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About a month ago I woke up to a very swollen right knee with a reduced range of motion - I couldn't bend it back and touch my heel to my buttock, if I tried I'd get extreme pain in the knee just above the knee cap. I'd done nothing traumatic to the knee previously that I was aware of.
Fortunately I was still able to cycle pain free so did so and I managed to carry on working (I spend a lot of time on my feet so it tended to feel pretty achy at the end of the day). I also developed a strange, associated ache down the front of my right shin.
I had a telephone consultation with the GP who decided that it was likely to be wear an tear (I'm 56) and that it would eventually settle.
Then one day things changed, suddenly I regained the full range of movement with no pain over the knee cap, but instead had a lot of pain at the back of the knee, on the inside, it's particularly bad coming down stairs (leading with the good leg, but climbing stairs is fine).
About 3 weeks in a saw the GP who confirmed that there was a lot of fluid on the knee but, beyond that, didn't really know what was going on. Again the general feeling was that it's age related wear and tear.
I've been off with Covid this week so the knee's been rested but remains as painful as every coming down stairs (and occasionally when twisting the knee walking etc.). The GP feels that it's important to keep the knee moving but not to aggravate it (avoid the pain) and has booked me in for physio but warned that this may take months to come through. I'm also booked in for an x-ray.
So, any idea what's going on? Is there anything I can do to ease this or is it just a case of time, or indeed am I stuck with it (I'm starting to exhibit some signs of arthritis in other areas)?
The swelling has eased a little and there's no redness or heat and it doesn't seem to be worsening, but equally it doesn't seem to be improving either.
I have had lots of knee pain issues over the years that were misdiagnosed, eventually I found they were related to my pirirormis muscle that connects spine to hip across the top of my bum. It gets tight and pulls the leg and knee out of alignment. Some release excersises had almost instant relief and it turns out to be quite common. I'd try and eliminate that as a possibility, I went from a hobbling wreck back to normal and if I get a twinge I know what to do. The tightness is generally sitting too much for me, or working bent in a poor position
If you can afford it, go to a private physio. GPs are not great when it comes to muscular-skeletal issues, in general (by the nature of their job, they don’t have time to be). You can ask for a NHS physio apt via your GP, but that can take ages and they to tend have limited scope they can work with.
Yes, go to a physio. Having had a broken hip before, i know from expeience about referred pain. As Kormoran says, it could be from elsewhere, especially if it keeps moving/no obvious reason for it.
Yes - going to a good physio privately is a very good way of identifying the problem quickly and in many cases resolving it too.
Your problem may be different but I was told by my GP my knee pain was wear and tear - I was about 35. I went to a physio and it turned out to be muscle imbalance, and it’s still going strong 30 years later.
I think what usually happens is joint gets injured somehow -> joint swells -> muscles around joint weaken -> joint doesn't work properly due to muscle imbalance -> joint pain occurs.
To fix...
- reduce swelling (daily ice pack for 20 mins and take ibuiprofen - ask at pharmcy for a big pack)
- build muscle around joint to support it better (see physio to work out how)
Usually its the quads for a knee but yours sounds different.
100% pay for a private physio.
Avoided it for years but eventually did it and worth every penny. Learnt a lot about my body.
Another +1 for private physio, preferably a sports physio. It's not cheap, but it's been worth it every time for me.
You initially described a problem with knee cap tracking. Mine was solved by hamstring stretches and actuating the muscle above and inside the knee cap.
The next lot of symptoms sounds like cartlidge damage. Mine settled down in time
But I think we can safely assume that a qualified professional who has examined you will provide better advice than me
Thanks all. The GP recommended a private Physio appointment due to the slowness of the NHS. I'll probably only be able to afford a one-off but hopefully it'll tide me over until I can see the NHS one.
I can't take Ibuprofen due to my heart medication but am allowed to used topical gels.
Hopefully it'll start to settle.
If you get a locked knee like me my advice is not to drink too much water before bedtime.
Because the moment the knee is locked when you wake up, the pain will shoot up to your brain almost instantly and all bowel movement will be released at the same time. Any tiny movement will cause extreme pain. The knee cannot be bent or move at all.
Some say it is caused by arthritis but there is no swelling or pain at all but the locked knee will happen once in a while if I am totally relax and sleep well.
If you can afford it, go to a private physio.
Yep, local sports physio sorted my knees out a couple of times after injuries. They said that the nhs advice I received would've left me with permanent loss of mobility.
I have had lots of knee pain issues over the years that were misdiagnosed, eventually I found they were related to my pirirormis muscle that connects spine to hip across the top of my bum. It gets tight and pulls the leg and knee out of alignment. Some release excersises had almost instant relief and it turns out to be quite common. I’d try and eliminate that as a possibility, I went from a hobbling wreck back to normal and if I get a twinge I know what to do. The tightness is generally sitting too much for me, or working bent in a poor position
Well don't be shy, share these exercises!
Private physio. I did some interesting damage to my knee and the NHS physio exercises were towel under leg, lift foot type (which I did). Sports physio much more about getting movement and strength back and back to sport as opposed to shuffling to the shop.
Sounds like exactly what my wife has at the moment. Went to local physio who diagnosed runners knee. Lots of non-weight bearing exercises, ice and ibuprofen are starting to settle it down (though I have to keen nagging her to do the exercises). Gentle spinning on an exercise bike was also suggested by the physio after a couple of weeks.
I've been annoyed by tightness/soreness at the back of my knee since September, so I phoned for the NHS self-referral physio, did that in November and the chap said I needed to do stretches for the calf...
This seemed to make no difference at all so getting a bit fed up with the situation I phoned my GP in January, they got me to see the practice physio who said I have tendinopathy, I'd never heard of it so I looked it up, like you do...
He gave me a completely different set of exercises to do involving 'Hamstring bridges' and 'Knee flexion', as he said it wasn't the muscle that was the problem but my tendons that have not healed properly after over loading. He said this was common with overdoing exercise among 'older people' (I'm 56!).
This all made sense to me as I had overdone it back in September, with initially calf cramps, until the knee pain started soon after.
Anyway, physio said it could be 2 months of the bridge and flexion exercises so time will tell.
I can get out on the bike but there is still a tightness behind my knee and a sort of 'stinging' sensation sometimes, almost like a nettle sting sort of pain, weird.