Okay guys here is my full story from the outset – June/July 2013 develop irritating pain on the outside of my right knee after a couple of long road rides in Spain. I come back and go to see a private physio on the recommendation from a cycling friend. The physio gives me exercises and stretches as he thinks the pain is a minor cartilage tear. I try the exercises for a number of weeks and the pain starts to get gradually worse (dull toothache and pins and needles). The physio refers me to visit my GP and as you have both said this should have been my first course of action, my bad!
I go to my GP, he sends me to an extended scope specialist through NHS who thinks it is ITB syndrome. He gives me exercises and stretches to do which i do diligently for 4-6 weeks and the pain is still there. He then sends me for an MRI scan. MRI shows meniscal irritation and minor synovitis on the outside of the right knee. The NHS extended scope guy recommends me for NHS physio. I go for NHS physio and this is where the NHS lady doesn’t really know what is wrong and recommends I ride through it. I try this and the pain gets worse where I have a week working from home on my bed with ice and heat every hr. I stick with her exercises and the pain gets worse and worse. Back to the NHS extended scope guy who recommends I go and see a rheumatologist through NHS. Rheumatologist thinks it is mechanical probably bad case of ITB but there are no real ITB symptoms – no sharp pain, no pain when going downstairs, etc. He gives me a steroid injection which doesn’t do anything so he recommends that I go and see a surgeon.
I go to see a surgeon through the NHS and he assesses me, pushes his thumb on the outside of my right knee and I am in excruciating pain. He, yes the NHS doctor recommends the arthroscopy surgery. I go back to my private physio and he agrees that the surgery will do no harm and will eliminate any tears or bone chips, etc. The NHS physio also agreed so against my better judgement I went ahead with the arthroscopy in Aug last year.
I would not recommend arthroscopy as my knee is not right since the operation.
With no support from the NHS after the arthroscopy at all I go back to private but a new guy who look at the whole body and not just the knee. he was recommended through single track forum. He found pain in my lower back that I didn’t know I had and with treatment from him it got better. I also started strength work for the first time in almost 18 months as my knee would allow it and things were looking up. Fast forward to end of Feb where I go to centre parcs with the family and ride 2-3 miles per day and then 6 miles on the Friday and my knee seems to be close back to where it was before the operation, constant throbbing and pins and needles down the right shin.
Okay I may not have followed every single exercise that the physio had recommended, but I have given it a really good try and the knee was getting better so I tried a slightly longer ride.
I am now booked back in to see the GP on Tuesday and lets see where we go from here.
My biggest regret was going to see the consultant because the consultants tool is surgery so he/she will recommend surgery. When I asked him after the operation why he recommended surgery when nothing was found he could not give me an answer.
If you see my history I followed the NHS route right through to surgery and met who two of the top knee doctors in Cambridge and I am still no further forward. I went back to the private physio for advice but always followed the GP route.
I have now gone back to private as I didn’t rate the NHS physio and I think that the private physio is helping as he has found something going on in the lower back.
Nigel
