Knee injured on holiday - on crutches & worried

[HolidayHobbler]

I’ve buggered up my knee on holiday and am posting here while sat on the sofa of a holiday cottage as my adult kids and partner are having fun on the beach.

It happened 2 days ago. I’m in the Highlands of Scotland and was on a walk. We were ascending through dense ferns and quite boggy ground. My foot got slightly submerged in a section of mud and while I put my other leg up onto higher ground slightly off to the side, and pulled up other foot out of the bog, it gave this enormous clunk and crunch and sharp pain. I let out an expletive and everyone looked on with concern. I was determined not to make a fuss and gently placed my foot back down and was surprised I could actually stand on it.

I walked a bit further and went very gingerly. Every now and again if my foot went on a slight angle I’d get a sharp pain and feel and hear a clunk. We stopped soon after for a picnic. We set off again going downhill this time - I tried to take it carefully but I suddenly felt my knee completely buckle underneath me with a clunk my DD even heard. This time I was buggered. The rest of the climb down took an hour and a half. I used my partners walking sticks like crutches, went on my DS’s back, shuffled along on my arse and managed to get to our car.

I called NHS24 and they advised going to the nearest A&E Minor Injuries Unit the next morning to get it looked at. It didn’t swell up horrendously - just a bit puffy and warm. Took ibuprofen and slept downstairs on the sofa.

I got seen at hospital and they did an X-ray and physical examination. Nothing was broken or showing any bone damage or evidence of any tendons/ligaments having ripped off and left raggedy edges/floating bone fragments etc… the manipulations and movements they asked me to do didn’t give them any indication of tendon/ligament damage. So I got given an exercise sheet, crutches, an ice-pack, ibuprofen and the RICE instructions - told to raise my knee above hip height and not put any weight on it for next 48 hours, and then start exercises.

I’m trying the exercises now but am just really worried. I can’t get my knee straight. I can put my foot flat on the ground but anytime I try and put a bit of weight on it - it just feels like it’s going to collapse. I’m shit at using the crutches - I just can’t get the hang of them and have stubbed and badly bruised my little toe on the other foot. I have managed to manoeuvre down 2 shallow steps to sit outside in the garden but then couldn’t get back up them. I ended up going on my arse and shuffling up but then couldn’t pull myself to standing - I managed when my DS noticed me on the floor - he helped pull me up but I inadvertently put weight on my bad knee and felt the same ‘caving in/collapsing sensation, clunk and pain again.

I’ve got a bit better on the crutches and can get myself on and off the sofa, over to the kitchen table and back and forth to the loo (thankfully there’s a downstairs toilet and shower room!)

I’m sorry for this essay but I’ve nothing else to do. The Dr said if there’s no improvement in a week to access help in my local area. I live in a major Scottish city. I’m just wondering if it’s normal to feel this debilitated when there’s been no major injury to my knee? Should I ask to get an MRI done as I believe x-rays are only good for showing bone damage, not ligament, soft tissue damage? I’m wondering how the hell im going to get on at home with its 7 stone steps to the front door and only an upstairs loo?! I’ve let work know I won’t be in for at least the first half of the week. I walk to work everyday - 25 minutes each way - how long is it going to take before I can do that again?

I would really appreciate hearing off any physios or anyone else who’s had a knee injury and can share their journey towards recovery. I’m quite scared that I’ll never get it fully functional again. Should I just go to my local A&E/Minor injury clinic when I get home (if no improvement has happened) Would they turn me away because I’ve already been seen elsewhere? I return home Sunday so have another 2 days of holiday to ride out.

If you’ve read this far - thanks

Oh OP I feel for you, knee injuries are awful. I dislocated mine and had a major tear in the MPFL. There was a surgical discussion but I declined, opting to see how I did. 8 weeks later and I was okay. I'd been hobbling in the splint without crutches after a while too.

I've got an inflammatory arthritis that seems to flare more in that knee now, and seem to find it aches in colder damp weather. But that's by the by. I'm all out "fixed" after a relatively short time for quite a significant injury.

All that is to say that it is reassuring they didn't find anything on examination and it won't last forever! Take it easy and follow the recommendations but try and be very strict on the exercises. Knees have a habit of seizing up quite badly which does nothing to help!

Absolutely get yourself seen if there has been no improvement or you're concerned. Hopefully a couple days of rest and elevation, plus regular brufen and the exercises will see you right!

You need an MRI.

Ligament and soft tissue injuries can be an absolute bastard.

i broke my ankle and the bones actually healed quite fast but the ligaments etc took bloody forever.

advice: I never got the hang of crutches and stairs. I just bum shuffled like a toddler.

do go and see a doctor/physio when you get back to find out what precisely has gone wrong.

I’d want to go home I’d think can you go early? How long is the trip

woudld you manage in the car?

msybe you’re better off riding it out there - but rest and stop moving about just sit in front of the tv leg up

id be worried too that sounds so awful ! I think I’d be pushing for an mri if no improvement next few days :(

I had similar with the clunk noise, feeling wobbly and unable to weight bear. Had an x ray and told it was a sprain. After 4 months of pain, I was finally listened to and I had an MRI and I’d actually torn my ACL and meniscus. Still not right 4 years later but too late now to operate. Get an MRI!

If you can’t get an MRI just pay for a private mri so you know what is going on. NHS send you for physio but that can make things worse if they haven’t assessed it correctly. It’s worth making sure you know what has happened. My buggered knee is now fine so there is hope!

invest in your health - get the best care.

I’d do what they advised.

Sounds like my knee which has gone a few times. The time I got it checked out, they said the ligament had collapsed. Wearing a strap / support it improved it hugely both in terms of getting around on it and healing. Have they given you a knee support?

Sounds like an ACL injury to me. Follow the advice for now but get a MRI as soon as you can

Thanks everyone. You’ve no idea how good it is to get all this advice while I’m sat alone like a beached whale on the sofa in a strange (but lovely) lochside holiday cottage.

I think I’ll get an MRI - either by phoning GP and/or getting seen by hospital or, if that fails, getting a loan and going private.

I wasn’t given a brace of any description - I asked whether it needed strapping but was told it wasn’t necessary. It kind of feels as if it needs it but I’m no expert?!

I work in a library and stand up a lot and bend up and down re-shelving books - if my knee is f**ed I won’t be doing that for a while!

It sounds exactly like my knee when it goes - it really feels like it needs to be supported. I bought one off Amazon and it made such a difference.

It took a long time but it did almost fully recover. Running over a certain time would flare it a bit. But fully functional again.

I've had chronic knee pain with recurring dislocation for a decade - I'm waiting to be old enough for the knee to be replaced. I broke the back of my kneecap in a bad fall onto concrete which was picked up on MRI but didn't show on x-ray. I went private for the scan and operation to remove the debris. I take 800mg ibuprofen (not 400 as that doesn't touch it) up to 3 times a day depending on the pain but always with breakfast every day. I also have co-codamol to help when it's really bad. Ice packs, rest and a doubled tubigrip are also useful. Try to get the hang of the crutches or even one as I found them really useful after my surgery. Going upstairs is difficult - take your time and hold the bannister. Going down can be easier - I keep my dodgy knee straight and go one step at a time only bending the other knee if you see what I mean... keeping your knee very slightly bent with a pillow or cushion under it when resting might help just don't let it go stiff, so flex it every now and then. Good luck and I hope you recover soon.

Most things won't show without an MRI, and it seems that very few people get given these straight away-one poster on here said she went to hospital and was told the gold standard was an MRI, and she said so I'll be getting that then-and they acted like she was crazy to expect this!
If that person happens to see this maybe they can confirm, but I vaguely remember the upshot.
Anyway, OP your symptoms sound like certain things I've heard about from trainers, OP, and that would be diagnosed by MRI but it's not ok for me to pretend I know for sure, so all I'd say is try to get to a doctor when you're home.

You def need an MRI. I had a knee issue over 20 years ago and ended up w a meniscus repair. My consultant said it was a typical sports injury but I didn’t play sport (unless you counted toddler wrangling as a sport!).

Definitely an MRI. I had a bike accident and my knee gave way, horrible sensation. They said it was an ACL tear but it turned out to be a meniscus tear. An xray showed nothing, and MRI was needed for ligament stuff.

I was on crutches for 3 months but after physio and yoga things improved. 3 years on and I am almost 100%, no impact on my mobility at all. No surgery was needed.

Edit: Actually at first they said nothing was wrong and suggested I was being hysterical and making it up that I couldn't weight-bear or straighten it. An MRI put an end to that nonsense!

Not 100% sure what part of my post you're replying to in your quote?

I completely agree that getting seen and getting further evaluation and an MRI may well be necessary, hence my suggestion to get seen again if symptoms are ongoing.

However, OP, the injury is fairly new! While I massively sympathise with your pain and the instability feeling, as there is little else you can do right now, just follow advice.
I have everything crossed that with a couple days rest as prescribed, you may well feel better.

Sadly MRI's don't tend to happen quickly, unless you go privately.

My absolute sympathy. I once sprained my knee badly (falling off a chair at a new job 😬) and it was absolute agony a few hours in. It was worse than childbirth and at the walk in the nurse said the pain can be worse than a break.
Pain improved after a few days of rest, ibuprofen and ice.
May you feel better soon.

So I’ve made it home. 4.5hr journey in the car. Stopped twice for the loo which was fun and games - navigating busy Bank Holiday crowds with crutches and disabled toilets. I live in a tiny terraced house with 8 concrete steps up to front door which I shuffled up backwards on my arse and then got hoiked up by my kids - gave the neighbours something to look at! Am parked on sofa contemplating going up stairs to toilet. My bedroom is in the attic so I’m not going to be seeing my own bed for a while. Kids leave to go back to university at end of week so I’ll be commandeering the bedroom next to the bathroom.

Just thinking about how to approach things. Do I phone NHS24 and say I’m still concerned about my knee and say I’ve already had an x-ray but want it looking at again? I really want an MRI but it might not be wise to be asking outright for one. Or do I rock up at A&E saying it doesn’t feel any better and I’m concerned I’ve done something to my ligament/tendons? Or do I try and speak to my Dr 1st thing - which might not be possible. I just don’t know how to play it.

I can bend my knee very slowly but can’t totally straighten it and when I do the exercises they’ve given me I can just hear a distinct clunk/crunch. Any time I’ve unbalanced on my crutches and accidentally put a bit of pressure on that foot it’s majorly hurt and just felt incapable of holding me up at all - really wobbly/unstable. I fear I don’t constitute enough of an emergency to turn up at A&E again but neither do I want to be referred for an MRI that won’t happen for months!

I will keep you posted whatever happens. Now, time to tackle the stairs!

You poor thing.

I can relate, slightly. I fell over about 5 weeks ago. Broke my arm in two places and ended up with a plate and screws in there. But my main problem is my knee. I cut it to the bone, from one side of my knee to the other. It had 19 stitches and I was put in a brace for 3 weeks, completely straight. Then a tight bandage, keeping it straight for another week ...... and a week since freedom day, I can't bend it. The skin is so tight 😳

I'm finding stairs, getting on/ off the loo and walking like a normal person impossible. I cant even sit in the car, and have to lay in the back seat.

I wish you all the best OP. A small accident can severely impact your life, but hopefully you'll start feeling less pain soon.

Oh Belladog that sounds awful! Thanks for replying - it’s good to hear from someone who’s been incapacitated - in your case - majorly and hear there’s hope. Just a case of being patient and allowing the slow healing to happen. I know it doesn’t sound like you’re there yet - but hopefully all heading in the right direction. I hope you’ve got good support around you helping you out?

Do you work out the home normally? I’ve told my employers that I’m off for at least a week but at this rate I can see that being a bit longer - but I’m not wishing that to be the case - I want to be up and at them as soon as possible. I get the feeling my knee joint will have other ideas.

Again, thanks for replying. Let us know how you get on in your own healing journey as I find it incredibly useful to read about other peoples’ experiences and have the benefit of their advice. Best of luck 💐

I think I’d call 111 @HolidayHobbler and ask for their advice

@Belladog1 hope you heal well xx

I'd phone nhs24. You might still be in the window for their minor injuries clinic which will save the A&E wait.( Not sure where you are in Scotland but the Royal in Edinburgh A&E is horrendous)
Not sure how easily you'll get an MRI quickly. Your GP will be unlikely to refer you for one as we simply aren't allowed to do so and it doesn't come up as an option on the imaging request software. (Unless this has changed since I retired a couple of years ago)

Just to offer a different tale- I fell over during an ultramarathon 8 weeks ago and fell heavily on my arm- it was agony! 6 hours in A&E, an Xray, complete agony and like you the doctor manipulated and pulled it and I screamed! He was convinced it wasn’t broken and didn’t want to put any strapping or support on it as my muscles were seizing up around it and he wanted to keep them moving. It was agony so that happened anyway. For the first week I could do nothing with it! I was totally convinced I’d done more damage than they’d said. Then it did very very slowly become less painful and more mobile. I was also SO tired whilst it was healing, I think because my busy was busy repairing it! It was still painful to do certain things after 6 weeks. I’m now at 8 weeks and have 99% mobility and no pain and now genuinely believe that soft tissue damage can be as painful and slow to heal as breaks and tears. I’d give it a couple of weeks before getting a loan for a private MRI- give your body a chance to heal it and then reevaluate. I think I was 7-8 days in before I was convinced of even small improvements!

I had a knee injury recently and the NHS GP saw me then sent me for an MRI. This is in London.