Has anyone had a knee injury that didnt cause much pain until weeks later

[Bdwyer]

I tripped and fell full force and all my weight directly on my knee. The inital pain was like nothing I have ever felt. The next two day it was pretty sore but seemed fine for the most part. Fast forward 2-3 weeks later the pain comes back. At first it was like the pain on days 2-3. It is steadily getting worse. It’s as painful as it was the moment it happened. Insurance won’t approve MRI without a month of physical therapy. I’m afraid that all this time will make it so much worse. (Suspended miniscus tear)

[db0255]

Can you describe your fall a little better? Were you walking, tripped, and fell directly on the knee cap? Or did you land awkwardly causing your knee to take the brunt of the fall in an awkward position?

[Bdwyer]

I tripped and fell on concrete. I was walking and not paying attention I had my hands full so I couldn’t brace for impact. I dropped pretty hard and all my weight landed on my left knee

[db0255]

It's definitely weird that the pain occurred, went away, and then came back. An MRI would definitely tell you if you had any pathology in that knee. From how you describe the fall, it seems like you fell forward, full force on your kneecap. Few questions:

Did you have any swelling at the time or a couple days after the fall?

Is the pain present all the time? Does it get worse when you have your knee in certain positions?

[specialmom]

I hope it's not that.  I guess you have to follow your insurance protocol.  Unless your doctor concurs it's a tear and you can bypass the physical therapy month, I'm not sure what else you can do. And the PT is better than nothing. You may get some tips to hold you until you can get an mri besides just the pt service.