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Dislocated patella
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skywalkerFree Member
It’s day 7 of invalidity. I’m currently in a “back slab” cast which is heavy and uncomfortable and I’m bored stiff.
Please share your recovery stories so I know what to expect and give me something to read because there is nothing on telly, cheers.
beagleFree MemberWas it out for a bit? Any other damage? Is it the first time it’s happened?
I have had my fair share of these, like a lot. And it’s almost always during times when I’m cycling/keeping fit the least. Range from a quick ‘in and out’ to full on being out for ages. Last one was at the megavalanche (in the quali) but that was a bad un’ with ligament damage and bone breakage. First one was playing cricket at 14. Lots inbetween – im 36 now.
I suppose it depends on the level of trauma, but If there is no damage, I’d be tempted to get it moving. Hang in there though and persist with any Physio, no matter how tedious. I’ve resigned myself to no twisty sports – squash, footy etc, concentrated strengthening them both up. Fortunately cycling is good, which is convenient.
It’s a pain in the ass, and there were times recently, after the bad one, when I doubted I’d be back the same. It does come, but I learnt not to put a timescale on it, in my head and expect too much, too soon.
Good luck bud
skywalkerFree MemberThanks for the reply mate.
It was the first time it’s happened. I was standing on a pretty steep section of trail after a gate, I put all my weight on my left leg to walk down the hill and twisted at the same time and that was it. My leg gave way, knee cap popped out and I involuntary hit the deck. Luckily I straightened my leg due to the ammount of pain I was in and it popped back in, at the time I didn’t have a clue what was going on. It was only out for about 10 seconds max but my god did it hurt, ive never felt pain like it.
I’m not sure about soft tissue damage yet, hopefully I will find out on Monday, but I had an X-ray at A&E that day and they said nothing was broken or fractured. They also said the back slab cast was only temporary , and I will most probably be put in a cricket brace? On Monday when I visit the fracture clinic.
It’s still pretty sore around the inside of my knee, I can’t really weight bare yet without a sharp pain in my knee cap.
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...big_scot_nannyFull MemberI did mine for the first time at 19, and done it a few times since, and yes, it hurts like **** and still gives me the heebeegeebees if i think about it in a quite moment.
Shudder.
However, good physio, some series quad gym exercises and just being aware a bit of where your putting your weight and twisting (for me, getting on and off a bike!), and, touch wood, has been good. Gym work has been amazing at building tight knee control.
HTH
beagleFree MemberOoooouch.
The swelling is half the issue when I’ve done mine. It makes the joint feel really unstable and as if your patella is floating around. Ice, ice, baby, strong anti inflams and compression bandage.
Those pains sound normal to me. Very similar to my experiences as was the straightening reaction.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! Be pushy if you don’t feel it’s right once the swelling has gone down though.
loamy23 at hotmail dot com if you have any questions down the line. Good luck Sir!
beagleFree MemberBSN – do share the gym routine, I’d be interested to know what ongoing stuff you do?
skywalkerFree MemberThanks Beagle.
When I first went to A&E they didn’t seem to believe me, the doc decided I had sprained it even though I told him exactly what happened. He gave me some crutches, told me to put as much weight on it as possible and be off the crutches in 3-5 days….. Yeah right.
I went to see my doctor the next day and they told me to go back, luckily the next doctor I saw at A&E was a bit more understanding.
Typical NHS!
big_scot_nannyFull MemberSkywalker, just take it easy till it is healed, then really start physio. It will get better, but of course not if you push it too hard before inflamation reduced. lots of ice packs every evening a great idea.
Anything that involves twisting, esp golf (mine once went out when I tried to skin a drive with a new driver 600yds and over rotated – POP! SCREAM! shudder), skiing etc I wear an articulated knee brace. Not the huge scaffolding thing, but the tight sleeve with the hinged metal sides. Need it less now though due to gym work.
Beagle – not rocket science, just consistent (like 4 days a week) hard work. This has helped me massively (my usual weekly routine, will not detail upper body stuff here, and this obviously excludes the cycling) – get a good gym person to set up
day 1 and 4 – 4 sets of 20reps squat and push with a weighted bar, 20x 5sec quads over fulcrum
day 2 and 5 – 3 sets of 20reps sitting resistance knee extensions, same of resistance hamstring curls. (with varying weights depending on your strength etc)I have a day off on a wednesday!
Fingers crossed, this has helped hugely. YMMV of course, my gym tutor has been excellent.
skywalkerFree MemberI’ve just got back from the hospital. The doctor said I have a grade 3 medial collateral ligament tear, but the good news is I now have a hinged brace instead of a cast so I can actually have a bath.
He told me to start partially weight bearing to stop my muscle waiting away any more than it already has, it looks like I have a replacement leg sourced from Ethiopia.
Should I go to the doctor and ask about physio? Or gradually start exercising myself?
big_scot_nannyFull MemberYes, deffo go and ask about physio. I started on a one legged bike thing to build up strength at the physio before serious weight beearing. Then a step machine thing. They were great, and it’s amazing how fast your leg builds up it’s strength again.
Tell them what kind of activities you want to get back into and they should help hugely.
Good luck with recovery, it really is a **** painful thing.
Kev
simondbarnesFull MemberI’m not going to read the above as I’m sure it’ll make me feel sick.
Anyway, have displaced both of mine on numerous occasions, it’s the most sickening feeling I can ever imagine (especially when it doesn’t go back of it’s own accord and needs manual intervention – usually hitting it back into place). I’ve found recovery is definitely sped up by keeping active and lots of ice/compression/elevation to get the swelling down.
glupton1976Free MemberI have had a few patients who have had a dislocated patella. The only thing that was universal was that they were petrified of it happening again. Go get some physio advice, perhaps a specific knee group exercise class if they have one, and get on with doing whatever it was you did before.
Once had a guy skipping on a wibble board by the end of his rehab.
MrGFisherFree MemberI did mine a few years ago skiing. The ski dug in, binding didn’t release and I ended up twisting over in a heap at a fair speed. When I put my hand on my knee I could feel my knee cap had moved round to the side and couldnt bend my leg. I ended up having to get a chopper off the hill to hospital. Fortunately Austrian ski resort docs are pretty useful with lower leg injuries and it was popped back in. I was in plaster for two months and couldn’t straighten my leg properly for three. Don’t skimp on the physio. I foolishly did and my knee still hurts years later.
skywalkerFree MemberWell I’ve been putting a bit of weight on it today on the crutches and wearing the brace and now it’s killing me. I’ll see what the doctor says about physio when I can get an appointment, just using it is obviously a bad idea.
TheLittlestHoboFree MemberDoes a snapped patella tendon count? In the x ray my patella was about 2″ higher up than it should have been. I got sent home from casualty with a bandage on cos they couldn’t find a cricket splint. Got it repaired the next day but I have never known pain like it.
Recently had a lateral release due to issues with the patella not being able to track properly due to the guessing game they have to play when joining the tendon back together. My knee still tracks badly now but it’s less of a painfully jolt when it does and it’s only ever when I am sat still for a while. The feeling is actually something I find amusing now because I am used to it. The sound I can never get used to, it can clear a room it’s that loud.
Oh and I had to give up a lot of activities because of it but thankfully cycling is one of the best things for it.
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