Knee and surounding area.

[JoseV]

Yeah a couple of weeks ago I slipped and fell on a wet floor and had a Fibular Fracture in my right leg. I went to emergency and they did the exams and x-rays. The same night they gave me crutches, pain meds and a knee/leg imobilizer  and for three weeks i wore is day and night. During that time it felt like my knee "gaveout" it seems that my knee would shift to the right and there would be intense pain. within the third week after the fall i went to my set appointment with orthopedics at the county hospital and they did x-rays and checked my leg out to see what else could be wrong. Long story short i no longer had to wear the brace from before but a short cast was in order for my ankle. since then I been concentrating on free range and motion and can now bend my knee with hardly any effort however there is still some stiffness when i do it. My question is about my knee. right now i cant walk cause of the cast but my knee still want to give way when i sit and try to raise my leg or when i bend it while standing. I dont know if this is due to any tears with the ligiments or just the fact that its weak. Any advice?

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Your suspicion of a possible ligament tear is apt. If you feel some pain in the knee, there is a probability of a lateral ligament tear. An MRI of the knee would help.

An x-ray does not pick these ligament tears. Please discuss your concerns with your orthopedic surgeon.

Regards