MCL Problems 6 months on

[TheEdge2807]

Hi guys,

I am new to this forum and I have stumbled across it in the search for some advice on my damaged MCL in my right knee.

I was playing football 6 months ago when I was shoulder-barged off the ball while running at full speed. This resulted in my leg getting caught in the ground with my body still moving - hearing a large crack in my knee as the bottom half of my leg bent outwards. The pain at the time was so bad that I could not get up and an ambulance was called. I thought I had broken my leg at the time...

After going to the hospital, they didn't take any x-rays, even though I was in serious pain and couldn't bare any weight on it. They did a few of those leg tests with applying pressure in different places on the knee and they said they thought I had just damaged my MCL. My knee was very swollen and I couldn't walk on it for about 4-7 days after at all. Following this I was given exercises to try and gain full motion, which I carried out. I'd say it took me about 3-4 weeks (at least) before I could touch my foot on my buttock and straighten it, although I would only be able to hold it at these locations for a matter of seconds.

After this I attended physio, which I had 1 treatment of ultra sound- which appeared to do nothing and told some exercises to do at home. I then reported back once a week to say how i was getting on. (What I did not mention before is that in the same injury I also broke my scaphoid bone in my left wrist in the same accident and the physio mostly concentrated on this after having surgery to have a screw put in).

After about 3 months, I started to walk normally again. Before this, I was getting pain when kicking my leg out taking a forward stride with my right leg, which sometimes resulted in my physically making a noise with the sharp pain. Up until about a month ago I would occasionally get pain just standing still with the same reaction (this would happen about once a day).
Also, during the first couple of months after doing this injury I had injured my knee again - probably 2 times whilst out on a night out and once moving off a step. - my knee felt very unstable before this and i probably should have been more careful.

Last month, after going to the gym for the previous few months as instructed to build the muscles up again etc, I thought I would try and play football again. This was only a 5-a-side kick about with friends - nothing competitive. I notice that when I play, and try and run with the ball, the knee feels really unstable and almost as if it "rolls" about if I twist. I find it quite hard to describe, but it just doesn't feel tight. I damaged it slightly again a few weeks ago when I jumped for a header and just landed (not even awkwardly) which resulted in my knee giving way. I stopped playing at that moment and haven't played since. My knee seemed to be back to "normal" after a week of swelling and pain.
Also, if i stand still and twist slowly on the spot, the knee doesn't feel right. There is still some mild pain in the knee and although I can run comfortably on a treadmill for 30 mins and use the bike machine in the gym with no/little problems, performing tasks like a squat seem quite hard with pain.

I have not had an MRI scan, and the hospital I used (Chester and the later Aberystwyth) both didn't mention it to me and when I mentioned it, I was given the "it will just take time to heal" remark. I have since been to the doctor and been referred to a different hospital (Wrexham), however as I am currently at university this is proving difficult to attend as I am very busy.

What do you think could still be wrong with my knee and also what is the best way I can get them to do an MRI scan?

Thanks for your time and help.

Adam

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[TheEdge2807]

Thanks for the shear volume of replies. I think I know what is wrong with it anyway now after extensive research.

I'm pretty sure I'll need an operation due to the instability I am still having in the knee whenever force is applied to the inside of the leg, jarring the knee -straining the medial ligament. After almost 6 months, I'm pretty sure it isn't normal to feel the bone slipping...

[Emanuele]

Hello Adam,

Having read your case it seems like your MCL cannot be the only structure involved in your trauma.
The MCL is firmily attached to the medial meniscus and usually this fibro-cartilagineous structure tends to get torn too if the MCL is involved (infact also the ACL tends to get affected, in a typical clinical manifestation called "the unhappy triad")

It sounds very weird they didn't MRI your knee and I would suggest to have this investigation done.

Football 5 a side, even if played in a "non competitive way" it is not indicated on people recovering from such knee injuries as it is highly demanding on your knees and ankles.

Regards

Emanuele