What have I done to my knee?

[Skippii]

My knee is agony, started a couple of weeks into lockdown, no known reason. Photo of pain location attached with blue dot.

The pain is particularly bad on stairs, going from seated to standing etc, i.e. when bending the knee. Keeps me awake at night.

I’ve been resting it to no avail, walking aggravates it. Any idea how to rehabilitate it? I’m mid 40s

[PerfidiousAlbion]

Google early stage Osteoarthritis. If you’re sure you havent injured yourself then it could just be wear and tear.

Did you do sport when you were young?

[QuestionableMouse]

You need to get it checked out. Could be tendon or ligament damage, especially as it's not getting better.

[Skippii]

@PerfidiousAlbion my mum and gran both have/had bad osteoarthritis. I’m not sure what services my gp is offering at the moment.

[PerfidiousAlbion]

You could do with an ultrasound or an x-ray - both difficult at the moment!

[Elouera]

I could have written this myself a year ago! My pain would radiate from that blue dot down the leg slightly. The worse bit was that even in bed with my leg absolutely still it would throb and ache.

1st MRI said it was a meniscal tear. I had weeks of physio, then a 2nd MRI revealed it was osteo-arthritis. Possibly genetics, possibly wear & tear from dancing and walking a great deal. I'll need either a partial (half) or who knee replacement, but I'm only 42 and want to hold off as long as possible.

My osteo is mainly on one side (the inner medial side, same as you). I was given an offloader knee brace. It opens up the affected, bone on bone side and puts the weight down the outside, lateral side. The brace meant I could actually walk again, not cry in bed with pain and ended up losing 10kg as I could actually move again. Any other 'normal' knee brace is useless- I tried 3! Ask any questions if you have them. I've spent 2 yrs getting pain free now, and still holding off the knee replacement!

An offloader is what you need and can be bought online. Otherwise, wait till you see an orthopaedic surgeon, but it might be sometime. These are similar to the ones I have (in the 2nd link, I have similar to the 1st brace):

thuasne-store.co.uk/product/action-reliever/

springloadedtechnology.com/2019/04/top-five-unloader-knee-braces/

[Elouera]

I meant to say, that you need to contact your GP. They will hopefully start the ball rolling for either MRI and/or and X-ray to confirm that is going on.

[TheHighestSardine]

Mine is meniscal wear, but getting it diagnosed as that rather than any of the several other things it could be let me take physio advice and I've successfully stopped hurting at all now after doing a lot of leg exercises, building up my thighs. Don't try that for arthritis though...

[Moondust001]

I agree, probably osteo. In the meantime, if there's a wait for appointments etc., there are some things you can do to help yourself. And if it isn't osteo none of it will do any harm. An anti-inflammatory gel is much better for joints than tablets / painkillers. Stuff like voltarol really does work, and if there is still pain you can take paracetamol with it (but never aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen).

Not sleeping makes it worse. If you are a side sleeper, try to sleep on the side that isn't hurting and place a bolster or pillow between your legs and knees. That will relieve some of the pain - if you are lucky, all of it. If a back sleeper, a pillow under the knees will help. You may need to experiment with the pillows for a bit to get the most comfortable positions, but it will help. Being sleepless actually makes the pain experience worse - for some reason tired brains tend to register pain more, although nobody really knows why.

If you'd prefer to try something natural then Devils Claw helps a lot of people and there is some evidence of it working - although it doesn't work for everyone. There is a lot of evidence now that avocado soybean unsaponifiables are extremely effective for arthritis (but not a cure so don't expect one) but they do take time to build up in the system so you won't get the immediate relief of pain killers. You could combine them with an anti-inflammatory devils claw gel or even a voltarol type gel.

[Zoflorabore]

Hi op I realise that this thread is a few weeks old but I have been having problems with my knee, ended up going to A and E last Monday who did bloods, examined it and done xrays and then said I’ve got an infected Patella Bursitis. I’m on 8 antibiotics a day and finish them tomorrow. To be honest I’ve not really seen an improvement.

I was told that if there is no improvement then to come back and “bring your nightie” as they will want me to be admitted my foot is also swollen and in agony and would have expected some big changes after almost a week.

I hope yours has calmed down