Severe knee pain?!
Question: I'm 18 but for nearly a year now I have had severe knee pain, my left knee. I have learnt to live with the everyday pain but when it gets really sore, its unbearable! Painkillers don't help and there is no swelling and it is fine to touch my knee etc. The pain seems to be coming from the kneecap or just under it but it is definately coming from near the front of my knee. It wakes me up when I am sleeping because it is so sore, I can't bend or straight my knee without doing it really slowly and I can't kneel on it with great pain. I went to the doctor in June (a few months after this started) and he got an xray done on it but nothing showed up. I am not particularly sporty so it isn't a sports injury. What I have noticed is mostly when it is severely sore is when I go on long walks, for example, or when it is very cold outside. I am going to go back to my doctor next week if I can get an appointment but I would appreciate any of your suggestions of what this might be?
Answers: I'm 18 but for nearly a year now I have had severe knee pain, my left knee. I have learnt to live with the everyday pain but when it gets really sore, its unbearable! Painkillers don't help and there is no swelling and it is fine to touch my knee etc. The pain seems to be coming from the kneecap or just under it but it is definately coming from near the front of my knee. It wakes me up when I am sleeping because it is so sore, I can't bend or straight my knee without doing it really slowly and I can't kneel on it with great pain. I went to the doctor in June (a few months after this started) and he got an xray done on it but nothing showed up. I am not particularly sporty so it isn't a sports injury. What I have noticed is mostly when it is severely sore is when I go on long walks, for example, or when it is very cold outside. I am going to go back to my doctor next week if I can get an appointment but I would appreciate any of your suggestions of what this might be?
To be honest, this could be a number of things. I'll mention a few of them, but please remember they are only suggestions.
You could have damaged the cartilage in your knee (menisci), which sometimes requires a small operation to remove the torn object in question.
You may be showing signs of early arthritis. Unlikely, but it has happened to people before. This would likely be treated symptomatically.
You could have a bursitis (inflammation of one of the fluid filled sacs in the knee joint that normally helps movement stay smooth). This is generally treated with anti-inflammatories and supportive measures, but rarely, the fluid may need drainage with a needle and some steroids placed in the sac instead to help reduce the inflammation. In chronic (long-term) or severe cases, sometimes the whole bursa needs to be surgically removed.
You could have a tendonitis (inflammation of one of the tendons that connects muscle to bone). The pain would be from constantly having the tendon rub against bone...etc... when you move your leg. Pain relief (including anti-inflammatories) can help, but sometimes resting of the leg is the answer. Rarely, steroid injections are considered, and as a last resort, sometimes the damaged portion of tendon is removed surgically, if possible.
You could have a low grade infection in the knee, though this is highly unlikely. This would require antibiotics, and occasionally drainage of any pus...etc...with a small needle.
You could have a very small fracture in one of the bones around your knee that didn't show up on x-ray previously. A repeat x-ray or a more detailed scan might show this to be the case, and if present you would probably need to rest the leg in plaster for a few weeks.
My final thoughts (and least likely, but I try to be thorough so I will mention it in passing), are that very rarely (and I do mean that), you can get tumours of the bone or surrounding tissues. This would require other tests to confirm, but at your age, any of the other things I've mentioned already are more likely and ought to be ruled out first.
Of course, your doctor has a lot more information to go on having seen and examined you, so some (and perhaps all) of the above may not apply in your case. Try not to worry too much (I won't say don't worry at all, because I think that'd be impossible if your knee is hurting you), and wait and see what your doctor thinks.
An Xray will only show bone. You probably have a soft tissue problem which would show up with an MRI.
There is a tendon that runs on top of your knee cap that can become inflamed and cause terrible pain.
Ask for the MRI and try some anti-inflammatory medication such as Aleve or Motrin in the meantime.
Dear Becca,
You are too young to have to suffer such pain. And if your medical doctor did not help you the 1st time... why go back?
You must now try an alternative to "alopathic" medical doctors. You must try a chiropractor. they have the same medical training as regular "alopathic" doctors. The difference is that when "alopathic" doctors start to learn about "managing" and "treating" pain or illness with DRUGS, the chiropractic doctors actually are taught:
a) To find the o-r-i-g-i-n of the pain or illness.
b) Find ways to actually c-u-r-e it,
c) In ways that are as natural as possible.
Oftentimes, chiropractors actually undergo MORE training than "alopathic doctors" and attend school LONGER too, so they often have MORE medical training. It is not true that people become chiropractors because they can't handle medical school. They often attend MORE medical school.
For example, it's very likely that the knee pain/weakness is a result of a maladjustment in your spinal column area that actually feeds nutrients & electrical signals to that knee area.
And the really miraculous point is that its very possible that he gives you a simple back adjustment to un-crink your spine, and your pain will disappear (because the nutrients & electrical signals can now move to your knee --since the crink is gone & the back is straightened out).
This is the wonderful thing about ALTERNATIVE medicine. Especially chiropractors. they can and do actually CURE you. They were not taught to give you DRUGS to cover up the pain (which is actually still there; you just don't feel it). And they actually try to figure out what's causing your problem.
Work as quickly as possible to find a good chiropractor. Have your parents ask their neighors/friends who they'd recommend and why they feel he is a good chiropractor. You may sometimes have to go to a 2nd or 3rd if you don't get good referrals. But in the end, definitely go to a chiropractor over an "alopathic" doctor, as it will be much less expensive, & your results will probably prove more effective than the INeffective results from your "alopathic" doctor.
Work quickly because, if you wait too long (&hopefully you haven't already) it's possible that the body part responsible for for transmitting those electrical signals to your knee weakens & won't transmit signals again - ever.
But hopefully your body is still young enough to bounce back & work again, but do not delay -- you MUST work quickly. Try to find a chiropractor that has diplomas or certificates- of- completion in other types of healing too, so they will have several different types of knowledge they can use to heal you.
For example, my chiropractor also underwent training in Chinese Medicine, and Ayurvedic Medicine... these are ancient traditions which have been used for THOUSANDS of years & often times are much more effective than the drug-oriented "treatments" used by "alopathic" doctors.
Remember, your body is only CURED when you no longer have the problem/pain you began with, even if you eventually stop taking the drug(s) an alopathic doctor prescribed.
If you're on a drug forever, you were never cured.
If the same pain(s) return, you were never cured.
Watch this: http://www.laserspineinstitute.com/back_...
I agree with Oracle on this one... best answer.
Me? I've torn my meniscus 3 times and have the same complaints you do... the good news? You're still young and having the meniscus shaved down is a relatively easy procedure and takes 6-8 weeks to recover from.
Good luck.