doc made me cringe insisting I take my trousers off at appt

[QueenEagle]

I had a follow up appointment this morning to check out my knee which I injured 6 months ago playing netball. Many of you will remember this as I was on crutches for ages and posted here about it.

Anyway I wore the same loose baggy trousers that I had worn before to an appointment with this consultant and he examined me then perfectly fine. But this morning he insisted I take my trousers off even though I pointed this out.

He said he couldn't examine my knee properly if I had my trousers on so his nurse and him stood there waiting for me to remove my obviously very offensive garment. I was not offered a gown or a sheet to put over my nether regions so I insisted that they give me something as I wasn't sitting there in my knickers whilst he pulls my leg in all directions, thank you very much. The nurse was put out that she had to unlock a cupboard and rummage around for a sheet but she did eventually find one. Meanwhile the arsey consultant is standing there with his arms folded like I am a real nuisance.

It got the appointment off to a very bad start and the air was heavy with embarrassment on both sides I think. Is it me or was it out of order to expect me to lay on the couch and be examined flashing my knickers (actually it was a thong which was even more cringeworthy)???

Definitely out of order QE.....

It's a right enshrined in the Patients Charter to have your privacy and dignity respected

I am sorry that you were embarrassed, but I have to say as a physio I would never examine someones knee with their trousers rolled up.

I need to see the whole leg including hip (and possibly lower spine) when I test different movements.Rolled up trousers can inhibit freedom of movement.

In my opinion the mistake was in examining you at the first appointment with your trousers rolled up! Usually patients are warned to bring shorts in these circumstances.

Exactly, Polly!

I've had loads of physio on both my knees after all my operations, and was always told to wear/bring short shorts to each appointment. Short bike shorts that fit snugly are good, too. I even wore some old leotards to some appointments.

Ditto to all the ones at my ortho. But I never had to change in front of anyone, they always left me alone to do it.

Are you having physio as well, QE? It can help SO much with protecting a joint from further injury by building up surrounding muscles, and a physio can give you direct info on activities to avoid so you won't 'fk up' your joint, particularly when a sports injury is involved.

Personally I think that its a bit silly having a blanket to cover yourself up when you are having a smear. And likewise when I had a coil fitted. The doctor is shining a torch up inside getting a view not even I have had - whats the point of a blanket?

I think I would have been more embarassed about dodgy off white knickers than a thong tbh. But sorry that he made you feel like that QE and that it had a subsequent effect on your appointment.

Yes I have had physio every week since June and wore cycle shorts on the initial examination.

Actually the doc severely scolded me for jogging on my injured knee even though I was only doing what the physio had told me to. I have been given conficting advice and the consultant was fuming.

I took cycle shorts to my first appt with the cons but he was happy to examine me in my very very baggy trousers, hence me wearing the same ones again yesterday, never thinking for a minute he would change his procedure.

Has it been determined what type of injury it is?

OH Expat am ROFLMAO at your story - brilliant!

It was one of those relationships, GDG, where I look back now and think, 'How could I have wasted TWO years on this bloke? What the hell was I thinking?'

He was the one who told me, as I left for Scotland, 'You won't last for six months.'

He was right, I'm going on 4 years now . . .

But I learned an important lesson w/him: never chase after a man or a bus. There'll be another in 5 minutes.

expat - I had an arthroscopy a week after the original injury which showed I had a partial rupture of the antrerior cruciate ligament and a dislocated kneecap.

Consultant told me yesterday that it is now as strong as it is ever going to be which is a bit daunting, given it is so painful still.

Hmm. I had my ACL reconstructed after a complete rupture. I had a hamstring tendon graft as my patellar tendon was stenotic (too narrow). Also had congenital stenosis of the notch - in the femur, so that was repairedwhilst in surgery before the graft was fixed. Although the surgeon was able to use an arthroscope to examine the joint, I did need an open incision to repair.

No you should NOT jog on that leg anytime soon. Or do lots of lateral, pivot and stop sport - like basketball - or jumping sport until you get the all clear.

Did they do any repair at all?

What's imperative is to strenthen the muscles that support the knee. Particularly the quad - the whole quad and the hamstring. These will help hold the tibia in place when you jump or squat - it stablises the lower leg, hence, when you tear it or injure it, you have a knee that 'gives' out. The ACL keeps this bone from shifting too far forward - and shearing the cartilage in the tibial plateau and meniscus - when you squat.

An ortho worth his salt will need you to wear short shorts to examine the entire leg. Ditto a physio, b/c the muscles can atrophy w/this sort of injury, all along the leg.

You can also develop such unpleasant conditions as tendonitis, sciatica and IT Band syndrome from muscle weakness as the body tries to compensate for the injury.

In the States, physio can include 'jump training' particularly for females, as this injury tends to be more common in female athletes b/c of the ankle at which their femurs descend from their pelvises to their knees. They can learn to land differently and cut their injury risk.

Wow Expat. First and foremost... wonderful story. Loved it!

Second, boy you know a lot about your knee. I've had an ACL reconstruction as well but I certainly didn't absorb all that knowledge.

Uwila
When I had my skiing accident, I not only tore the ACL in the right knee, but I dislocated the patella and ripped a lot of cartilage in the right tibial plateau and meniscus in the left.

I was a XC ski racer on a practice run - at a ski resort that faces north and is notorious for icy conditions. Sure enough, I found myself barrelling down a hill, with a tree at the bottom, and no powder around at the sides to jump into and slow down. I had to stop myself or risk hitting the tree. Well, I didn't hit the tree, but my knees were a wreck and the course was thankfully redesigned so no one got hurt the next day.

Better than a pal of mine who tore all 4 ligaments in his right knee NOT when he was skiing, but whilst 'surfing' in an icy car park in his downhill ski boots. He slid under a car.

wow - expat you sure do know your knees don't you?

I have only had my knee "cleaned up" not repaired and my consultant doesn't see the need for repair - he says it's a pretty nasty procedure and as I am not a pro athlete, hardly worth it in his opinion.

I've had loads of decent physio as my muscles did atrophy - at one point I couldn't even lift my straight leg up off the bed. The quad muscles, even now are still much weaker than the other leg but according to the doc, as good as they are likely to get. Even the very light once-a-week workout is too much at the moment, he says.

His aim is to get me "stable in everyday life" as he put it. Quite a way to go still I think though - stairs still present me with trouble as does walking very quickly as this puts too much pressure on the kneecap. I am unable to squat - this is by far the most painful thing - it feels like my knee is going to explode when I try.

I am only 6 months post injury and I am told that a year is not an unrealistic length of time before any kind of fitness will return. And that is only with a partial rupture - a total like you had must have been/must still be (?) an utter nightmare.