Twisted knee: how long to recover?

[Loes]

First of all: I'm very glad I’ve found this forum. There is so much information on here! Thank you all for that! I also noticed that there are a lot of women who have knee injuries on here. I wish you all the best in recovering.

I kind of feel embarrassed to ask this question, since my injury is very minor compared to what I've read in some other threads....
but still I hope that maybe I can get some advice here...

6 weeks ago I twisted my knee while sliding. I fell, my ski did not let loose, and it felt like my knee was torn apart. I almost fainted, but after half an hour I was able to get up, and ski down (on 1 ski). I went to the doctor, the physiotherapist and now I'm doing exercises to strengthen my knee and to improve the movements of my knee.

The problem is that after 6 weeks I still can't bend my knee like I used to (it stops at 100/ 110 degrees) and I've trouble with straightening it. It has improved a lot in the past 6 weeks, but now it's going very slowly and I'm frustrated because:
- I can't run without pain (it's not a sharp pain, but annoying. especially since I never had problems with running. 20 minutes of running is the max: after this the pain gets to much)
- I can't jump up with surfing without pain (same: not sharp, but annoying. When I bent through my knee to much though, it's very painful!)
- I can't ski and I can't skate (skateboarding)
- I can't do yoga exercises.

The strange thing is that I've heard from friends that it takes 6 weeks for a twisted knee to recover.
Well, I’m doing a lot better, but still I'm not near a recovery. I'm afraid this takes months

Do some of you maybe have advice how to deal with this? Is it normal that is takes this long to recover?
Should I insist on a MRI at the orthopedist?
Is it ok to keep running, while it's hurting or do I risk wearing out my knee like this?

Thanks for reading this

 

[altagirl]

"twisted knee" isn't a very specific diagnosis. I'm assuming your doctor just diagnosed it as some form of mild sprain? The thing is, if you have limited range of motion at this point, I would think there is something else wrong - torn meniscus or something maybe. I would certainly go back to see your ortho and see what he or she has to say about it.

 

[itri]

Yup, sounds like you need to pursue things further. A lot of times doctors will just tell you to take it easy for awhile in the hopes that things will resolve on their own, which does happen in a lot of cases. But sometimes, it won't happen on its own, so you need to find out what's really going on so you can treat it appropriately. Definitely get back to your orthopedist. If he can't give you a very specific diagnosis about what's wrong at this point, then you probably should insist on an MRI.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[tamlyn]

I have really bad knees and need knee replacements. But the docs insist I am too young(I am 55!) My meniscus is torn all the way through and it will never heal because the blood supply to ligaments and tendons isn't adequate. 6 weeks may be OK for a simple sprain/strain, but it will take alot longer if you hurt it worse. Try exercising in a pool. Running is the worst thing you can do because of impact. Biking may help build muscle to support it and a knee brace (hinged type) will help. Don Joy makes good ones but they can get very expensive and the cheap ones bunch up behind your knee making it really uncomfortable. My doctors have resorted to pain killers, in large doses and thats a last resort, you really don't want to end up like me. I am not even supposed to be skiing much less racing, but I do anyway. So I would insist on an MRI so you know what you are dealing with. If it is nothing too serious get your doc to write a prescription for physical therapy, and exercise accordingly. The last thing you want is to cause more damage. Use aspirin and tylenol together to control pain but don't use it so much that you mask symptoms. On the optimistic side if you can walk without pain it is probably not too serious. Just don't rush it and most likely you will be back to 100%. Sorry to hear this happened. Slow twisting falls are the worst.
Good luck
Tami (gravity girl)

 

[overthehilldiva]

When I tore my ACL completely, my PCP thought it was just a sprain. I was able to walk on without much pain. I skiied down on it part of the way down the mountain and I drove home the next day (right knee). I went to work the next day.
I think that at 6 weeks if you are still having problems you should see your ortho and at least discuss an MRI.

 

[altagirl]

When I tore my ACL completely, my PCP thought it was just a sprain. I was able to walk on without much pain. I skiied down on it part of the way down the mountain and I drove home the next day (right knee). I went to work the next day.
I think that at 6 weeks if you are still having problems you should see your ortho and at least discuss an MRI.

Yeah - I was actually running twice a day on my first torn ACL - and skiing, and playing flag football, and lifting... I was in the army and my primary care doc kept insisting that the fact it was giving out on me was still "nothing but a sprain" and it "would be fine if I took more motrin". Yeah right.

Make sure you're seeing an ortho, and preferably one who works on athletes.

 

[JaneB]

I agree with all the above. Insist on an MRI. I am very concerned that you are potentially damaging it further with the degree of work you're doing on it now. As a survivor of two knee surgeries, I had inappropriate PT after the first surgery and ended up doing permanent damage which necessitated a second surgery. It will never be alright now.

JaneB

 

[Loes]

Hi, thanks for the advice.

I went to the ortho yesterday. He said a MRI isn't necessary, my knee is doing a lot better. Within another 6 weeks it should function normally... I can take up to 12 weeks for a sprain to recover completely!

So I guess I have to be a little more patient (sigh), but I'm relieved that the injury is so minor (compared to the twist the knee made)

 

[Telluride Ski Babe]

Personally, I'd get a second opinion. You've got such limited range of motion, it might be something else. I tore my meniscus years ago, and the doctor insisted nothing was wrong. I finally went to another doctor (who did an MRI), and yup, it was torn.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

The problem is that after 6 weeks I still can't bend my knee like I used to (it stops at 100/ 110 degrees) and I've trouble with straightening it. It has improved a lot in the past 6 weeks, but now it's going very slowly and I'm frustrated because:
- I can't run without pain (it's not a sharp pain, but annoying. especially since I never had problems with running. 20 minutes of running is the max: after this the pain gets to much)
- I can't jump up with surfing without pain (same: not sharp, but annoying. When I bent through my knee to much though, it's very painful!)
- I can't ski and I can't skate (skateboarding)
- I can't do yoga exercises.

Six weeks post-injury, these symptoms are absolute red flags to me. You said you went back to the doctor but have not said what the specific injury was. For reference, I've had the following:
1. ACL grade 1, resolved in 2 weeks, skied with support for rest of season;
2. LCL grade 2, resolved in 3 weeks, resumed season.

Did this orthopedic surgeon perform a Lachman test on you, and if so, what was his opinion?

It's this 100/110 degree maximum bend and inability to fully extend that are most concerning to me.

If this doctor is not telling you EXACTLY what is going on or recommending ANY further testing after this length of time, it's time for you to get in touch with another orthopedic surgeon, preferably one that specializes in knees! (also don't know your geography and if this is even feasible for you) You'll likely need a referral to physical therapy as well, but first FIND OUT WHAT THE CAUSE IS! "twist" is much too vague.

 

[num]

We'd just hate for you to have more of an injury than you're aware of, and to be incurring more damage by leaving something untreated. Hopefully the diagnosis you received was correct, but if it turned out not to be, it'd save a lot of heartache (and possibly cartilage, etc) to find that out sooner rather than later.

Do you have insurance that covers second opinions?

 

[Loes]

Thanks for the concern! I really appreciate it!

I agree that my knee is taking very long to recover completely, but the progress though, is going very fast.... (I am now from almost no bending to a 120/ 130 degree bending in 6 weeks).

Actually the ortho did say that in the US I would have gotten 3 MRI's in the meantime. The thing is, that the health care system over here is very (!) different from the healthcare system in the US.

Healthcare is very accessible in the Netherlands, and for the ones who need it, a lot is covered with a basic health insurance. But this also makes the cost in total very high.... so that means that hospitals need to be efficient.

So with the knees: knees injuries are very common, and the policy is to wait first (when the trauma isn't that bad) to see if it resolves it selves... When people keep having problems (after more than 3 months) only then they can have a MRI and a more specific diagnosis.

I'll just have to be patient, and I'm still hoping (for 90% convinced) that it's only a sprain of the bands, and an irritation of the knee

 

[Loes]

I'm posting an update about my knee!

After your replies and my bf's complaining that I was forcing my knee to much, I went back to the doctor after 9 weeks. He sent me for a MRI, and it turned out my meniscus was torn indeed (lateral meniscus)...

I went to another specialist, and he also saw that my MCL had been torn (but healed in the meantime, luckily).
I could get an arthroscopy within a month, so during this month I stopped exercising to give my knee some rest.

After the arthroscopy I got a big surprise!!!!! The torn in my meniscus was healed How lucky can you be!!! So, yeah, I'm very relieved.... I just have to be careful for another two months...
I also took up the advice to go swimming in the meantime, so that the meniscus can recover completely!!

So what's the lesson I've learned? To listen to your body, and to the skidiva's on this forum (because then I would have been back skiing and surfing much earlier)