Bung knee - any doctors (real or pretend) in the house??

[aussieskater]

During the 2nd week of December, I was attempting to get more leg height on a forward spiral, when the next thing I knew was "t-o-e-p-i-c-k!!", and down I went smack onto my left kneecap. (Yeouch. I swore, but quietly so I wouldn't sully the ears of the teenage boys around at the time...)

I hopped straight off and iced it 10-20 min on, 10-20 min off, and kept that up for most of the day and evening. Then kept icing it regularly for the next couple of days, whenever I had a spare moment.

All the ice helped to keep the swelling right down, and at no time did I lose any range of movement, and I could put full weight on it right from when I did it, and walk normally without pain (except for the aching bruise).

The catch is this: It's well more than a month later, and I still can't kneel on it without feeling that I'm kneeling on a dirty big bruise from the inside if that makes sense; ditto pushing at the kneecap with my finger. It didn't and doesn't feel like the other one did when I tore the ligament and meniscus, so I really doubt I've done this, thank goodness.

I'm not sure if it's "stable", since I've kept off the ice until it felt right (sob). I now want to get back on, but it still feels bruised and a bit weird. Do bruises really last that long?? If not; what have I likely done, and can I get back on the ice? (I do dance and synchro. Sort of. I do not jump. I do not spin. I wish I could.)

[Mercedeslove]

Is there any signs of deformity in the knee. When you press down on it what exactly does the knee feel like. NOt the pain, but what are you feeling when you touch it. Is it soft, hard, bumpy, ect?

Either way you may wanna see a doctor, just to be sure.

[Rusty Blades]

It doesn't sound like you have hurt it too bad but you should be seen by a professional and probably be X-rayed to check for bone damage.

It was knees into the boards that took me off the ice 30+ years ago and left me on crutches for 6 months. (Of course mine was bad enough I had trouble just walking.) For more than a decade after that, either knee would just "go out" on me, collapse without warning. A knee injury should NOT be ignored if you love your skating!

Get thee to a Pro, hopefully someone familiar with sports injuries, and make sure you are doing the right thing by your injured knee!

[sue123]

When I first fell onto my knee, the doc thought based on the way I fell that it was a PCL injury. Although then it turned out that I had dislocated it, and it would partially dislocate when I walked or sat down or went up stairs. Really painful. But really, the best thing to do is to see a doctor. Maybe you tore a piece of cartilage and it's floating around in your knee cap making it painful to kneel on it?

[EastonSkater]

You must have come down pretty hard on it. Maybe a good idea to see a doctor and get an x-ray just to be on the safe side. But on the other hand, there was one time I slipped on black ice....which is ice forming on black bitumen surface when water freezes up overnight....usually when snow melts and then refreezes when the night temperature drops. I'm usually really careful about that kind of stuff, and even had it in my mind to be careful when I was walking...but even then, I was still caught out and I came down on my elbow. The impact was hard....real hard, and seriously thought I had broken my arm or elbow. Surprisingly I didn't break my elbow, or damage any bone in it, but it took many weeks for it to get better ... like the bruise to subside and things like that. Judging from the swelling and things, I felt as if it was broken.

If your knee doesn't feel good at all, it's important to see a doctor.

[The Ice Demon]

Not a doctor, but from my own experiences it sounds like you have a build up of fluid in your knee which is quite common from a direct blow to the kneecap. (I still remember when I was first learning I would go months at a time without being able to kneel:) )

The treatment for this is to have it drained which I believe is a bit painful but which will quickly make a difference. Of all the times I've had fluid on my knees I never had them drained, they did eventually heal. It depends on how bad it is and how long you want to wait. I used to skate on them but it's hellish if you fall on the knee again 8O . (I still wear kneepads when I train for the small chance of a "toe pick"). I also now wonder if all that damage isn't why my knees (cartilage) are giving me so many problems now.

So, yes I'd go see a doctor and get their opinion. This is just my 2cents worth anyway.

[aussieskater]

Thanks for your help/suggestions guys - I should have mentioned that I did take it to a real live grown-up doctor the next day to eliminate bone breakages etc (not that I thought I had since I could walk on it without pain, but worth checking anyway). Apart from confirming no break, they had not a lot useful to add - "wait and see..." was the gist of it. (Thanks doc.)

From your description Ice Demon, it sounds a lot like what I have. And since my other knee got "done over" by the ice a couple of years ago, I too usually wear kneepads - but this day I hadn't bothered...

[skateflo]

Did you have x-rays to rule out a fracture? I'm thinking about what is called a non-displaced fracture - where the patella (kneecap) is cracked but not broken apart.

A traumatized knee can react in a number of ways. If you have some early arthritis (chrondomalacia - undersurface of the kneecap looks like crabmeat) then a blow can set up an inflammatory reaction that last for months. I learned this 4 months after my patella fracture and one shot of cortisone cured it completely. Kneeling continues to be a problem - sometimes referred to as 'housemaid knees' with the degenerative changes within the knee capsule, fluid fills and drains, especially if the capsule has a leak in it due to a torn cartilage (which in itself might not be symptomatic.)

Quad and hamstring exercises will be your best friend to rehab the knee - but don't overdo it!