suspect I'll suffer as I get (even) older, though, as I was warned about it.
My wife did something similar a couple of years later, but she's never gone back to skiing.
M
Last edited by snowman; 27th March 2021 at 15:06.
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Had a compression fracture of the head of my tibia when my left leg snapped backwards whilst carrying a sack of coal. Had to have it rebuilt with a bit of bone from my hip. Hip to toe plaster and a dressing over the hip wound. Sitting on the loo was a real trial. The hip wound was the most painful thing ever.
One week after the event my boss at work was ringing me up asking when I was going back in. So, to prove a point, I went back in with plaster on, on crutches and with the still bleeding wound. I did not prove the point.
Mother of god. Hope that gets sorted soon for youHere is a haemophiliac knee with an internal bleed. Been causing me misery for almost 2 months now.
The left knee was replaced in 2003.
Look after your knees folks☹️
After 50 years of playing squash to a reasonable level I had to have my cartilage trimmed by keyhole surgery about 8 years ago and was fine up to about 6 months ago but alas its returned I now have pain only when going up or down the stairs its ok on the flat and can still play squash I am looking forward to getting back on court (when the courts reopen) not bad for a 71 year old!
No knee problems here, but then Im a generation younger than you old sods. Im revisit this in 20 years time.
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Let's just say my knees have provided a good (and steady) income to my physiotherapist over the last few years, it seems all my past abuse of them has come home to roost...
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Well, it's been a while since I wrote anything for The BMJ* or The Lancet* but I'll have a go.
I recommend your friend carries a Bergen up and down Pen Y Fan a few times. Within a short time, his knees will certainly let him know if they're there.
Failing that, a mirror suspended from a kilt should assist.
Look more deeply.
This is a thread about knee injury and recovery. It's something that is likely to affect quite a few of us. I've written it in this way because members spend their free time here and I don't want to bore them. I hope they spot the humour rather than taking it at face value. We can still discuss serious problems as some members already have.
In any case, SJ would have no qualms in being direct with me. We are lucky enough to be able to speak our minds.
So... xellos please tell us about your knees or I will be forced to assume you have no interesting patella-related stories. Which is a sign of a life unlived.**
*Never. **Not really.
Last edited by AlphaOmega; 27th March 2021 at 18:34.
Im going into hospital on Monday. Hopefully they can come up with something before I cut my leg off..
Here's hoping everything works out well, I'm sure it will. Will be thinking about you.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I work on my knees a lot (tyre fitter, not rent boy). I always wear knee pads. I didn’t for the first few years but waking up in the night with shooting pains to my kneecaps at 22 years old made me reassess my choices!
The trouble with knees / backs / shoulders etc is by the time the pain starts, it’s normally too late
Jeez, fingers crossed they can sort something out for you.
I've had a few trials with my health myself of late, but nothing I've had to put up with is in your league.
On a 135 mile bike ride about three years ago at the age of 57, I started feeling pain in both knees. I was about 30 miles from home when this kicked in and I really wish I'd stopped there and then, and begged a lift home from 'er indoors. Instead I pushed on, thinking it wasn't too serious, and I gave myself an overuse injury. This surprised me somewhat because I'd done substantially longer distances than that, including 170+ miles only the previous year.
The first physio I saw told me I was suffering from inflammation of the pads behind the knee caps, and it would clear up completely in about 12 weeks. Unfortunately it didn't. I kept riding, taking it easy and doing shorter distances until I was having difficulty getting upstairs and getting out of a car. I was worried I would never be able to do long distances again which was very depressing for me, because a day out on a bike is my escape.
Anyway the first physio suggested that I should engage the NHS so I could get an MRI scan. The NHS physio I was referred to was, by happy coincidence, a cyclist herself as well as an experienced physio and she seemed to know exactly what the problem was. She gave me some hamstring stretching exercises which were pretty gruelling but they definitely helped a lot. The MRI results were as follows (I only had the right knee scanned):
Clinical Hx: persistent pain
Normal medial meniscus. Normal articular cartilage in the medial compartment.
Normal lateral meniscus. Normal articular cartilage in the lateral compartment.
There is a 1.5 x 0.5 cm area of at least moderate cartilage thinning with subchondral change on the patellar ridge. The patellofemoral articular cartilage looks otherwise normal.
Normal cruciate and collateral ligaments. There is very minor thickening and high signal affects the medial half of the proximal 1.5cm of the patellar tendon consistent with mild tendinosis.
There is no effusion in the knee.
She told me that there was nothing seriously wrong with my knees, to keep cycling, keep increasing my distances, and ultimately I'd be able to do the long ones again - and happily, she was right. But it was a long way back. They haven't completely recovered actually, I get mild pain in both knees during and after a long ride and I wouldn't have a few years ago. But by making sure the bike fits properly (saddle height and distance to pedal is critical), not pushing too hard and having a recovery day after a long ride, I do fine. I did a 200 mile ride in June last year and didn't do any damage.
I used to have trouble with my knees when coming down stairs or stepping over a curb/doorstep, it would feel like the a knee had dislocated mis step and then as I put weight back on the leg excruciating pain causing me to hobble and stagger.
This problem was cured by redundancy from my job, I was a computer operator and my seating position was causing the problem, I would sit on a swivel chair all day with my legs on the floor but one ankle over the other tucked up underneath me.
Next two jobs were factory floor based with no sitting down whatsoever, bingo! .....no more knee problems but sadly not much money either, so lm poor but healthy, apparently you cant have everything in life :-)
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There is a surgeon some where I cant remember his name but he fasttracks ex soldiers for knee operations. I thinks hes in Birmingham.
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I am a knee surgeon and sports injury specialist.
I don't do diagnosis and treatment over forums, because it's very unreliable and proper diagnosis needs Xrays and examination.
There is a lot of good advice on this thread.
I will say that the best order of doing things with a knee complaint is:
A. Leave it a week or so, unless you obviously need A&E
B. See your GP, but you'd do better with a specialist physio. A lot of GPs receive very very little orthopaedic training. I have sympathy for them, I couldn't do their job.
C. Don't use MRI to diagnose a knee. I don't. They are quite unreliable.
D. With a persistent knee problem, come and see a Consultant like me. Its not all about operating.
Veterens and currently serving get some priority:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/arme...nhs-treatment/
It used to be called the Military Covenant.
We all do it, across the NHS. A letter from a MO usually does the trick.
Group Captain Ian Sargeant in Birmingham is perhaps the man.
Thanks, Doc.
Very good of you to lay out a simple path for us to follow.
i have osteoarthritis and have been told i will need a replacement right knee at some point.i shall try to avoid it for as long as possible as i have had three complete hip replacements[yes three] i have had enough of surgery for the time being.on the subject of Naproxen i was on 500mg a day for 20years,when i came off of it i had some really weird side effects/withdrawal symptoms..
I had a knee replacement a couple of years ago at 65. I really wanted both doing but the consultant told me no. The worst one was replaced, for a couple of days after it was a huge relief - then it all went wrong with excruciating pain and I ended up in hospital for a couple of weeks. Result, they believe, of nerve damage.
Some excellent physio saw it being absolutely perfect and pain free after a couple of months. I also have the honour of holding the surgeons max post-op knee deflection/bend angle!
Glad I didn't get both done. Once things settled down so did my other knee. Seems the non operated knee was doing all the work to save the knee that eventually had the replacement.
No need for pain killers now, can walk as far as I want without issue. Perfect result and should last up to 20 years.
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It was a suggestion by a surgeon I saw where he would operate on both knees at the same times whilst under.
He flushed, trimmed and removed the loose cartledge in the knee joints and found the onset of arthritis behind the kneecaps. Whilst I was able to hobble about after the surgery, the right knee started to cause some discomfort, however after around 7>8 days it started to swell significantly and resulted in it being drained twice. I suspect that this was due to placing to much weight on the right knee after the surgery as no explanation was given.
To be honest I would try and avoid having both done at the same time, however some years on it, it was a procedure that I should have had done years ago given the discomfort I was in.
B
Last edited by bomberman; 28th March 2021 at 19:48.
The knee is indeed an interesting anatomical feature which is designed to bend in one direction, (heel going in a backwards direction), to this end it is a very functional design.
Unfortunately, sometimes something goes wrong and it decides to try to bent the opposite way. This, in my case, led to a fall down a flight of narrow stairs, a number of broken ribs, a lot of pain and a ruined holiday! This led to keyhole surgery which worked for a few years but regressed due to the cartilage wearing out meaning one leg was slightly shorter that the other, also to an awful lot of pain!
But now I have a metal one which works almost exactly as it should, doesn't quite bend as far as the original one did, but at leat the pain has gone. Wasn't much fun getting there though....
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
^^^
Aaah Peter!
I have seen that pic before and glad it fixed you up properly.
Cheers,
Neil.
I damaged my knee many years ago playing 5 a side, went to the doctors but ended up getting fobbed off for about a year before they finally sent me for an MRI. I had badly damaged cartilage and had an operation about a year after that. Because I was young and fairly stupid I kept playing football during this time which made the whole thing a lot worse. The doctor at the time said I would need a knee replacement in my 40's but not to worry about that as medicine would advance a great deal in this time. I am very close to 40 now!
Now many years later if I run too far I get a dull ache from my knee which is fairly frustrating, I tried playing football with a knee strap and was ok for the first few weeks then the pain gradually got worse, and I stopped. I can still cycle and snowboard which is a bonus, at times even cycling can cause some pain.
Thanks Neil. It's been a long haul, but it's so nice not to have pain in my knee any more. The scar is now just a feint thin line - apparently they didn't use stitches, just some new type of glue with that piece of tape over the top.^^^
Aaah Peter!
I have seen that pic before and glad it fixed you up properly.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
I dislocated my left knee in 1997, wish it was something cool but was just walking around a desk on teacher training. Stayed on it all day and drove home honetly the most pain I’ve ever had.
A&E took fluid out and plastered it but a week later it was the same, looked like a balloon.
Front was super squishy and the outside was rock hard. About a two weeks later I saw a specialist and was operated on a few days later.
The kneecap was on the outside of my knee and had cut into the cartilage causing endless swelling and two of the ligaments were partially severed. Dr said it would have been so much simpler if I had just broken my leg.
Wore a compression band every day for around 10 years after and it took a long time to feel comfortable without it. Even now it aches in the cold weather.
You all have my sympathy.
Got decent scars on my knees from repeatedly crashing my BMX as a teen; matching set on elbows.
Other than that quite tame compared to you lot.
Not knees but can I start Necks ?
This was done to me a week ago
Operation no. 4 over the last 20 years.
This was a posterior cervical decompression at the C8 level.
Think I may have overdone it a tad today cos its bloody sore !!!
maseman
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