When to MRI ??

[coverland]

When is the best time to MRI?  Right after an injury while there is swelling or is it better to wait til the swelling has gone down?

My daughter had a knee injury about a month ago playing soccer (just apparently landed on her knee wrong on the field).  We took her to our local clinic where they did an MRI and apparently the results were viewed by a radiologist and orthopedic doctor.  The finding was pulled ligaments in her knee but nothing torn.  We went to a Sports Therapy Clinic where through the course of exercises and a few visits, she was deemed okay to go back onto the field.  A few minutes into a soccer game, she apparently dropped that knee onto the field in the same spot and at the end of the game, had a pretty swollen knee (same knee - apparent re-injury).  We went back to the Sports Therapist who worked with her and again after a few days, felt her knee was okay and the ligaments felt good.  Today while playing some game in PE, she went down on that knee again and it's pretty swollen tonight.  I'm not inclined to go back to the Sports Therapist until we can get her into a clinic or better yet, an Orthopedic Doctor.

A couple of questions, is it easy enough to get a copy of the original MRI on a CD for example where we can take that first MRI result to an out of town Orthopedic Doctor we have in mind and secondly, is it best to give it a day or so and try to get the swelling down before getting another MRI done on it?  I may be mistaken but I would think that near normal state (with swelling gone down) would provide the best result for a Doctor to review.

Any help or points are appreciated.  

TIA

[coverland]

Thanks for the reply.  I think we're pretty much done for now with the sports therapy.  They claim to be able to feel those ligaments where the knee felt good - it did seem to help until she ended up falling on the knee and then back to square one.  Part of the reason we tried the sports therapy route was in hearing others in the local soccer community who had good results but I'm a bit skeptical at this point.  Tomorrow we head out of town to a good orthopedic doctor and we'll ask about the 3T MRI - thats a good point, thanks for the suggestion.  In an effort to keep my 13yo from further aggravation, we've taken her off that soccer team.  The coach wasn't happy about that but it was fears of further aggravation if she were at practices or any of that so the decision was made for her own well being.

[caregiver222]

She needs another MRI as soon as possible to determine if there has been additional damage. Two, three, four MRI's....as many as needed.

"Pulled ligaments" represents a serious problem. I cannot believe they encouraged her to resume sports activty so quickly.

"Deemed O.K. to go back on the field".

By who?

She isn't on the Dallas cowboys.

I would respectfully suggest that someone is needed to keep her injuries in perspective.

In addition, if she was playing on a school team there is tort liability, and the school should be paying for her medical care.

A 3T MRI will be the best one to have.