Knee Pain

[Rexel11]

Hello,

I have been suffering from knee pain for the past 18 months.  Had an artho done in Jul 18 as MRI should a small tear in the meniscus and a small cyst. The orthoped found a very small tear, did not repair it, he did not see the cyst but found arthritis and said he cleaned it up, whatever that meant.  Anyways, since the artho my left knee is worse, the pain goes back to my hamstrings and I an unable to squat or bend my knee completely.  I am currently attending aqua therapy in a warm pool - this helps tremendoulsy.  I bike, walk and do a wee bit of stretching.

I have now had another MRI with states:
"a moderate-size joint effusion. Some degerative thining of the articulare hyaline cartilage overlying the medial femoral condyle and femoral trochlea.  A focus of chondral edema in the articular cartilage overlying the medial facet of the patella in keeping with early chonromalacia patella.  Undisplaced complex tear int he medial meniscus at the junction between the body any posterior horn of the medial meniscus."

Could someone please explain in layman's terms the above observation.

My doc has requested an appointment with an othro - don't know how soon that will happen.  She has also request physio - keeping in mind the above observation, anything specific physio is recommended?

I know I do have osteo but the other pain is crazy.  I was on ibrufen for a whole week, 400gms x 3 times a day. Yes, it helped very much.  I do ice now and again.

Advice is much appreciated.

[Rexel11]

Hi Tuck

Thank you for your response. Yes, I am still on MH.  My pain is under control most times without any medication, which is great. From your response I gather that an arthoscopic intervention is going to be necessary.  In the meantime, to keep my muscles strong around my knee,  I am exercising but nothing strenous. Contemplating using a regular knee brace which has an opening around the patella, hope this will help when exercising and not cause any further damage.  I have to see the physio tomorrow.

Still no news on my appointment with the orthoped - hope it comes through pretty soon.  No visible swelling around the knee, maybe the ibrufen which I had taken for a week helped.

I have notcied that my knees hurt more when I stand for a period of time and then try to squat or sit.  Also walking for a long period of time is not very comfortable - I can go for an hour our so without any discomfort but after that I have to rest a bit before I continue.

Will keep you posted on any further developments.

Once again, thank you very much.

[Tuckamore]

Hello Rexel,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. Please except my apology for my very tardy response. You must have horrid pain and I am sorry that you are suffering.

Please let me know if you are still monitoring this thread. If so I can provide a bit more information. Please remember that there are no physicians or experts on the PM Forum.

Briefly, a joint effusion means that there is more fluid in our joint then exists in normal joints. When a joint is affected by arthritis especially rheumatoid arthritis (RA), increased abnormal amounts of fluid can build up. usually the knee will appear swollen but this depends on the amount of fluid in your knee. The fluid is produced by the inflamed tissues that are affected by the arthritis and that line the joint. Usually a physician can drain off the fluid and your pain will improve.

You may have had a "minor" meniscus tear at one point but now you have a major one....it needs to be repaired. Usually the "shave" off the part of the meniscus that is protruding and causing your pain. Sometimes they do more. It depends on the amount of injury to the
meniscus. This will also greatly reduce your pain. Hence the orthro consult.

Again please let me know if you are still on MH and I can offer a bit more explanation. In general you have reasons for serious knee pain. Unless your PCP has told you otherwise I would not exercise this joint to any degree until you have the consult. you may actually do more damage. But this needs to be your physicians call.

I'll look forward to your response....and wish you the very best.

Take Care,
~Tuck