Worried about knee..........

[pabletion]

Hey everyone. I slightly (very slightly!) twisted my right knee last friday while playing a match. I was serving and as I landed (on my left foot) I felt a slight discomfort on my RIGHT knee, felt it specially when I applied weight on that knee and bended a bit. After the changeover, I tested it a bit, noticing that the slight pain was felt in the middle of my knee, and also on the sides, mostly on the back part of it. Of course I had to stop playing.

I spent the weekend being very careful and trying not to bend it much, and I felt a bit of pain when I climbed the stairs with that leg (if I just used the other leg to climb, and then stepped with the hurting knee on the step, there was no pain). Walking doesnt cause me any pain, just stepping up or applying weight to it. Tried to hit some balls yesterday agains the wall, and, when I step in, it hurts a tad.

What happened? Anyone has had a similar issue? What'd u do? (I know.... I'll go see a doctor, just bare with me, its my first ever knee issue I've had...)

 

[ollinger]

Several possibilities, will likely come to a MRI if it doesn't improve soon.

 

[Mr.Lob]

Your right leg kick out to the side when you landed on your left foot? If so sounds as if you may have torn your medial meniscus...or sprained an acl. Rest, ice and ibuprofen. If feeling better start stretching and doing some strengthening exercises. If not I'd see an orthopedic surgeon.

 

[Qubax]

Take a month off.

 

[movdqa]

Could be several things - the knee is a moderately complex joint.

You might get a knee sleeve to restrict movement - this might help a lot or maybe very little. It may be something that heals on its own to something that requires surgery. We really can't tell here. Many folks just try rest for a while. Those that are more aggressive would get it checked.

 

[pabletion]

Went to the doc today. Says its a Posterior Cross Ligament injury. Brace for two weeks, and awaiting x-rays & MRI results to know full extense.

Hope its just a minor injury.

TOTALLY bummed, no tennis for 3+ weeks, had to pull out of the 1st natl ranking tourney starting this weeknd....... ffffff!!!!!!!!

 

[pabletion]

***UPDATE*** just want to vent out, I'm really bummed out. MRI confirmed I have a slight rupture on my Posterior Cruciate Ligament on my right knee, that means 3 wks with immobilizer, then some physio therapy before returning to tennis, that means more than a month out of the courts. This weekend the 1st Natl ranking began, and was really looking forward to it.

Also, next week we have Holy Week break and Im going on a cruise ship on the caribbean so its just gonna suck.

The "good news" is no surgery needed and its a minor injury but still, terrible timing.

Hope to be back and stronger in about a month. This is my first injury of this sort, have never been away from tennis due to injury for this long (the most was 2 weeks bc of twisted ankle or minor tendonitis on wrist).

 

[1HBH-DownTheLine]

Sucks about the injury and it could be way worse and you don't need surgery.

Im going on a cruise ship on the caribbean so its just gonna suck.

 

[pabletion]

Sucks about the injury and it could be way worse and you don't need surgery.

Good (hopefully) news!!! Decided to get a 2nd opinion with a knee expert, since I heard not great things from the first traumatologist I saw (he's a feet expert) and wasnt convinced with what he told me. A friend "scared" the crap outta me, telling me that it was weird I would be immovilized for three whole weeks, that my quads would atrophiate horribly.. .bla bla bla....

So I listened and booked an appointment with the allegedly best knee doc in town. Completely different diagnosis, he saw that my cruciate ligaments (anterior and posterior) were fine, just midly bruised, and that the problem is the patella cartilage that has been injured. This cartilage goes beneath your knee cap, and it seems I mildly teared it. The good news is that I only have to wear a knee cap brace for a week, which means I can bend my leg. This is gonna mean that my cruise vacay wont completely suck, although of course I'll have to take it easy and still wont be able to do everything.

AFter I get back from holy week break, the doc will check me out again and see the progress, and hopefully I wont need any surgery at all, just use the brace and some physio.....

Just venting out here, this sucks, NEVER ever suffered anything regarding knees at all, they didnt bother me before and I've been playing sports my whole life (soccer, basketball, tennis, golf......), it just happened, with no previous notice.

Anyways, wish me luck and hopefully it fully heals.

 

[movdqa]

I think that the cartilage is often due to weak core muscles and a good core workout may help to prevent problems in the future.

I also use aftermarket insoles for more cushioning when running (not for tennis) which may help.

So actually you had some good news overall.

Cartilage grows back slowly but you need to solve the base problem as to why it's wearing.

 

[pabletion]

I think that the cartilage is often due to weak core muscles and a good core workout may help to prevent problems in the future.

I also use aftermarket insoles for more cushioning when running (not for tennis) which may help.

So actually you had some good news overall.

Cartilage grows back slowly but you need to solve the base problem as to why it's wearing.

thanks for your imput, definitely more positive now!

 

[SteveI]

New Study Shows Cartilage Doesn’t Self-Heal
During the new study, researchers looked at the knee-joint cartilage in 8 subjects with arthritis and 15 subjects with normal, healthy cartilage. Subject ages ranged from 18 to 76 years. Researchers concluded that “the collagen matrix of human cartilage is essentially permanent,” and there is no cartilage self-healing that takes place after the bones stop growing, which would be at some point in our teen years. Yes, you read that right—age 15 or 16 would be about the average age for bones to stop growing, so from that point on, there is no collagen regeneration in the cartilage. Your body, on its own, cannot regenerate the cartilage it loses in its adult years.

 

[movdqa]

New Study Shows Cartilage Doesn’t Self-Heal
During the new study, researchers looked at the knee-joint cartilage in 8 subjects with arthritis and 15 subjects with normal, healthy cartilage. Subject ages ranged from 18 to 76 years. Researchers concluded that “the collagen matrix of human cartilage is essentially permanent,” and there is no cartilage self-healing that takes place after the bones stop growing, which would be at some point in our teen years. Yes, you read that right—age 15 or 16 would be about the average age for bones to stop growing, so from that point on, there is no collagen regeneration in the cartilage. Your body, on its own, cannot regenerate the cartilage it loses in its adult years.

I think that millions have observed that it does heal. Slowly.

But it would really help to use the original title:
Radiocarbon dating reveals minimal collagen turnover in both healthy and osteoarthritic human cartilage

 

[Fintft]

New Study Shows Cartilage Doesn’t Self-Heal
During the new study, researchers looked at the knee-joint cartilage in 8 subjects with arthritis and 15 subjects with normal, healthy cartilage. Subject ages ranged from 18 to 76 years. Researchers concluded that “the collagen matrix of human cartilage is essentially permanent,” and there is no cartilage self-healing that takes place after the bones stop growing, which would be at some point in our teen years. Yes, you read that right—age 15 or 16 would be about the average age for bones to stop growing, so from that point on, there is no collagen regeneration in the cartilage. Your body, on its own, cannot regenerate the cartilage it loses in its adult years.

What would you recommend? Injections?

 

[movdqa]

I've been through various bouts of cartilage problems from running and/or tennis and just resting for a while (decreasing activity) usually took care of it. There are lots of studies showing that it does grow back - but just slowly. A local company, maybe Genzyme, had a service back in the 90s where they extracted your own cartilage cells, then grew them in a lab and then implanted them back in you, cost $10,000 I believe - that was back in the 1990s. These days, I think that they can insert pig cartilage to fix knee problems. I don't know what this procedure costs though and I'd personally just rest for a while.

 

[SteveI]

This person might be the expert...

Chris Centeno, M.D. is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. Centeno regularly lectures on regenerative medicine and has spoken twice at the Vatican Stem Cell Conference, as well as the NFL Combine. Where did you go to med school???

 

[movdqa]

This person might be the expert...

Chris Centeno, M.D. is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. Centeno regularly lectures on regenerative medicine and has spoken twice at the Vatican Stem Cell Conference, as well as the NFL Combine. Where did you go to med school???

I hadn't heard about this technology.

It looks like it's pretty cheap compared to older treatments.

I've never been to med school. But that doesn't mean that I can't read research papers, and analyze technologies.