Injured Knee Help

[Disc Golf Greg]

Back in late September I took a gnarly fall off my bicycle. I landed on the front of my knee hard on the sidewalk, instantly I had trouble putting weight on it. Fast forward a day or 2 and I can barley move my knee or walk.

It took a week before I could actually walk again. It was pretty swollen but went down after 3-4 days and mostly gone after a week. Here's the problem the other day I went out to play a round and I'm left handed backhand thrower/player. My left knee is/was the injured one. It feels really weird and weak as I rotate it toward the end of my shot. I don't want it to give out while I chuck a throw with all my might.

I'm worried because this injury happened over 2 months ago now and my knee is still so very weak it seems. Did I mess something up more than I realized? Is there anything I can do to help strengthen my knee muscles back up? I can bicycle again okay just Disc Golf and sometimes when I move it while walking or sitting feels weak. I'm thinking the back leftish area so maybe my ACL or muscle in the area?

Sorry for the long post tried to explain it short and to the point as possible. Hope everyone is having a nice start to their week!

 

[Um...]

Go to the doctor. They will diagnose the instability and get you on the right track for recovery.

Having torn up both my knees, no way would I be asking for medical advice on the internets.

 

[Dcinmd]

MRI is truly the only way to confirm torn ligaments. Now the doctor can do a few preliminary test but then they will order a MRI to confirm.

 

[lyleoross]

First, this thread should have been titled... Wounded Knee. Second, go to the doc, as Um said. I just got ripped in the leg, Thanksgiving soccer match. Thought it was all soft tissue. After a week of no improvement, I went to the doc. Broken Fibula. Then he sent me for an MRI, torn ligament.

Somethings just aren't able to be self-diagnosed, a torn tendon is one. A doctor can diagnose based on pain centers.

Note, next time you bung your knee, elevate and ice immediately. That gets the swelling down and eliminates swelling as a primary pain center. As a licensed coach, that is your top priority. if you did do this and didn't write it, then your symptoms sound like something tore to me.

 

[Disc Golf Greg]

Thanks for the replies! Unfortunately I don't think I can see a doctor as I don't have health insurance or the money sadly. In the past my old doctor would just feel really quickly to see if it was fully torn I guess.

 

[lyleoross]

BTW, even with a broken fibula, and a torn ligament, I bicycle every day. That is a poor diagnostic of a tear.

 

[lyleoross]

Thanks for the replies! Unfortunately I don't think I can see a doctor as I don't have health insurance or the money sadly. In the past my old doctor would just feel really quickly to see if it was fully torn I guess.

Time to figure out a way to get it covered. Free clinic, family, etc.

Ligaments will mend if you stabilize and don't use the knee, except in a very limited fashion. You can self treat, a mistake, but better than nothing. You want a rigid knee brace that keeps it immobile. If it's a full tear, it might still heal, but if there is any way, you need to see a doctor. Start with an initial exam. It's gonna be under $500, I believe. That is better than nothing.

FYI - that's all I'm doing. Full boot, I can even take it off at home. But it stabilizes the ligament and allows it to heal. That's the doctor's prescription.

 

[DavidSauls]

Been down this road. Except didn't wait quite so long. You need to know exactly what's wrong, and almost certainly need an ortho, not a regular doctor, to determine it.

On the bright side, mine turned out to be a torn meniscus, much preferable to ligament damage.

 

[ru4por]

A considerable conundrum in today's economic climate. Really allowing a tendon to heal is not a realistic option. Chances of it healing correctly, if at all, are minute and is very likely to leave you with a permanent disability. Getting seriously injured is awful when insurance is an issue. You are going to have to find a way to get the expensive diagnostic tests and probably surgery to fix your leg. If you have ligament, tendon or meniscus damage, you are going to make it worse with most normal activities....let alone disc golf, biking.... Good luck to you, hope it all works out.

Maybe sell that bike?

 

[Disc Golf Doctor]

I agree that you should see one for that. The description of the fall does not sound anything like an ACL tear (usually either a cutting/pivoting motion on a planted foot or a direct hit to the knee with a planted foot), but that doesn't mean that other things could be affected. An ortho certainly makes sense, but you could also just see a PT (if they know what they are doing). You can look up a list of local PTs who are board certified in orthopedics or sports physical therapy in your area: https://aptaapps.apta.org/DirectoryofCertifiedSpecialists/default.aspx

 

[etdefender19]

I tore up my left knee in law school playing flag football. No insurance so I let it go (read: was unable to get it fixed - this was the late 90s) until I got my first law gig and had full reconstructive surgery three years or so post-injury.

It was fine during the interim except that my knee would randomly dislocate (and not always go back in right away) during many physical activities. It was a running joke amongst law school buddies, etc. I had at least three or four people who knew (without me asking) when they needed to grab my ankle so I could pop my knee back in place. Fun times.

 

[Disc Golf Greg]

Thanks for all the input so far. Most of my friends are family think it was just a bad sprain. I feel like this time of the year doesn't help because normally I would have walked and cycled a lot more thus building strength back up much quicker. The fact that it was only moderately swollen with minimal bruising, and also the fact that the swelling went down within a few days to a week mostly all makes me think it can't be that bad hopefully. I have a little compression brace but I stopped wearing it because I heard it's good to eventually ditch it to help start building your knee back up. I was able to jog pretty well, well as good as you can with loose boots and a disc bag without any issues, if that means anything.

 

[DavidSauls]

For what it's worth.....I'm on (apparently) my third meniscus tear. Two surgeries, one on each knee, but this one I've self-diagnosed an am tolerating, for now.

With my first, when I first visited my Orthopedic Surgeon, he told me I wasn't going to make it worse by avoiding surgery; but that "sooner or later you'll come to me to fix it." My second, I toughed out for a year until it did start to get worse, and I yielded. My 3rd and current one isn't as severe; I went to PT and got them to accept my self-diagnosis and teach me therapy. So far, so good.

The first one was pretty severe, and I was pretty certain it was ligaments. The swelling wasn't where the injury was, and it was very unstable. But I was lucky to be wrong.

 

[d11rok]

Based on the mechanism of injury, a "bad sprain" doesn't make sense. A sprain happens when a twisting motion is imposed on a weighted extremity. A direct anterior trauma to the knee that was met by swelling and continued instability could be due to a fractured patella. An xray can delineate this

 

[fubu]

Until you're able to get a proper diagnosis, limit your pressure on that knee during DG. Try standstill throws, perhaps FH of you have it. Learn your limits while you're strengthening the support muscles. Dr. Google can give you lots of free strengthening exercises and physiotherapy homework that will help without making things worse (range of motion, stability, and balance exercises).
I've had many knee injuries/surgeries over the years, and fwiw, the time I fell into a kneeling position while BMXing (as an adult, like an idiot), I damaged my meniscus. While not a major stability problem it's certainly a comfort and confidence problem. Obviously ymmv.
I hope you're able to get a professional opinion, you will certainly benefit from it.

 

[Hyzflip10]

Only a doctor can tell for certain. Find out what the problem is and go from there. It might be tempting to play, but it may not be the best idea right now.