sports injury - cartilage

[gingles]

I've had a problem with my right knee cartilage (miniscus?), for about a year now, where i'll injure it to the extent of being on crutches, getting a bit better, then re-injuring etc.
I'm seeking private help (due to NHS not wanting to help - very angry!) and it's safe to say that i will be needing surgery of some sort.
The advice i seek is to whether this will affect my selection and possible ongoing career with the airforce (I am currently awaiting to hear from OASC, but only re-injured after attending).

regards

[Loose rivets]

Gingles, can you give a detailed description of the area of pain? Describe any feelings of locking, however slight.

There are several sites devoted entirely to narrowing down the diagnosis. I'm tight on time but will re-search these items if I can.

For reasons that I don't understand, Gray's describes TEN ligaments of the knee, and this is a little confusing when most people do not refer to some of the ‘parts' in this way. However, if you look on the web - knee joint - and pick the ones referring to Gray's, you will find that the diagrams are much more detailed than average, and yet are much clearer than the old Gray's ‘Bible'
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EDIT Just had a quick look and can't find good pics. My brain failure, Gray's text is very good but pics can be bettered.
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I too found myself at odds with the NHS about knees. I was on the receiving end of some of the most puerile statements and absurd advice–from highly qualified people–that I have ever encountered.

Stay positive. Quite badly damaged knees can return to seemingly faultless joints again.
After the removal of the entire lining of the inner surface of the femur, I found myself flying ( a ‘retirement job' at over 60 ) the ATR. The rudder on that got my leg strength back again!

[Little Blue]

Have the NHS not offered you an MRI scan?
I, too, have had some right old hassle with the cartilage of both knees, and it took me nearly 2 years from 1st consultation to operation to clear the problem.
Although, with the left knee, I was 1st advised to try and build up the muscles on my upper leg, to strengthen the knee, which had the opposite effect.
Push for the scan.
Good luck.

;)

[gingernut]

Sorry to here your having difficulties with the NHS. There could be several reasons for this, including the fact that sometimes (not always), intervention can make things worse.

Has anyone yet offered a diagnosis ? Have you spoken to a physio with an interest in sports injuries ?

Seeing a surgeon can sometimes help, but be warned, see a surgeon, and you could end up having surgery !!

[gingles]

thanks for the info so far.

to answer some things...When i initially injured the knee, i received an x-ray and MRI scan - the results apparently showed no problems whatsoever with the knee, but there was clearly a problem since i couldn't walk for 2 weeks (due to knee not being able to straighten - there was definately a difficulty to starighten the knee and a lot of pain). They offered physio rather reluctantly, where i recovered to the extent that i could run again, but still with discomfort and pain. I subsequently reinjured, went to A&E again where i was eventually told just to rest and again told "there's not really anything wrong with your knee". Before i reinjured for the final time, i could run again, but could never fully bend my knee without severe discomfort, and generally just felt like it was going to injure again.
I should probably describe how i injure it: it's definately a twisting motion, from a motion of puting the inside of your foot at the toes against a wall and twisting that way, if you gather what i mean there.

thanks again

[Makulu Baas]

The way you been handled sucks, I had a similar problem a few years ago, fell on my arse whist having a beer or ten, laughed about it at the time until the next morning when my knee was the size of a melon and I couldn't straighten my leg or even walk. I flew for 2 weeks more until I got out back to civilization and went to see a sports injury specialist. who took one look the x-ray and pulled and prodded my knee, and then told me I had a torn meniscus cartilage.

I required surgery to fix it, pretty much an epidural and a laparoscope to the knee cap, to keep the cost down, but after 2 days bed rest and 3 days on crutches I was well on my way back to walking again, 2 sessions of physio with the sports injury guy to learn the exercises and we were sorted.

A problem with a knee may go away for a little bit, but it’s probably gonna need some surgery at some stage. If done with the laparoscope you will back online within 2 weeks at most. However if its cruciate ligaments, then that’s a different story. major reconstruction and probably 6 months off work.... not one to advocate surgery but maybe go see the surgeon, thats what they good at, even if they say operate, its not a train smash, however, losing your license is.

I got my leg fixed in Johannesburg, so maybe if you going to pay an arm and a leg in the UK, maybe look at a cheap flight to SA and get it fixed there, Its reasonably priced at around £1000 for the best people and you get a good holiday to boot. Cape Towns good this time of year

[Hobo]

Gingles, Check your pms.

[Loose rivets]

Can I give an example of my experience to make clear the need to input more data to the medics?

At 35 I was very fit–three nights a week judo etc. Never the slightest problem. But one day running (I was rather heavy and not a good runner naturally) I felt something wrong in the right knee. For most of the next 25 years I could still run, but this was interspersed with short periods with a very painful knee.

In other words, when the joint was running smoothly, there was nothing detectable wrong with it.

I described in great detail, that it felt as though the joint was being prised apart, and the ligaments stretched. I knew that the knee was a close tolerance joint...and certainly not tolerant to being forced apart by debris. During one bad spell I put my foot down...no jokes please. The resultant surgery revealed a loose flap consisting of the bearing liner, if you like, at the bottom of the femur. Five square cm in area!

Flap folded over, knee was crap. In place, there was no way that anything could be detected from the outside. Even though MRIs had not been invented then, they would probably not have shown any fault while the flap was in place. This is why it is so important to give a PRECISE description of the pain

[gingles]

it is cartilage problem and i am due to be operated in February sometime by BUPA because the NHS aren't interested.

Self-funded BUPA treatment by the way :(