My knee

[texaschickeee]

Ok, I really did my knee in
I twisted it going down my stairs. No, I didn't eat the stairs but I did twist my knee and heard a POP. (I think the tendends stretched to say the least.)

Now, I have had ice on it for the past 24 hours. I have limped and taken Advil. It is still swollen and hurts....it is very tender.
what else is there to do? (and don't say go to the doctor. I don't want to. )
yes I know that no one here is a doctor but Im sure some one has hurt their knee and can advise me. ;)

[deputy x 2]

I would say keep it elevated, but i'm not a doctor.

[ThursCo]

Ready?

800mg of ibuprofen twice a day with food. AT LEAST 8 glasses of water throughout the day to flush this through your system. You are currently in the acute phase of the injury and taking this much ibuprofen is indicated.

Keep your knee moving. This does not mean you should walk around alot, in fact you should probably try to stay off it for a bit. By moving I mean, with no weight, put your leg in the air and make sure your knee is running it's full range of motion. If you can keep it elevated....do.

Ice as often as you can, you don't have to physically have an ice cube on your knee but a good icepack with a pillow case around it will suffice. Do this at least 3x daily.

If you are still having pain/ache/swelling in 10-14 days (you decide) you should see a doc and ask about an orthopedic consult. IF at any time you start to notice large amounts of swelling, increased pain with weight-bearing, sharp pains with certain movements, or large amounts of discoloration (a nasty bruisish looking thing that seeps down your leg) go to your doc asap.

[texaschickeee]

TYVM....aI am keeping it elevated and have a cold compress.
Will do the rest as stated. so far so good, no sharp pain, just dull ache (like a sprain) some swelling......:cry:

[1042 Trooper]

First, everything they said, except alternate 1500 mgs of Tylenol between doses of ibuprophen.

Now, I think I'll barf. Been there. Football. Too many times.

[Nightshift va]

TYVM....aI am keeping it elevated and have a cold compress.
Will do the rest as stated. so far so good, no sharp pain, just dull ache (like a sprain) some swelling......:cry:
Is there major purple coloring under the skin or maroon red coloring? If its just swollen then use real ice..bags of it,,,til it hurts and goes numb,,til you cant stand it, ice it. If after that you still have that purplish color you need to get your knee scoped for ligament tear or a meniscious tear, the discoloration is normal but if it stays and doesnt go away like with a "stretch" or "sprain" of the ligaments then it's blood from a real "tear" and you are truely 'injured" and not "hurt" and you will need repair work done. I just had knee surgery last month and Im gimping around now at work.

Good luck. just to let ya know, ive had surgery on both my knees one twice and torn ligaments in both my ankles too. Im experienced on this subject and I know you feel helpless but if you play tough guy and dont get the surgery "if" its ripped" then you will be cripple. Get the MRI to make sure.:cool:

[texaschickeee]

Thanks nightshgift.
There is no color other then the red after I take the cold off it, I do the cold compress / ice as much as I can. I like the numb feeling- makes my day better. So far th sweeling is going down (its half of waht it was last night but then again Its just 7 am, been up 2 hours..)
I have ice at work and the compress at home. (will do ice at home after I make some)
the "knot: on the side where the pop was is about half the size it was, and again theres no discolored skin, so far. So I dont think it was bruised or blood is there.

[1oldsarge]

Knees can be difficult. I've had friends who blew them out and were OK, others had to have orthoscopic surgery, and a few had to retire as a result.
If it still bothers you after a few days, get to the doc. You don't want something healing wrong.

[malka881]

Good advice above, but consider wrapping it too- a standard ace bandage will work, but consider athletic tape to secure it instead of those dorky gripper things that never stay put. Once you're healed up, make sure you work your stabilizer muscles and ankles, or you'll be likely to re-injure it. Taking the stairs very, very, slowly while keeping your knee over your foot is a good one, as are ankle rotations (stand on one foot on the bottom stair, rotate your ankle in as much of a circle as you can manage).

[UH60fixer]

RICE and MD. That's Rest Ice Compression and Elevation, while you're waiting for your appointment with the MEDICAL DOCTOR. Trust me, I feel just like you-I H A T E going to the Dr, but when I did the same thing you did only with my ankle, they were way po'd cause I had delayed and diddled around so long that it made it harder for them to fix it. At least call your Dr and ask what they would prefer you do-maybe they can call in an Rx for you for better meds.

Oh, you can also get what's called CoFlex (CoBan) or VetRap which is an elastic bandage that sticks to itself. It's like $3.50 for a huge roll of it at any farm supply store (or cheaper online)


Hope you're feeling better soon.

[FirstStrike]

See a doctor. You may have damaged one of the CLs.
Get well soon.

[WAPM]

Go see a doctor. You may have damaged something and you'll need x-rays.

[JonMcD1980]

I'm jumping on the doctor bandwagon...got health insurance, might as well use it!! I was in the army and was getting up from the prone position and my knee cap snagged on a tree root sticking out of the ground and went sideways...went down so hard the drill sgt didn't yell, knew I was hurtin pretty good. Go to the doc, knees are pretty important!

[texaschickeee]

so far so good. The swelling is almost totaly gone.
limping but walking a little faster.......and it is elavated all the time I am sittting.
I ahve done both the heat and the ice, and for the most part the advil works twice a day. Still some ache but nothing too bad.
(and yes....went to my Doctor. told me that the knee was hurt, but uninjured, and gave me one shot of some good stuff and gave me sampe of everything else)
boy did I sleep good.
I really dont know who was worst about the appointment...you guys or my mom. :)