MRI shows nothing, knee pain continues - do I need surgery?
Hello,
I am writing this forum because in doing research on my knee injury I've found some excellent and informative posts that have been very helpful to me. I injured my knee three months ago doing some mountain climbing/hiking. I jumped up on a boulder and during the plant of my jump may possibly of hyper-extended my knee. After climbing down from the boulder I felt a sharp pain in the lower external (front left) part of my left knee as well as some pain in the upper external (front left) part of the same knee. It was especially painful hiking downhill. I thought I had strained some ligaments and rested it for a week. I then resumed activity and was able to jog/run/ride a stationary bike without too much pain. However, going down stairs or changing directions while running was extremely painful. I got an MRI that showed inflammation in the area of the injury, but no damage to the ligaments or cartilage. I was diagnosed with a bone bruise on the femoral condyll, but my doctor said that it was possible that I may have torn some cartilage even though the MRI showed nothing.
I am a pro basketball player in Europe and therefore in the past three months I have been trying to rehab my knee with the help of my team's trainers. I have made progress with my strength, but certain movements still give me very sharp bursts of pain. If I do too much I have residual pain for days that keeps me from being able to workout. Therefore I am in a constant back and forth game of trying to make progress without doing too much to set myself back.
Two months after the injury I got a follow up MRI that showed that the inflammation was gone and that the "bone bruise" was healed. The doctor said it was normal to have pain even after the MRI showed nothing. Therefore I have begun to step up the intensity of my workouts. However, as I increase the intensity I am starting to notice the familiar discomfort. It hasn't reached the levels of before, but I fear I am heading down that road.
My question is at what point do I need to pull the plug on the rehab process and get my knee scoped? If the MRI says the bone bruise has healed why do I feel like the pain and problems are still there (though I am able to do more than I was before)? Is it possible that a bone bruise can still be present though not visible on an MRI? Is it more likely that I have some cartilage tear that was not seen on the MRI? Would an exploratory scope resolve these questions? My season begins in several weeks and therefore the amount of rehab time I have is diminishing. Shortly I will begin to go all out and I fear that if I have another setback then surgery will be the only alternative.
Any help/advice/previous experiences with these type of injuries is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
My son has similar injury
Why is it the doctors cannot explain pain if the MRI scan shows as negative? My son (age 12) injured his knee during a scrum in rugby last October, he has had 2 mri scans and 3 xrays and the only thing that doc could see was bruising to the bone on the inside of his knee. Due to the symptoms my son had prior to the mri scan doc was pretty sure it was a ligament damage, however deceided not to operate half hour before his schedule op due to the mri being negative. My son has seen a consultant every 6 weeks since then and nobody can explain the pain my son is still experiencing. It has been almost 11 mths now and the sensitivity and pain has not improved, the last doc said he would transfer him to cronic pain consultant. Im still not happy, i cannot feed my son permanently on pain killers so I have recontacted his initial consultant who has agreed to see him again tomorrow. Can I insist on an exploratory operation?:mad:
negative mri but still have excruciating pain
Hi i had an injury where someone fell into the back of me and my knee buckled and smashed onto a solid wood door frame,it hit directly onto the front of my kneecap and i was in agony after about 5 minutes and couldnt put any weight on it,this was now 2 years ago and im still in alot of pain,iv had and MRI and an x-ray and nothing showed up,iv had physio for around 5 months and the pain is slightly better but i still wake up a few daysa week unable to get out of bed because of the pain,it is most difficult going up stairs,and just in general walking for over an hour,jogging is a no-no,and i still cannot kneel on the floor because the pain and discomfort is too great.if anything hits or knocks my knee slightly i am in great pain and it almost feels numb at times.i cant sit for a prolonged time with my knee bent or crossed because of stiffness and pain and i am unable to lead a normal life as it all depends on how badly my knee is hurting that day,on average there is a severe aching and burning sensation in the muscle and tendons around the kneecap,and a very sore pain underneath my kneecap,i have been told that my kneecap slides out of the tracking and goes sideways but physio has not helped this and it still doesnt explain the other pain.symptoms are severe burning sensation on and around kneecap,unable to apply any pressure directly on kneecap,difficulty using stairs and a constant aching which can be excruciating or just a dull ache.my doctor is debating over an arthroscopy or mri and im concerned iif the mri is negative then i will be refered to physio again which did not help.if the mri is negative will they go ahead with the arthroscopy or not?any advice is appreciated after 2 years of this im at my wits end!thanks! it doesnt give way it just is unbearable to walk on or move when it is at its worse,it is not whether or not i have over exhurted myself but at complete random :s thanks