Going on injured reserve

[sue123]

I went to the othopod yesterday because my right knee has been giving me problems. After I took a fall once, it hasn't been the same since. It kept popping painfully when I walk, and when I get up after sitting for a while, like in class, it gets stuck. I also can't bend my knee all that well without pain, so I figured I'd go and get it checked out. So I now have sublaxation patallae, and chondromalacia (sp?). Basically my knee keeps partially dislocating and because of that, the cartilage is softening causing the chondromalacia. So I have to go to PT 3x a week for a month, can't do any skating, or tennis for that time, and then I have to go back and he's going to see how it's going. I also have to wear a knee brace that keeps my knee aligned, only it's all bulky and looks like a knee pad. And it's hot. There's something in there that provides "natural heat". This is not fun. Oh, and I found out that since it's been going on for so long, I could end up with arthritis in a few years. I"m 20. I don't want arthritis when I'm 25.

[Moto Guzzi]

Sue123, I'm sorry about your knee. It's a common problem for women in sports because of the angle of the leg from hip to knee due to a wider pelvis and a shallower groove for the kneecap.

The first line of treatment is to strengthen the quadriceps to see if that will help to keep the kneecap in place. You'll be given specific exercises and may be put on a course of Advil or Motrin to help get the inflammation down.

If all else fails, you may ultimately have to have lateral release surgery but, hopefully, that won't be necessary or will be a long way off.

Good luck.

[icecatepairs]

Don't painc yet...of course surgery is a last option but going in and fixing a little chondro only inloves smoothing out and shaving off the rough edges. if you wait too long they have to take down more in the filing process. Thats when you worry about the wear and tear on the cart. thats left. if the brace and or Pt exercises are able to fix the alignement problem then you should be able to prevent more wear and tear. Then the question becomes how much damage is already done and if you will have pain from the rough edges of the cartlidge that were already created.

There are a variety of braces that are less cumbersome. I have skated with chondro for years by taping it with pros choice athletic tape (conform tape) a good pt might be able to show you a taping system that will stabalize the knee cap with out the bulk, then you might be able to get a smaller brace. oh and by the way..."natural heat is BS...chondro is a cartlidge problem as is what you descrbe that sounds like a lateral miniscus tear. heat will do nothing to change that pain. heat only increases swelling. chondro usually doesn't present as swelling. if the miniscus tear is new then it might swell from the initial trauma . I tor e my medial in 1992 as a gymnast. I did not have it repaired (till this week) and its not like it has been swollen for 13 years . I think neoprine is cheap so they sell it off as" natural heat". unless you have a muscle problem who needs more swelling and sweating an bulk...(we can build a spaceship, transplant a heart, but we have yet to use logical technology in ortho devices.!)

Anyway, I had the scope surgery 8 days ago, I have been walking for 3 days now but not yet ready to skate. My pt thinks mine is a little slow to heal, :frus: so i guess that means on average the time to get full ROM back is less than 2 weeks. I am not too worried about any lingering arthritis, The cartlidge is smooth (if you have the surgery get a local and watch it ..it brings it all to a whiole new light) 8O If eventually it gets worn down yes there is the syntheitc cartlidge injection. anyway it can happen from everyday life not just sports! there is an adult skater I know who was told her knee was ready to retire till she got the injection. she has done axels and doubles on that knee and it has held up just fine. Good luck and let me know how the recovery goes.....

check out moore medical on the web..they have every brace known to mankind and they are cheaper than the stores. :D

[sunshinepointe]

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that!

I've noticed pain in my left knee on occasion, but only when I do specific stretches and stuff so I've been trying to be mindful of it. But you're wise to stay off of it and let everything heal up. Keep us posted! :cry:

[sue123]

icecatepairs, I hope your knee gets better soon too! I'll have to look into taping my knee later when I'm allowed to skate, but right now, I just want my knee to stop popping out of my socket when I walk or sit down and get up. Oh, I'm also not allowed to take stairs.

I'm not worried about how expensive the braces are, since my dad works at a medical supplies office, I've got a gadjillion different knee braces at my disposal. :) I did try on less bulky ones, but they didn't do anything at all. So I figure I might as well go for quality instead of appearance. I just hate being stuck on the sidelines. This month, I'm probably going to gain 10 pounds since I can't do anything now.

[Mrs Redboots]

Bad luck Sue - I do hope you heal very quickly.

You too, Tara - but no, if ever I need knee surgery, I may well go for a local anaesthetic, but I certainly don't want to watch! They can give me rohypnol, like they gave my father when he had his hip replaced, so I shan't remember a thing!

Husband's knee is playing up again, so he's barely cycling; it seems fine if he doesn't cycle too much (oh good!). Mine have mostly been fine since I lost all that weight - they are still sore occasionally, but only occasionally.

[jazzpants]

Sending healing vibes to Sue and Tara... hope you two feel better...

[icecatepairs]

Jazz pants , sue123, and mrs. redboots....thanks for all the healing vibes. day 10 and i'm much more back on track with healing. but i do think these surgeons should watch a few skating tapes before they quote you a 10 day recovery...helllo we actually have bend our knees in skating...its not football you know!!!

sue123,
lucky for you your dad works in med supplies . I drop $#%% :evil: a month on tape myself. one of the girls i coach in gymnastics has a brace that she removed the sleeeve and just put the strap and patella stabelizer over her workout clothes.

I hear you about not wanting to get out of shape. :frus: I joined a gym for month to month membership. my pt encouraged staionarty biking and swimming. its a great cardio workout and safe on the knee. I justified it like this...one month fees is way cheaper than ice and lessons for the month!!! 8O and acess to upper body weights is a plus.

also a great big thanks to FrankR for calling me right after surgery :halo: and thereafter to check up on me...your the best..i don't care what they say about that green tshirt at nationals (kidding) and healing thougths to Margaret from our club who decided we should have matching crutches and impaled her leg with her blade...but i heard the door service was worth it. :D

[FrankR]

also a great big thanks to FrankR for calling me right after surgery :halo: and thereafter to check up on me...your the best..i don't care what they say about that green tshirt at nationals (kidding) and healing thougths to Margaret from our club who decided we should have matching crutches and impaled her leg with her blade...but i heard the door service was worth it. :D

Awww. 'Twas nothing! :P (Both the calling to make sure you're okay and the green t-shirt not matter what Edward tells anybody. :lol: :lol: ) I'm just glad to hear that you're doing okay and are on the mend.

I spoke with Margaret last night. She's doing okay! She's had half of her stitches removed and will get the other half taken out today. It'll be great to see both of you back.

Take care,

Frank

P.S. We need to set up a shopping day to take care of that green t-shirt problem once and for all. ;)

[LoopLoop]

Hey Tara,
I'm glad you got your knee taken care of! Just wait, it will be worth it as soon as you get it rehabbed and can skate without pain for a change.

[InsideAxel]

Sue,

I went through a bout with Chondromalacia Patella about 3 years ago. I had no prior history of knee pain, and then out of the blue I began getting excruciating pain in my right knee (landing leg) while skating. However, there was good reason for my knee to be in pretty poor shape; competitive skating (roller) as a youth (age 9 to 17), competitive soccer all through middle/high school/college, and learning the trade of carpet/vinyl/tile installation from my father.

I consulted two doctors, both of whom recommended surgery. I also had kneecap alignment problems that weren't really detrimental to my knee health, but could easily be corrected as a "while we're in there procedure." Aside from surgery, the only recommendations I got from the doctors were to limit the activity on the knee and try to control the pain with prescription drugs. I opted for surgery.

The surgery went as well as can be expected...I was off my feet for three days (mainly 'cos I was so high on painkillers), then on crutches about two weeks and then in rehab for 3 hours per week for 2 months. I'll interject here I had the BEST rehab therapist in the world! He tailored my rehab program to incorporate lots of exercises based on skating moves (spin positions, jump plyometrics, etc). I did my at-home rehab exercises religiously and when I was released from supervised rehab, moved right into the gym to continue re-strengthening the knee/leg muscles. It was another month or so before the surgeon released me to resume skating at low levels. I was taking 800mg Ibuprofen before each skating lesson to minimize inflammation and some pain. Within 6 months, I was back to the same level of skating as before the surgery.

Hope some of that was helpful...good luck with your condition!

Kelton

[miraclegro]

I don't know if this helps, but a few years ago i had a bad groin injury that i put off for too long. So it took awhile to get back on the ice, but i found that pool therapy was great because it wasn't weight-bearing exercise, plus i could stay in shape somewhat! You may ask about that. Hope you heal quickly. -Miraclegro

[icecatepairs]

hi Kelton,
I read your post. Its good to hear someone else with a story of successful knee surgery. And I too pay great hommage to my physical therapist :bow: who has now seen me back on the ice from two broken ankles and and two surgeries. A good Pt is as important as a good surgeon. Was your surgery a scope? It sounds more complex. (in terms of recovery time) i feel like a t.v dinner..thaw heat and serve in 10 days! my surgeon basiclly told me 10 days later..buck up camper and get back out there...no jumps for yhe next two weeks. I applaud you for your hard work to get back to your pre op skating level. :giveup:

Sue , keep us posted on your course of action and i hope you are back in action soon. :??

P.S. thanks loop andHappy Birthday ...I'll hold on any commentary as to what Nova should get yo for your birthday...like I don't know..a shopping cart full of nips that he has collected the last few years!!!

Frank...yes we need to see the program and get a vision of what to do with your outfit...don't suppose we could get the queer eye guys to make a guest appearance since they know JZ so well?

cool that margaret is half way to healed!

[sue123]

Well, first let me thank everyone for the healing vibes. I'm calling the PT tomorrow because I forgot the number today, and I was out from 9 am to 11 pm (long long long day). So first thing tomorrow, I'm calling them. Hopefully I'll get a good PT. I'm not going to the same place my friend went to where she had a great PT since they don't accept my insurance, or they don't like my doctor, not sure which since when I asked about it, my doctor told me not to go there. This place is a bit further (7 minutes instead of 5 with no traffic, but I have to take a busy highway to get there, so it'll probably be 15 minutes.

It seems like the brace is actually helping. My knee hasn't popped out as much. And I know it's good my dad is in medical supplies, he says he'll bring a few more knee braces home for when this one gets stretched out. At first my dad was against PT completely, his boss has knee problems, and is constantly in PT, has had 2 or 3 knee surgeries, and she says the PT just makes it worse. But then today my dad spoke to some doctors while doing whatever it is he does all day, and they told him I needed to do PT, it's an absolute must. I was planning on going anyway, but it was just funny when he called me all panicked saying I had to go into PT right away. In about a month, when I go back to the OS, we'll discuss other options if it's not doing better, but I would rather try a non invasive approach first.

This may sound like a silly question, but what do I wear for PT? I'm assuming sweat pants based on what everyone tells me?

[mikawendy]

This may sound like a silly question, but what do I wear for PT? I'm assuming sweat pants based on what everyone tells me?

Sue123, I hope your knee heals quickly! You can wear shorts or sweat pants or yoga pants (whatever you find comfortable). If you wear pants, you may want something that is not too tight in the ankle (i.e., doesn't have extremely tight elastic) so that if your PT wants to touch/look at your knee, it's not too difficult to roll up or push up your pant leg. I always wore a short sleeved t-shirt at PT sessions (instead of long sleeve) because when I started doing exercises as part of my PT, I would get quite warm. Sometimes I also wore long-ish shorts instead of pants. (Depending on the kind of knee exercises, it's possible that you might be reclining/sitting/or semi-reclining, so shorter shorts might not work so well.)

[icecatepairs]

for your knee wear shorts. they will need to evaluate it, and use stim ice and ultra sound. ;)

[InsideAxel]

Was your surgery a scope? It sounds more complex. (in terms of recovery time)

Yes, it was scoped...I assume the patella alignment may have added to the overall recovery. I requested to extend the PT an extra month for a couple of reasons; 1) I was enjoying working with the therapist and we actually built a post-PT training program, and 2) I wanted to be absolutely sure I was in the clear before cutting loose. Since my insurance covered the additional month, I figured the extra PT and the personal training I was getting were a real gift.

C'ya!

Kelton

[icecatepairs]

Kelton, I hear you on the extended PT..I needed it for the kick start on the swelling problem, but i may ask to extend it to work on better range of motion. sounds like the alignment problem you and sue have takes a while to fix,. retraining the muscles to keep the patella aligned is tough. i guess since i didn't have a tracking problem i was lucky. but in the end i guess it is worth all the rehab. it was very cool to skate with out pain for the first time in a long time today. see you all in competition soon.
Good luck

[Debbie S]

Glad to hear you're back on the ice, icecatepairs! Sue, I hope your knee feels better soon! (I wore shorts to PT when I hurt my knee a couple of years ago, with sweatpants on top b/c it was November.)

Here's another knee question I'm hoping someone can answer: lately, I've noticed that I have bumps (like a protruding bone) on my legs (my left especially, but that's not my landing leg for jumps) just below the knee. Is this a skating-related problem? Has anyone else had this happen? What, if anything, can be done to get the bumps to go away?

[sue123]

Glad to hear you're back on the ice, icecatepairs! Sue, I hope your knee feels better soon! (I wore shorts to PT when I hurt my knee a couple of years ago, with sweatpants on top b/c it was November.)

Here's another knee question I'm hoping someone can answer: lately, I've noticed that I have bumps (like a protruding bone) on my legs (my left especially, but that's not my landing leg for jumps) just below the knee. Is this a skating-related problem? Has anyone else had this happen? What, if anything, can be done to get the bumps to go away?

I don't know about your problem, but there is a website, www.kneeguru.co.uk, which I have found to be very useful when it comes to knees. THey have a message board where you can post your question, there's a lot of knee experts on there, and occasionally an MD who post also.

[sue123]

I just got in e-mail about the NY Rangers "Skate the Town Blue" program thing. Basically, there's about 24 or 25 rinks in the NY Tri-state area where you can go and skate for free and there is going to be games and prizes and things. I really want to go and be able to skate too, and I can't. This makes me bummed.

edit: I just got a call from my dad who spoke to one of his doctor clients, who thinks I should probably stop skating. He says if I fall again, it could be very very bad. Well, bully for him. My doctor told me that once I'm done with PT, I could skate again. Assuming all is well of course. I like what my doctor told me better.

[sue123]

I just came back from my first physical therapy session. I am in a lot of pain right now. Although my PT is really cute. But he thinks it's strange because my knee is hurting in a part of my knee that it shouldn't be hurting. So now I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but he told me we'll work on the hamstrings too, because he thinks it might take away teh pain from that area. Did I mention that he's cute? I was embarassed because I had the second day stubble thing going on on my legs. Oh well.

[jazzpants]

I just came back from my first physical therapy session. I am in a lot of pain right now. Although my PT is really cute. But he thinks it's strange because my knee is hurting in a part of my knee that it shouldn't be hurting. So now I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but he told me we'll work on the hamstrings too, because he thinks it might take away teh pain from that area. Did I mention that he's cute? I was embarassed because I had the second day stubble thing going on on my legs. Oh well.Hmmm??? Does he do massage therapy as part of his PT? Might want to use up as many PT sessions as you possibly can so you can...ummm... get the most out of your health insurance... ;) :twisted: :lol:

[sue123]

Hmmm??? Does he do massage therapy as part of his PT? Might want to use up as many PT sessions as you possibly can so you can...ummm... get the most out of your health insurance... ;) :twisted: :lol:

It's j ust too bad that I have to pay $15 each time I go. Used to be 10, until my insurance upped the price.

[icecatepairs]

Ok...at 3 times a week i would be happy for a $15 co payment. I have $25!!!! yikes!! when i broke my leg a few years ago I had about $800 in compayments!!!!

well at least you Pt is worth getting out of the house for. lets hope his skills are as good as his appearance.

I'm back on the ice slowly and cautiously. there is still some pain to deal with that imagine will ease up in time. so now its every few days for a short time. they just want me to keep a way to test the progress. so after 2 days i reported back to the pt and he has adjusted the rehab regimen to prepare for another try on monday. oh and hes not such bad eye candy either....although i'd rather be in full swing. but i am having fun with the whole health club culture. Its really wierd. iIsigned up 2 weeks ago, and already I've firgured out the regular characters are. its kind of entertaining like a bad episode of starved! anyway I would trade it all to skate with the regular ice crew if you know what i mean.
Sue....keep up the possitive thinking..it helps!!