How likely am I to get a referral for a Knee Mri? Was diagnosed with a sprained knee on Wednesday and was told to rest and ice it the usual. But also go to my gp to try and request a MRI to check for suspected Medial Meniscus tear.

I have Acute pain on the medial side from the sprain and have had chronic knee pain under the patella and to the medial side of the patella. No instability but intermittent locking and catching.

Before it locks its painful but when it has cracked the pain reduces and then it just clicks.

Or are they likely to tell me to sod off a MRI is to expensive or refer me straight to Orthopaedics for they’re opinion first.

I am struggling with stairs and have pain in my knee unless it straightened.

I went to my GP in Oct with a knee injury having had private physio got referred for physio assessment by January and have an MRI in March .Physio suspects Meniscus tear it hurts like hell and was done running .

Only the GP knows the answer to your question.

I’m not a GP but I would imagine they would get a tad annoyed if a punter came in telling them how to do their job…

The answer to your question seems to depend a lot on where in the country you are and what your profession is. I am a physio, I went to the GP and told him that I was testing positive for meniscus damage and he referred me to knee clinic and I got an appointment date for less than 3 weeks after my injury date. A clubmate has worse symptoms than me, and I gave sent her to her GP with a letter detailing what I think is wrong with her knee and what she tests positive for – she has been told that she’ll not get an urgent appointment until the end of May.

Both GPs were delighted at the comprehensive and detailed processes that had saved them the bother of trying to diagnose something that they may not have been all that sure about.

I have made other arrangements…

>Or are they likely to tell me to sod off a MRI is to expensive or refer me straight to Orthopaedics for they’re opinion first.<

For a knee sprain? Hopefully…

Apparently it costs the practice circa £1k for an MRI, means they don’t chuck em about.

I know that around these parts GPs cant refer you directly for a MRI unless it’s for a head. So you might be better off asking for a referral to knee clinic rather than a MRI.

I paid a sports physio to have a look at my knee he suspected a tear to acl and said he would write a letter to my doctor Wrt getting an MRI. Didn’t wait for him to write letter and went to see my dr and explained the situation he booked me in for an MRI without even examining me. I also did a self referral to nhs physio who was quite good but reckoned my Acl was ok.
The outcome is that I do have a tear and was recommended by specialist to have surgery but have decided against it as my knee is quite stable
Hyde/Stockport area

£1k on NHS!? From recent experience; Specialist private consultation =£300 for initial, £150 thereafter. MRI =£450, +£150 if you need contrast. You’ll be seen within 2 weeks.

The knee sprain I can self manage and I can tell the difference between that and the chronic pain I had before that. It does feel like my previous meniscus tear except this time it’s medial side as opposed to the lateral side like last time.

I work on Orthopaedic Trauma but I’m not qualified to diagnose Orthopaedic injuries. But from past knee injuries I think I have torn my meniscus and then when I came off my bike (mtb) last Tuesday I sprained also.

Last time when I was diagnosed with a sprain I suffered instability and intermittent locking but pain at the fibula head quick mess with my knee by Gp and I was sent for mri. Had fractured fibula torn lateral ligament, and torn lateral meniscus.

It feels similar to this but with the pain medial side as opposed to lateral. And no instability.

I had a lot of pain, a lot of physio and after a year or so I got referred to a knee specialist who eventually referred me for an MRI

The results were inconclusive and he was of the professional opinion that my knee is probably knackered

GP has booked a MRI for suspected Medial meniscus tear. Said approximately 14 day wait or less. Got to have a x Ray also to rule out fracture which is highly unlikely but beca use it’s an Acute injury she is ruling it out.

If it’s anything like my Mum it will be like pushing water up a hill.

After 3 months of being immobile and asking for one explicitly she eventually was offered an MRI scan with a 10 week wait. She had one privately with 3 day wait. £100 for the MRI and £250 for the consultant to look at it.

The NHS isn’t working

And what did your £350 show up?

Our NHS is quite good. Last time I waited 16 days for a GP mri referral. Then 9 days for the results, Gp rung me told to come in fractured fibula, fracture clinic following morning.
Lateral meniscus tear same year, saw consultant August, mri September, follow up consultation October and arthroscopy December.

Not in any great rush but she is 95% certain it’s a meniscus tear. And if it is then strap it up for work and wait for surgery.

One thing can I cycle in the meantime if I’m careful?

£1k on NHS!?

Yeah, that sounds mad. Would be interested to know where boblo got that figure from, I’d expect it to be somewhere under £200.

I got referred for one with a broken wrist. Didn’t ask for it, they just booked me in, said they needed to look at a bit more detail or something. Seemed pointless to me as it appeared all treatment was just immobilise it till it feels a bit better but they’re the professionals so I just turned up and got it done.

Results were – strap it up and wait!

One thing can I cycle in the meantime if I’m careful?

That’s a bit like quitting smoking once you’ve been diagnosed with lung cancer. Fill your boots.

Think the nhs cost is £450 per area of scan for a mri. I know there is a set of guidelines for Gp mri referral. And Acute knee injury with locking is one of them, chronic anterior pain is x Ray then orthopaedic or physio referral.

But it nhs trust is different. But I must admit Bolton NHS is very quick. The A&E department gets slagged off though as it regularly breaches the 4 hour waiting time.

I’ll wait till mri result first then. And just strap it up for work.

Astrology is cheaper.

After 3 months of being immobile and asking for one explicitly she eventually was offered an MRI scan with a 10 week wait. She had one privately with 3 day wait. £100 for the MRI and £250 for the consultant to look at it.

Out of interest, how would this work? Let’s say you did the above, then toddled off to your GP with the MRI, and consultant’s notes I assume. What happens then?

OP: You work at a hospital right? Do they gave a self referral physio service? That might be a quicker way in.

They have Occy Health Physio yes but I apperantly have to be in the system of my hospital (under a consultant) before they can speed things up.
But I’m hoping to be referred to the Consultant at Bolton who did my last arthoscopy as he is a keen cyclist and specialises in sports injuries. Plus I like his compassion and attitude.

Wanmankylung – have you got any reccomendations for a knee support I could use at work to help support my knee?

The figure was quoted by a local NHS Physio I was referred to by the quack. I dint independently verify it so it could be made up. I’ve had a couple of private MRI’s and the bill inc reporting etc has been in excess of that. I suppose it might depend where you are and if you go for the gold service or not… 🙂

I’m a gp. I’m not allowed to order ct scans let alone mri’s. I’d have to refer you to the musculoskeletal screening service where a specialist physiotherapist or gp with special interest would see you and decide. Having said that most knee sprains are just knee sprains. So you may find it does get better on its own.
From the op it sounds like you went to a&e. when I worked in a&e years ago you’d have been brought back to a returns clinic for review by orthopaedics or a&e consultant but nowadays everything gets dumped onto primary care to sort out. That’s part of the reason you can’t get an appointment with a GP nowadays, we are busy doing hospital follow ups. 🙁
Edit: just read with interest that your GP has access to mri under a protocol. How I wish my local radiology department was so enlightened!

docrobster: I thought direct access imaging was a pretty standard arrangement. If not, is it because your CCG won’t pay, rather than because the provider won’t…erm…provide? (ah, the market at work folks, isn’t it wonderful 😉 )

For those who were interested in the costs of MRIs
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan, one area, no contrast, 19 years and over: Average national cost: £138

From the IMAG worksheet of “National schedule of reference costs: the main schedule” here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-reference-costs-2013-to-2014

Bails, it’s a conversation we’ve had over the last 10 years. It’s the radiologists. They don’t trust us to use them properly. Back when we were doing practice based commissioning we were close to setting up GP based diagnostics. But then Landsley’s great idea appeared and scuppered all that.
But yeah the CCG is also skint. Mainly due to excess independent sector trauma and orthopaedics activity ironically. The internal market is such a wonderful thing isn’t it?

BWFC – so you work in a hospital on a Orthopaedic Trauma ward? Why haven’t you just asked on of the docs to look at you??

+ you should know how the system works, as doc say they have to refer to MSK as per instruction from CCG.

The other option would be to have turned up to your a&e, 9-10 they would have sent you to clinic for Ortho review, especially being staff

For what it’s worth the Ortho surgeons don’t like the current route. There is an argument to MRI first, rather than MSK as this can prevent further damage and cost

MRI’s approx £350 pp. You can higher a van for approx £3k per day, but then you need 2 people to run the van and a radiologist to report the image.

Funky Dunc – In regards to my GP it entirely depends on type of injury and symptoms me for example acute knee injury twice for me, I had a mri in a van then the Gp refered me to fracture clinic or Orthopaedic clinic. With my shoulder a chronic problem they just sent me straight to orthopaedic clinic.

When I visited A&E at Blackburn they diagnosed me with a sprain in 2013 and said rest for 14 days after 14 days I could bear weight but very painful so I visited my Gp and they decided to send me for a scan (MRI) Due to my symptoms. The results said fractured fibula and torn meniscus. I was sent to fracture clinic for the fracture had follow up and discharged back to Gp and then I was refered to orthopaedic clinic for the meniscus who mri scanned again and decided on surgery.

So this time I visited A&E (Bolton) they said sprain but suspect meniscus tear also but the meniscus is a GP referral for a scan then Orthopaedic clinic or just straight to Orthopaedic clinic. And if it breaches 18 week like my Hernia did it’s straight to a private hospital.

That’s how my experience has been with my Gp. They seem very quick and getting appointments or scans sorted.

In regards to speaking to my Work colleagues it’s not the done thing as we are too busy, they have a trauma meeting at 0800 a hour ward round and then straight into theatre for trauma list.

I can use occy health but they say go to Gp for anything major same with occy health physio.

In regards to speaking to my Work colleagues it’s not the done thing as we are too busy, they have a trauma meeting at 0800 a hour ward round and then straight into theatre for trauma list.

OK, I know quite a few Ortho surgeons and they would always make time for colleagues, perhaps they are a bit nicer the right side of the Pennines 😆

I fell off my bike in feb last year. Buggered my knee. Was put on a list forcan MRI it was a 3 month wait. Had surgery quicker!!

My wife recently had an MRI scan for some lumps. Leading up to it we were both to be quite frank, shitting it, obviously expecting the worst.

Then we went to see the doctor who showed us the pictures. My wife couldn’t look even after he’d absently mindedly gone ‘oh sorry, it’s nothing sinister, but look at this!’

I was entranced though, I made him go and forth between the images loads of times. Amazing the amount of detail it pulls out. What amazing technology.

Funkydunc – Dont get me wrong they are nice, get the odd arrogant one but the majority are friendly and approachable but hardly get chance to go for a pee never mind a quick chat.
I did however have my Achilles repaired by a work colleague. But that was a collapsed on ward in a heap, A&E then one night on our other Orthopaedic ward (we have 2) and surgery next day.

Our unit also has a trauma meeting at 8:00, followed by a lengthy ward round then straight into trauma and elective lists. They seemed only too pleased – well they offered to see me pronto.