2 replies to this topic

[benc]

Hi all,
I had an unfortunate incident at the snow over the weekend, and paid a (expensive) visit to the on mountain medico's once I managed to get myself back to the car. Looking for info regarding the DR's report, potential recovery time, and advice on who to see for a follow up later this week?

Anyway, report as follows:

Full ROM - pretty much the only part I understand
No effusion
Tender anteromedial joint line
Mild medial pain on valgus strain, no significant laxity
Medial pain on varus strain, no laxity
Lachmans neg
Ant drawer neg

Diagnosis:
MCL grade 1, ? medial meniscal injury.

He suggested getting a review done toward the end of this week to allow the swelling to reduce. He said my GP would be ok for this review, but would it be better for me to see my physio to at least look at rehab if required??. Is a GP only going to prescribe anti-inflamitories & rest??

The good news is, that it seems to be settling down well & 3 days on can walk without discomfort & seem to have lost the limp. It still twinges if I get a bit of lateral movement or twist accidentally. Still a bit swollen. Slowly being able to bend the knee further, but only to about 45 degrees at the moment, but I presume this is due to swelling.

Have been RICE'ing as much as possible.

Hardest thing for me to accept is I "had" an event on this weekend & next, & I'm still clinging on to some very slim hope that I might  still be able to participate in them.

Given that this is potentially only a mild injury, what kind of turn around time could I expect to be back running?

Thanks for any info.

[NeillS]

That's a surprisingly proficient examination from a GP, you've done well. He suspects you have a slight MCL strain and a possible meniscus injury.

As far as what you should do - yes the GP will probably give you NSAIDs and tell you to rest, and he'd be pretty much right. I wouldn't worry - I'd go see a Physio who will probably tell you the same thing, but examining the knee in detail once the majority of the swelling and pain is gone can reveal meniscal tears much more reliably. The physio will tell you to go to the chemist and take some Voltaren 25mg for 5-7 days religiously to reduce the inflammatory reaction, this works just as well as most prescription meds for small musculo-skeletal effusions like this. Ice the hell out of it until it's no longer hot. The physio should probably tape it to stabilise it and allow the MCL time to heal nicely.

I would forget about your event this weekend, regardless of what it is. MCL stuff is OK, it can be protected with tape, but if there's a little meniscal tear that's settling down, the last thing you want is to re-open it and enlarge it by running on it right now.

If the Physio thinks there's bad stuff in there and it doesn't settle, an MRI in a few weeks time could be indicated. It probably won't need it though, judging purely on what you're saying.

Edited by NeillS, 19 July 2012 - 12:33 PM.

[benc]

To revive my old topic, & chase a bit more info from those in the know

My physio examination on the Friday following this injury gave me the all clear. He did however comment on the medial laxity, & questioned whether it may have been from a previous injury given the lack of tenderness/swelling on the MCL.

Running now symptom free, so incredibly happy about that & the fact that I seemed to dodge something bigger this time. Only real issue is bending that knee fully to stretch the quads - can feel a bit of presure on the joint & is quite uncomfortable.

So a question regarding the current state of the ligament. If ligaments get stretched, do they take a while to come back to normal or do they stay stretched? Reason I ask is, if I bend my knee I occasionally get a twang down the medial side. Could it be the ligament is a bit floppy & getting caught on the knuckle of a bone & the twang I feel is it slipping back into place? It doesn't hurt when this happens, nor does it happen all the time, but it never used to happen beforehand either.

Thanks again