injured knee

[Smallpotatoes]

Well, I suppose if you play rugby long enough it's bound to happen.
I played the second half of an old boys game today (over-35). About a minute into the 25-minute half, in the second scrum, the scrum collapses. I'm in the front row. I twist my knee. Immediately, I know something is wrong, but I figure if something is really wrong, I wouldn't even be able to walk. I'm able to finish the game. It hurts a little, but not much. I can run on it. I can push off on it in scrums and rucks. I made a few tackles. I don't even say a word about being hurt until after the game is over. I test it out with a few squats after the game and it's all right, though getting in and out of a car hurts. When I get home, I take iboprofen and put ice on it while keeping it elevated.
Now it really hurts. It seemed weird that it didn't bother me much during the game. Could that have just been adrenaline? It hurts on the bone to the left of my right kneecap. I figure it's a strain, but could it be something worse?

 

[Angola!]

Just get a 12-pack of Coors, a razor and a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and go digging. You'll figure out what's wrong soon enough.

 

[ArnoldBabar]

Once you've tried Angola's plan, go get an MRI. You can walk and perform on a torn ACL or MCL. It's not like a broken leg. You need to get it checked out.

I obliterated my knee skiing my senior year in high school. My parents would just leave me with a bag of ice on the couch, and finished the vacation. When we got home my mom finally took me to a doctor, and I will never forget the absolute derision in the doc's face when he talked to my mother. My kneecap was broken, the entire structure torn to shreds. Yet I got around.

So, yeah, go see someone.

 

[ralph wiggum]

Like AB said, get that checked out. Knees are weird in that some people get around great on and torn ACL, while others can't walk with a sprain. My hope for your sake is that the pain on the inside of your knee is a sprained MCL, which would be 4-6 weeks of rehab and no surgery, but definitely get it checked out to be safe. Best of luck

 

[Cadet]

If you tore something, any swelling that is present is helping to keep it from feeling loose. It could still be jacked up. I'm sure adrenaline helped get you through the match.

When you go see a doctor (which you need to do), be prepared to answer these questions:

Did you hear something pop?
Did you feel something pop?
Is there a pain on one side or the other? Front or back? Above the kneecap or below?
Is the pain piercing, dull, constant, come-and-go?

Good luck. I've been there, and it sucks.

 

[goldglovechipper]

Depending on the severity of the pain, it could be a torn meniscus or a partially torn MCL. I had a slight tear in my MCL a couple years ago and was able to walk on it for a few weeks until finally I was too annoyed with the pain. I went to the doctor and had a MRI taken on it which showed the small tear and they had me wear this immobilizer for a couple weeks and had me use crutches to keep off it. Afterwards my knee was fine, although it still bothers me some three years later.

 

[Mahoney]

That doesn't sound like an ACL tear, but you've got to get to a doctor and get checked out. I tore mine playing racquetball, and knew instantly that my knee had just bent in a way it shouldn't bend. Within a few hours, my knee was locked up from swelling but I could still walk on it if I sort of side-stepped. I walked around with a torn ACL for nine months, and fortunately all I made worse was a bunch of scar tissue they were able to clean out during surgery. The doc told me I could have easily done a lot of cartilege damage too. Don't be a tough guy on this, get it checked out.

 

[Chef]

Just get a 12-pack of Coors, a razor and a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and go digging. You'll figure out what's wrong soon enough.

Atta kid.

 

[Pencil Dick]

Possibly a torn meniscus (sp?) Weird injury - one day the pain will be almost unbearable, a day later there's virtually no pain. I went 7 months before having surgery when I tore mine.

 

[Steak Snabler]

If it's a torn meniscus, the next time you jump and the loose piece catches between the bones, you'll feel it. Serious pain.

As others have said, you can walk and sometimes even run in a straight line, on a torn ACL. It's cutting and quick stop-starts that you'll notice it.

But either way, get it checked. It might be a slight tear that becomes a full-blown rupture the next time you ding it. Then you're either looking at surgery with a six-month rehab or living the rest of your life without a major ligament.

 

[DocTalk]

A few notes:

Intra-articular injuries (those within the joint) cause swelling of the knee. ACL tears swell within minutes while meniscal or cartilage tears may take a few hours. the knee has its most space at 15 degrees of flexion. Fully straightening the knee may cause significant pain since fluid doesn't compress (see how hydraulics work).

The ability to weight bear and walk mean that the tendons that move the joint work, nothing more.

Rest, ice, elevate and anti-inflammatories may be all that is needed for a sprain.

Rushing to get an MRI may be overkill. If your doc can appropriately examine a knee, the diagnosis may be evident.

Questions often asked include whether pain occurs with going up or down stairs, if there is giving way, if popping or grinding occurs among others.

 

[ink-stained wretch]

Cowboy up, Dude.

And listen to the good Doc (above). Best decision I ever made was not to have the surgery in the early '70s. 30 years later there are some mornings when getting out of bed is not for sissies (so I stay in bed). But on the whole the quality of life is still good.

Time to give up rugby Ol' Timer. Take up drinking full time. Trust me, it's more satisfying.

 

[slappy4428]

Rub some dirt on it and get on with your life. Nancy boy.

 

[Michael Echan]

I agree with a few of the previous posters and that it's probably a torn meniscus. Something similar happened to me sophomore year in HS during wrestling. The only thing is this: don't wait four years to actually get it fixed. Makes life uncomfortable as the days pass.

The procedure is fairly simple. They put you under for an hour, so the chances you'll get sick from the anesthetic are low. It'll throb a little the first day, but you should be off crutches in three days, maybe less. Once you complete a rehab program, invest in a good knee brace (I recommend Don-Joy) if you still want to continue playing rugby. Best bet, though, is to give up the days on the pitch and if you're really missing it, take up flag-football. PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[TwoGloves]

"It might be a tumor."

"It's not a tooo-muh."

 

[Smallpotatoes]

The thing that hurts the most is getting in and out of a car. Stairs are OK.
It hurts when I try to fully straighten it or move the knee inward.
As far as a doctor goes, I have two choices: 1). Try to get an appointment with my primary care physician, who will then refer me to an orthopedist ($10 copay) or 2). Go to an emergency room ($50 co-pay) and be referred to an orthopedist.
I'm leaning toward the ER option.
The way I was raised was that you don't go running to the doctor for every little thing. It was only as a last resort.
When I was younger I had allergies and when I came home from college they hit me pretty hard. I remember one Thanksgiving when I couldn't breathe just two hours after getting home. Everyone in my family had allergies so their response was: Whatever you have I've had 50 times worse so suck it up. Just take some over-the-counter stuff.
People who saw me wondered why I'd go to work at my temp job and why I didn't see a doctor. I'd be coughing and gasping for air and saying "Not..until...it's absolutely...necessary."
I guess I'm better off for having been brought up that way, but sometimes I wonder.

 

[terrier]

If it doesn't flex all the way, it's probably a torn meniscus - you need to have it scoped if you want range of motion within hailing distance of 100 percent.
I tore my meniscus AND ACL a few years ago playing beach volleyball - you could hear the pop all the way down the beach. Funny thing was, it didn't hurt that bad (at least until it became stiff an unmoveable the next morning). Within a couple of days, when the swelling went down, I was off crutches, but then, trying to push up a window...YOWWWW! Back on crutches for awhile, until a few days before surgery. The MRI showed I had sprained my MCL, which oddly, was much more painful then my torn ACL.
I had my meniscus taken out, but opted not to have full ACL reconstruction (age, and not having a physical job). I did intense PT for a month, and within less than four months, could do everything I had in the gym before the injury. I played beach volleyball again exactly a year later (and no longer use the brace - too cumbersome). The only real effects almost six years later are being careful when I kneel, and I can't really kick with that leg.

 

[DocTalk]

The procedure is fairly simple. They put you under for an hour, so the chances you'll get sick from the anesthetic are low. It'll throb a little the first day, but you should be off crutches in three days, maybe less. Once you complete a rehab program, invest in a good knee brace (I recommend Don-Joy) if you still want to continue playing rugby. Best bet, though, is to give up the days on the pitch and if you're really missing it, take up flag-football. PM me if you have any more questions.

A few more notes:

There is no such thing as a simple procedure.
No need for a general anesthetic necessarily. Spinal and sedation may work too.
Rehab depends upon on how solid you were beforehand and how much you want to work to get back. Remember that Phillip Rivers played 6 days after arthroscopy; absolutely amazing.
The goal for most sports medicine docs is to get the patient back to his/her favorite activity. People should aim to get back to their pre-injury life.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

I'm seeing my primary care guy this afternoon. I have to miss a baseball game I was planning on covering, but it was the only time available.

 

[qtlaw]

"Rub some Windex on it." (Chris Rock)