Knee pain after walking alot. Still exists after 2 months

[jobay4482]

I went to Ireland in the first week of April and walked an average of 7-10 miles a day. Towards the end of my vacation, I was walking on a road that went up and down in elevation and started to feel pain in my knee. 2 days later my knee was sore and it hurt to bend it. It hurt a lot more when I was walking up stairs or up a hill.
I bought a knee brace and took it easy on my knee, but every once in awhile when I go for a walk of a couple of miles, I get the same pain. There isn't any bruising or swelling.

The pain concentrates in the front underneath the knee cap. Sometimes it's above the knee cap. Right now I just went for a 5 mile walk with my knee brace on and the front underneath my knee cap is very sore and it hurts to keep my knee bent.

I'm a 27 year old female who has never had any knee problems before. I'm a geologist and so I really need my knees to be healthy. Unfortunately my health plan is horrible and really can't afford x-rays and MRI's if it ends up being nothing serious.

Thanks!

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

I think this may be due to fatigue and due to the work you have put in. Rest, take anti inflammatory drugs and apply ice packs and see if your pain goes off.

There are orthopedic tests to determine if you have ligament tears which can be done by any physician . There is always not a necessary to go for an MRI. You can go for an examination as it is a chronic pain and there is suspiction that you might have damaged any ligament and it is always good to rule out injury if pain continues beyond 10 days.

For anterior cruciate ligament there is anterior drawer test and Lachman test. For posterior cruciate ligament there is posterior drawer test. for meniscus injury there is apley's grinding test and mc murray's test.

Take care!

[jason1856]

I am having a similar knee pain problem.  After walking a long distance 3 days in a row on a trip my knees began to kill me.  Now nearly a month later my right knee is fine and left is still having pain.  Like you I am only 24 and don't won't to have to spend money going to a doctor.  Did your pain ever go away?  Did you ever have your knees checked out?

Thanks,

Jason

[Dr Vinod]

For you, assessing  damage in the knee is important. Without Orthopaedician's visit and checking your tendon insertions and state of ligaments it is difficult to know exactly what damage you have done to your knee. After diagnosis, treatment gets easy. Take care!