I went ice-skating on Saturday and fell, sprawled on my front. My right knee was very painful, but the pain subsided, enough for me to ride 30 miles home that evening.
On Sunday morning I was getting ready to go riding. I went to the toilet and put my right hand on my right knee. That hurt, a lot! There was something at the bottom of my kneecap, I would guess about 8mm by 3mm moving around, from left to right with a severe stabbing pain. This pain is only there when touched, it’s just a dull ache otherwise.
I took myself off to A&E for an xray thinking that I must have fractured my kneecap. Nothing showed up so It’s not a bone issue.
It still hurts a little, and goes really stiff. It’s actually better the more it moves, riding a (road) bike is great. However, any pressure on it is really, really painful, there is ‘normal’ pain and also a stabbing which moves about 1cm from left to right. Even trousers touching it can set it off.
Should I:
a) Go back to A&E for a second opinion? Could it be cartilage damage?
b) Go to my GP? (been once in the last 15yrs, he was useless. Had a trapped nerve in my neck which he diagnosed as sciatica and sent me away with some painkillers)
c) Stop being a wuss and wait for it to get better?
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Cheers guys.

I’m not a doctor so my advice should be taken with more of a pinch of salt than anyone with actual qualifications trying to advise via the internet!

c doesn’t sound like a good option to me. Maybe give NHS direct a call as they might be able to tell you who to see? Given it’s been a few days you may need to go via GP anyway as A&E aren’t keen on things that didn’t happen in the last 48 hours AFAIK.

Hope you get it sorted and you’re not in pain for long! 🙂

GP. May be a different person by now 🙂 There will be people in A&E waiting to be seen with far worse things than that so I wouldn’t put the added strain on the department for that, though I know it’s concerning you.

My GUESS would be something ligamentous, and the ‘bit’ could be a clot of blood that will work itself out eventually. I bashed my knee a while ago and it’s 3rd week now and still sore when I bend the knee right in. I expect ligament strains to take a good few weeks/few months to heal.

I ain’t no doctor though!

I am a good 8 weeks or so on from my knee injury. Went to my GP who sent me to a knee specialist, he couldn’t find anything directly wrong with it. On some strong anti inflammatory’s for 2 weeks and then see a physio. If it is still giving me grief he will send me for a scan. The drugs are helping though!

could be one of those fish that normally swim up your willy – accidentally frozen into the ice and then straight into your knee when you banged it ?

more common than you imagine

Go to GP

You did it on Saturday, it’s now Wednesday. Currently most A&Es are maxed out with patients, please see your GP.

As to what it is, well I could do a knee examination for you but that takes around 10 minutes or so to do fully plus travelling time. Mean while painkillers you take normally, anti-inflamtories that you can normal take and when not in use rest it on a stool or similar. Movement however is good for most knee injuries to help reduce swelling.

Thanks guys and girls, going to the GP tomorrow morning.
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Supplementry question, what should I do if he says ‘take these pain killers and go away’?
I now have pins & needles in my foot too, I assume this is not a good sign.
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Many thanks to Scardy, I need to chuckle.

Tried a gentle run this afternoon and although the anti inflammatory’s have been helping it still became stiff, heavy and painful, guess it’s not really fixing itself so I will be going back and asking for a scan I think. Surely there should be some improvement after 8-9 weeks?

Trevor.

GP and then absolutely plead for an MRI if the pain is excruciating.

A trip to a decent private physio specialising in knees may cost £50 but will get an immediate opinion and will add weight to the argument for a MRI scan if it is indeed serious. If it not serious but there are conservative treatment options then they should be able to advise with this too.

An MRI is costly for the NHS so these will not just be handed out without some serious justification. If you say words to the effect of “it hurts a bit but I think it will be ok” (or tell them you have ridden 30 miles without problem!) the GP will do very little and most likely tell you to rest for a further 6 weeks. By the time 6 weeks is up you could well have further problems or it may have cleared up. You would then see them again and be told to give it another 6 weeks rest. After repeating this process several times they would then put you on a waiting list for an MRI which may then take another 6-12 weeks. Trauma clinic/ MRI/ etc appointments work on the basis of you either being in a very bad way now or being in quite a bad way over a long time period. As you say you can ride I would suggest the second outcome is more likely and hence will take a while to get anything done of any use. Pain is the real indicator for getting something clinical done quickly unfortunately.

The reality is a GP will most likely be very little help for at least a few months but is the only route to further investigations which can actually help you!

Ok I’ll stop being so cynical now 😀

I hope you can prove me wrong and get the help you need to be happy with your knees quickly!

The reality is a GP will most likely be very little help for at least a few months but is the only route to further investigations which can actually help you!

This is what I’m reaally worried about.
OK, I’m not about to die, but I start racing again in about 3 months, European Champs in 5 and I’m now getting unfit, missed a load of training this week, maybe riding home after the accident wasn’t a great idea!

I start racing again in about 3 months, European Champs in 5

If you are racing to a high standard do you not have support from some form of team doctor/ physio? Even giving this type of information as to your goals to an NHS GP is likely to help things along.

My opinion would be to not try and do too much with the knee until you know what is up although this is very easy to say when not living with the frustration of missed training. Very often short term frustration helps in the long term but it is hard for anyone to give any real advice until you have a proper assessment.

Beg, plead and anything else you can think of to the GP and if there is any external support you have access to through the racing absolutely make the most of it.