So I know a lot of you guys have had knee problems. I've had knee problems since I was a kid. Both knees have had a history of dislocating, and sometimes in the most bizarre way. Yesterday, for example, I was laying in bed half asleep, I think I rolled over and my right knee just popped out. I wasn't really conscious so I thrashed around a bit (which I think made it worse), and then I got out of bed and tried to pop it back in. In the past it has gone right back in, but that was not he case yesterday. It was extremely painful, and the longer it was out, the worse it got. My knee tightened up to the point where I couldn't straighten it out. I was stuck on the end of the bed, my leg was stuck in a 90 degree angle, and I couldn't move. My leg felt dead. Finally I had to call 911 because I couldn't move. The EMTs came, helped me get out to the car and my mom drove me to the ER. I spent 8 hours at the ER. They couldn't figure out how to get my leg straight. The doctors said it was my meniscus, and they said they had never seen the meniscus not just pop back in. They tried to numb me up with morphine, but it didn't do anything. They tried to pop it back in but the pain was excruciating. Finally, after 7 hours, they knocked me out and got it fixed. The annoying part was that they looked at my medical history and apparently an MRI that I had back in 1998 diagnosed a tear in my meniscus, but Kaiser Permanente never told me. Another shitty factor is that I've had this problem in both knees, so I'm wondering if both my knees have the same problem. What's weird is that my mom has the same problem where her knees will dislocate. We always thought it was a genetic problem. I'm going to see a specialist soon hopefully, and I guess they'll probably have to operate. I'm just pissed that I wasn't told about this problem back in 98. Does any of this sound familiar?
I injured my knee playing flag football in college. Ever since then when I play basketball and do side to side motions they'll give out and swell up. Not entirely sure what happens, if it happens again while I'm playing in the bball league I'm in, I'll finally get an mri to check them out
Do they pop out of place and then you have to pop them in place? I think mine first started playing basketball when I was 16. That's when I think I tore my meniscus.
I don't have to pop it back into place. I'm unsure what goes on, I'll plant with my left foot and the knee will give out. It feels like a crunch goes on in my knee, but I'm able to run it out sometimes and continue to play off adrenaline. then it swells the day after and gets bruised.
That doesn't sound good man. I would most definitely get that checked out. I was always convinced that my problem was just a genetic defect because my mom has the same problem, BUT the doctors were convinced that it's a meniscus tear.
My knee just buckles occasionally, no pain. You know how if someone like hits the back of your knee and you kind of buckle? thats what I mean. I always assumed it was due to an injury from my childhood, but one of my siblings has the same issues with their knee, and didn't have any injuries playing sports.
Just checking in. My knees are jacked too. About 2 years ago I hurt my back really bad. All I did was bend over and pick something up off of the floor. For nearly two weeks it was excruciatingly painful just to get out of bed. I couldn't sit up, so to get up out of bed and to my feet, I had to scootch over to the side of the bed, slide and flop down onto the floor, then turn around, get on my knees, then get my feet under me, and then push myself up. The push up part had to be done in two phases because of the pain. It was as though I was doing the up motion of a squat once I got my feet under me. Damn it friggin' hurt. Once I was on my feet I had to hang on to the wall for a few minutes until my back loosened up to where I could walk around. Just as my back started feeling better my right knee swelled up and became unstable. I think it had something to do with how I was needing to get out of bed by putting a ton of pressure on my knees to stand since I couldn't use my lower back and stomach muscles much. Once that knee started feeling better I hurt my other knee running to catch a streetcar. Same symptoms, swelling and unstable, and popping every couple minutes. It was a really shitty six months of constant pain. My left knee still pops every five minutes or so, and my right one from time to time. I blame my sedentary job. I have began exercising and eating healthy-er and have lost 30 pounds.
My knees feel fine, always have. But lately when I bend them they sound like I'm crushing rice crispies in my hand. I'm guessing that's a bad thing.
Yes sounds very familiar. I've had meniscus on both knees and I think some of us are predispositioned to have this on both knees, in fact I bet the tear is in the exact same spot on both knees like mine was. I tore my left one in '94 in highschool, just bending down to open up my locker. I lived with it for a few years, popping in and out, even playing sports with it. Every time it pops though it tears a little more, and one day mine popped out like yours and I couldn't get it back in no matter what I did, I had surgery a day or two later which fixed it. My right knee went out in 2001, similar way, bending down to tighten my shoe lace. It popped in and out for a year or two but this time I got surgery before it went all the way out. Your surgeries will be in and out easy peasy, 4 week recovery time, but you will be walking in less than a week. I bet if you think back you can remember one instance where you first hurt it, that is usually the most painful time and your knee probably swelled up and was hard to move or walk on for a few days, after the initial injury the popping doesn't hurt much after the meniscus is relocated. Good luck, its not that bad thanks to modern medicine.
I tore my patellar tendon in my left knee in high school. I think I have a meniscus problem in my right knee now as it buckles occasionally.
Damn that sounds painful Nate. And I'm guessing being a sports guy, you have a tolerance for pain. So to hear they had to put you under because of the pain, means you were probably suffering for a while. Thanks to sports medicine, whatever is wrong with your knee is probably something they have seen before and know how to fix. Donk sounds like he went through it and recovered fairly well. 100% donk? I tore my ACL playing basketball in 1993. Back then I thought I was fortunate because the doctor told me ACL replacement surgery has come a long way. Not far enough for me . .. . I still am active and don't let the knee stop me, but I've never been the same. It swells with the slightest twist and holds me back most of the time. But I am still able to play sports, gold, ski with support in the reconstructed knee. That was '93. These days they do wonders with knees, hips and shoulders.
I wouldn't say 100%, but close. My right knee feels less so than my left and I don't like to squat or over bend my knees, and I also don't like to kneel. Not sure how much of that is in my head and how much of that is in my knees though. If I was a pro athlete I would feel compromised, but for everything I use my knees for it doesn't bother me much at all. I'm also very active most of the time, run, lift, swim all with little or no issue. After the surgery you should be able to moderately run by week 4. The surgery is a quick scope and very noninvasive, if this was 1985 you would be fucked with up to 6 month recovery time as they would have had to completely open you up.
