Knee MRI- what can I expect

[Nokthula]

I had a right knee MRI as it was hurting. I have had tracking problems from time to time. I am 18 kegs overweight. I walk 5-7kms per day. I do yoga3x per week. MRI says- severe bone bruising and bleeding, micro fractures of tibia, 2 complex menus all tears-anterior and posterior, grade2-3 cartilage thinning, fluid above knee and in knee behind patella, bathers cyst, ligament strain, some bone growth and early osteoarthritis. What the hell do I do- I am thinking lose weight, swim, take chondritin, glucosamine, vitamin c, see a knee surgeon... what I DONt want is a knee replacement. It is a bit stiff, swollen and aches.

[Occams_Razor]

Hi Nokthula, a lot of your symptoms point to abnormalities in your biomechanics and/or over/inappropriate training or poor technique. Whilst it would be foolish of me to link causation and effect without seeing you in person there are a few suggestions I can recommend. Firstly as you alluded to an increase in weight will increase the stress on the joints and thus can also slightly change the transmission of force through the lower limb. Secondly, I would look at what surface you are walking/running on and adjust your footwear appropriately. In your case, hard surfaces are your enemy as they will precipitate more micro trauma (shin splits).

Forewarning the medications you listed don't have a lot of scientific evidence to support their effectiveness.

As I suspect there are multiple pathologies occuring that are causing your knee pain I would recommend firstly visiting a podiatrist (lower limb specialist) to diagnose the underlying pathologies and determine if conservative or surgical treatment is required.  

If you're ever up in Brisbane drop by the Kelvin Grove QUT Podiatry Clinic, $30 new patient consults.