Knee Injury Advice

[ldgman1970]

Hi all,


I have been doing Kenpo for about six months and I am in a total groove and loving it. This past weekend I had my first major injury and believe it or not it had nothing to do with taking a hit. I didn't lock my leg out when attempting a take down and my knee popped out of joint. The pain was fairly excruciating at the time and it was painful to walk most of Saturday. Finally today it is feeling quite a bit better but it still feels a little questionable so I scheduled an appointment to see a sports medicine doc tomorrow. Does this seem like the right course of action? Has anyone else had an injury like this and if so how long were you out? I guess my fear is that this is going take me away from training for awhile.

 

[dubljay]

I have bad knees from years of various sports so I know what you are going through. My question is this: Which is more important, short term goals and training or being able to train for the rest of your life? Go see your doctor and if you have to stop training while you heal so what? If you dont take the time to heal your body what is the point of training your body to begin with?

 

[ldgman1970]

Thanks for your thoughts and I know you are right it's just that training has been going so well lately. This is going to be a life time thing for me so I would rather lose a week or a month or whatever now than damage my self permanently. Who knows, maybe it's not that bad.

 

[shesulsa]

When a knee pops out of joint, one of the dangers (and often result) is sprained or torn ligaments. To continue training with this kind of an injury is really really bad for your knee.

Watch training for now until you see a doctor - and train your mind by visualizing yourself going through the motions, feel them as though you were doing them - and get an x-ray, MRI or ultrasound.

Ice it and be good to your knee. Please write back and let us know how it turns out.

FWIW - I completely severed my right ACL and have had reconstruction surgery. You'll survive.

 

[MJS]

Yes, getting to the doctor ASAP is the best thing to do. I injured my knee a while back during a grappling class. Came close to tearing the ACL. Went through quite a bit of PT, but it was well worth it. I was out of training for a while, but when you stop and think about it, what you can do is limited if it hurts to stand.

Good luck and let us know how you make out!

Mike

 

[Aqua4ever]

Like everyone's already said, GO TO THE DOCTOR! and listen to his/her advice! Knees aren't something you want to mess around with, I thought because I was young I could shake off my injury and I ended up in PT for a year and now braces when I do anything more then walk.
Until a doctor tells you differently, I would ice (15 mins at a time) and heat (10 mins) whenever you have time
Speedy recovery!
Aqua

 

[ldgman1970]

I am hoping nothing is torn or anything but without seeing a doctor there is really no way to know. I am fortunate because the doctor I am seeing is the team doctor for the LA Kings Hockey team and the LA Galaxy soccer team so I am guessing he has seen a lot of knee injuries. I will let you guys know what happens. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[shesulsa]

Since you're in So Cal, try seeking out Dr. James Tasto or someone within his group - he did my arthroscopic surgery 20 years ago. He used to head up the Knee Research Institute in San Diego and was the surgeon for the L.A. Lakers, so I'm told.

 

[ldgman1970]

Hi all,

Just thought I would give you guys an update. Met with Doc today and he thought I might have a meniscal tear. I have an MRI first thing tomorrow morning and then I meet with him again next week. I am hoping surgery wont be required.

 

[triwahine]

Sounds like you went to the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic. You cannot go wrong. My Orthopod did his fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic and both my ACL surgeries were a huge success.

As for a meniscus tear, that's sort of what your mechanism sounds like. Anyways, you did the right thing in getting in to see the doctor. Now, just follow his orders and you will be well taken care of.

I'm not sure who said it, but take care of your knees. Be good to them and they will take you a long way. AS for training, visualize and you can always work on the hand motions...

Best of luck. Take care.

 

[TigerWoman]

I've had two meniscal tears on one knee. One wasn't bad enough to operate to repair. So I laid off it for six weeks. I took Glucosamine Sulfate, MSM, wore a brace to keep my knees from slipping and iced after every workout. Finally I realized after 4-5 years, it wasn't hurting anymore. It had healed! Then doing a 360 jump, I had other trouble and the MRI showed a tear on the other side. Still no surgery, so hopeful it will mend too with Glucosamine. I don't feel any pain now on that side and its been a couple of years. TW

 

[ldgman1970]

Yep I did go to Kerlan Jobe and they seem to know what they are doing there. Had the MRI this morning and I am guessing I will know how to proceed next week.

Obviously I will follow the Docs advice but for those of you who have had this type of injury can you tell me how long you had to go without any training? Also, what did you do for cardio when trying to heal? And finally, and this is probably a silly question, if you had this surgery on the right knee were you able to drive and if not how long did you have to wait? I am asking because it occurred to me that this might require me to take some time off of work. Thanks!!

 

[triwahine]

I went straight to ACL surgeries. I was driving 5 days after my R knee surgery. As for meniscal surgery, I'm guessing 2-3 days before you can drive. Only thing is in LA you guys are always putting on the brakes. That might be the only difficult part. Work, depending on what you do, I would say 2-3 days unless it's a labor job. Returning to training can range from 3 weeks up to 3 months. Usually full recovery takes 5-6 weeks, but that's just an average. Every person is different and responds differently. Look what Barry Bonds did: came back too soon and now pays the price for the rest of the year.

 

[ldgman1970]

Thanks for the information. I don't do a labor type job but I am in kind of a sales position so I am generally driving all around LA visiting accounts. If surgery is necessary I will probably just take a few days off right after the surgery to give myself some down time. I will take off whatever time is necessary from training but I am hoping I am back to 100% by June because I am signed up for Larry Tatum's Kenpo camp and I want to be able to fully participate.

Stan

 

[ldgman1970]

Hi all,

I just want to again thank everybody for their advice. And I received good news today. As it turns out my MRI didn't show any kind of tear so I don't need to go under the knife. I will be required to do a little PT and I wont be able to get back to Kenpo for about a month but overall it seems to be good news!

 

[dubljay]

Glad to hear that you dont have to have surgury, good luck with the PT and have a full and speedy recovery.

 

[ldgman1970]

Thanks!

 

[triwahine]

Awesome! Do well in PT and have a speedy, healthy recovery!

 

[ldgman1970]

Hi all,

Well it's been a month since my injury and I feel quite a bit better. My private instructor had me come in for my first private in a few weeks and we worked on finger set one. Needless to say I am eager to get back in class and I was seeking opinions on whether I should take more time off. I can currently walk without any pain or limp. I can't kick at full capacity yet and my knee does swell a little bit after walking for long periods of time but I have started doing my SD techniques every morning without any pain. So in a nutshell I am wondering if it would be okay for me to go back into class if I work at a lower level.

Thanks

 

[TigerWoman]

If you take a dixie cup and freeze it mostly full of water, use that to circle your knee after a workout or walking a longer time, before it swells. Swelling leads to damage so icing will help alot. Also take Glucosamine Sulfate. But it sounds if you go easy and slowly go back into it, you should be fine. TW