Dislocated knee

[Pringle400]

Hi there, im after some advised about my knee as i am beggining to become frustrated and find that im not getting any answers from my doctors and to be honest my trust in them has pretty much gone.

So 10 weeks ago whilst playing football i dislocation my left knee. I had no previous dislocation or any knee problems. I was barged into during a tackle in the air and when i landed on my backside my knee was dislocated through the impact. The paramedics arrived and with gas and air they popped it back into place however 45 minutes had passed from injury to replacement. I was taken to A&E and x-rayed. I was told that nothing seemed to be damaged and was discharged with just crutches and no strapping or support. I asked how long until it was back to normal and i was told i should be able to return to work in 2 weeks. I work as a firefighter and i made this clear so i was surprised yet slightly relieved that it wouldnt be a long injury.

5 days passed however and the pain around my knee was increasing and flexibility not improving so on advice from my GP i returned to A&E. I was x-rayed again and immedietely told to keep all weight off leg as my paetella was still out of place! I was then put in a full lenght cylinder cast for 6 weeks! My cast was removed and the consultant told me to go to physio therapy. My knee wasnt examined at all following the cast removal and i felt very vunerable as i had pretty much no flex in my knee it was locked rigid and very painful.

It has now been 4 weeks since my cast removal and i have had three physio sessions and a hydro therapy session and yet still i have no improvement in flexibility. I have been doing the exercises everyday and very quickly got down to moving around with just one crutch. However any walking i try to do i pay for on the night as my knee really aches from the smallest of movement around. The lack of flex in my knee really concers me as it just feels locked and very painful.

Im a very active person and very keen on getting back to the job i love as soon as possible but its been 10 weeks now and still i cant walk unadided. It seems a long road ahead. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[Tristan_Mei-Ling]

hiya
i too have a similar story with patella dislocation in april and mines still buggerd because they left mine out for 10 hours in A&E before they eventually knocked me out and put it back ...

i was also put into a full length cylinder cast as mine kept coming out in the splint , and i couldnt even stand up without the knee cap flopping out.

when i got out of the cylinder my quads had completely withered away, and i am a trampolinist and gymnast and dancer, so you can imagine i had quite big quad muscles, as i imagine you have being a firefighter. and you know what to this day my injured leg is much skinnier that my good leg becasue the quads still havent grown back!!

this is because when ur in the pot, you dont use your quads, or any muscles relating to that leg, and if you dont use it you lose it. this makes the leg weeker. everyday walking includes bending and straigtening the knee, this is flexability, stretching and contracting the ligamants, in the cast, this does not happen. my knee also locked and was very hard to bend. however i do know have full bend in the knee and hyper- extension like i did before. so you will get that back. it just takes time.

as for your loss of hope in the Drs i am completely with you there ! its so very frustrating leaving your life in there hands when they just treat you like another file case on there desk. you must keep nagging tho, if you dont think your leg is healing right, then you should tell them , over and over again untill they listen, i told them my leg wasnt right from the start and they didnt believe me, and here i am 8 months on i still cant compete trampolining or gymnastics and now im waiting for an operation. but it took long enough for them to take note that its not rite.

ive just realised you posted this in october, and all that info is probably irrelevant to you know but im gunu send it to uyou anyway =]

keep me posted on ur progress =]

[pudding_bowl]

Tristen - with strengthening you should be able to even out the bulk in your leg, just be specific to that leg and hypertrophy can occur.

Pringle - Any updates? I would have suggested that you get a new xray to check that it had healed. Post 6 weeks immobilisation I would expect you to still be having trouble with your knee at 10 weeks, though perhaps not that bad.

[Pringle400]

Hi, ive just received some MRI scan results back from my GP but as yet ive not seen my specialist because he is on holiday till mid January!
A brief outline of my injury
I sustained a dislocated paetalla in August and was in a cast for 6 weeks! Ive been having physio since but really struggled with flexion and 4 months on im still only at 110 degrees at a push compared to my other knee which is 130 degrees. My knee is still very painful, swollen and too much walking results in pain. I am now weight bearing but struggled to lead on my injuried knee or put much weight through it at all!
The Results
No evidence of fracture however marked bone bruising of the lateral aspect of the lower femoral shaft and femoral condyle
Oedema of the soft tissues between femoral condyle and iliotibial tract
No evidence of meniscal tear
No significant abnormality seen in ACL PCL cottaleral ligaments quadriceps or patellar tendons
No significant lateral patellar maltracking and medial and lateral patellar retinacula appear intact
Thinning of the articular cartilage in the PF joint in keeping with cartilage degeneration
Suspect subchondral bone injury in paetalla
any help would be greatly appreciated to try and understand these results as i will go crazy waiting till mid january when my consultant returns from holiday