Knee Problem - Diagnosed by Physio

In May I Injured my knee. No idea how really. I was in Vegas and I remember I couldn't unstraighten my leg at some point in the night. It wasn't locked I just felt pain whenever I tried, so I simply just kept it straight as possible. I took some Ibuprofen which helped the pain. The next day I could still feel it but it wasn't too bad. I could slightly bend my knee again but I could definitely feel something was there. Returned back to work right away(construction) thinking it would go away after awhile and I suppose it did. My right knee always felt different than my left one(normal). It felt funny you could say(back of the knee and outer side), I would only feel pain when I bent it all the way. Imagine a kid sitting on his heels. Putting it into this position would make it feel like it was going to explode in the front and the side(outer or lateral) I gave it time to heal and I was back to doing my leg workouts.

Squats
One legged Leg press
Leg Extension
Deadlifts
Lying Leg Curls

Everything was going fine for 3 months then one day a couple of months ago I feel something in the back of my knee when I was doing deadlifts. I finished the set and proceeded to Lying Leg curls and quit after the first set and said yeah something is screwed up. Next day the back of my knee is all tight and screwed up so I gave it time to heal again. I continued doing part of my leg workout, Squats, One Legged Leg press, Leg extensions. None of these exercise gave me any pain. Only exercises that involve my hamstrings give me grief.

I took a week off legs and went to see a physio. It kinda sucked because my hamstring wasn't acting up at all during the appointment. He diagnosed me with a tear in my lateral meniscus and I should go get a MRI to confirm. He said its minor and should not inhibit me at all. It would require surgery but a lot of professionals just wait till the end of season before they get it fixed. I definitely agree with his diagnosis to an extent but something else is going on. The pain from fully bending my knee lines up with his diagnosis as well as getting in and out of a chair awkwardly (class room, chairs are fixed so you have to get out from the side) The thing that is driving me nuts is the hamstring. That evening I went to do my leg workout and right on queue the hamstring started to act up. I was thinking of getting a second opinion but it costs me $60 each time. Also I'm looking at a 6 month wait for an MRI + another 6 months till surgery if that's what is needed. All I want to do is workout my legs because they are by far my weakest from a bodybuilding perspective.

In summary
-Constantly feel something on the outer side of my right knee
-Can feel something on the back of my knee when I do something related to hamstrings. Exercises or even a foam roller. This is the main thing that is bothering me. Something is not right
-Only real pain is when I fully bend my knee, Imagine a child sitting on his heels.

any ideas?

Idea 1: it sounds like lateral meniscus tear.
Idea 2: stop leg work. You are clearly aggravating condition. If it is lateral meniscus year you could cause further problems (bakers cyst development, further tearing, muscle tearing)
Idea 3: save £60 get your physio to refer for a private MRI. £300

Money well spent if you want to be healthy.

Regards,

Niall

Avoid knee pain by improving leg muscle strength, flexibility. Following are few Tips for Preventing Knee Pain that will help you.


1. Don't skip the exercise, even if you have a structural problem.
2. Whether you're active or not, stretching is good for the knees.
3. Losing weight can improve knee pain.
4. Wearing the proper shoes is important for healthy knees.
5. Wearing the proper shoes is important for healthy knees.
6. Exercises such as planks, back extensions, yoga and Pilates can help strengthen the core.

This is nice generic advice Elaine but given a high amount of meniscus tear have concomitant tears of the ligaments it would not be appropriate to do planks due to the shearing knee forces involved.

If your looking for a rehab approach I would be working on counter acting hip antro version and ankle inversion/ over pronation. This is what Elaine is pertaining to I believe.

However locking of the knee is synonymous with a loose body and this can grate against your cartalige generating further pain and damage.

A good practitioner will refer for imagery before boldly pushing you into further direct rehab of the knee.

The approach of supporting the ankle and core certainly does get round this issue.

But my advice to a body builder like you is to stop squats with weight until the structural issue is quantified.

Good luck