My Dislocated Patellar(Kneecap) Problem.?

Question

About 3 weeks ago, i dislocated my patellar(Kneecap) playing basketball. my patellar went back in place by itself almost right away after i got up and eventually my knee started swelling up and bruised up a little bit. i cannot fully bend or straighten my knee and i feel tenderness under my kneecap. when i try bending my knee, i feel pain under my patellar, but when i try to straighten my knee i feel very little or no pain at all but i still cant strighten it out fully. Little by little, the pain is decreasing. but its been 3 weeks now and i feel a slight improvement on bending my knee but very little and the bruising is gone. Im currently using crutches and im able to put enough presure on my knee so i can walk a little without pain. Now i only feel pain when i try to bend my knee or try to walk for long periods of time. My question is that does this injury typically take this long to heal, and what can i do to treat this? Also, what else can this injury potentially be?

Answer 1

You still probably have swelling within the knee joint. This is the pressure that you are feeling under your patella and is restricting the movement in your knee.

Research in the 1950s showed that one teaspoon of fluid in the knee can stop the thigh muscles working for up to three days! This fluid or swelling within your knee would be causing the feeling that your knee is going to give way, so do not yet try walking without the crutches.

Are you receiving physical therapy? That should help to decrease the swelling, increase your movement and strength.

In the meantime, ice your knee for 10 minutes every hour (wrap the ice around the whole knee, not just the top or bottom). Keep it elevated and wrap it with an ACE bandage. That should help to control the swelling and give you some stability.

The main problem that can occur with this type of injury is that the patella can dislocate again, or in your case, sublux (where it goes out then in again). All sorts of problems can occur with this, but the main issue is to get the inner thigh muscles strong again to try and prevent it subluxing again.

With proper treatment, this type of injury should resolve within 4-6 weeks. It will take longer (2-3 months) to really get the strength back again for sports.

Good luck!

Answer 2

LOL that brings back memories. I had the same thing when I was young and it's a real nuisance! In my case it wasn't due to an injury but a growth spurt - I grew 10 inches in one year, and the cartilage behind the patella (there's no "r" on it) couldn't keep up so it slipped out all the time. I had the crutches, too and the exact same situation of needing to keep it just a LITTLE bit bent to avoid pain. It also had a habit of slipping out again, especially when I was climbing or descending stairs.

In my case, after each incident, it was about three days before it was strong enough to hold weight again and the whole condition lasted about six months. Your doctor may recommend cortisone injections to reduce the swelling (but they hurt like the devil) but basically, the less you use it, the faster it will heal. I do't think you'll be able to play basketball for a while, but ask your coach (if you have one) or your doctor (if you don't.) I know it sucks to be on crutches during the summer, but the more strain you put on it the more damage you'll do.

***If you use a tensor bandage - put it UNDER the patella, around the top of your calf, not wrapped right over it! That provides support without grinding the kneecap into the swollen cartilage beneath.***

Answer 3

I've dislocated both kneecaps, now... and I'll tell ya what.. this one is taking a heck of a long time to heal. Your doctor should have told you NOT to bend it AT ALL for 6 weeks. This is the problem with both of my knees. I tried bending them and walking on them and according to my physical therapist, now I'm screwed, cuz they both healed incorrectly. There is no way to repair them, aside from surgery later, if that's what I chose.

Every person heals differently, but yes.. the knees are terrible things to dislocate..; they take forever to heal. Just take time and patience. DO NOT over work it or stress it, cuz that will make things much worse.
See a doctor.. get x-rays. Definitely.

Answer 4

First of all, "Patella". Second, you should have it x-rayed just to make sure that there is no damage. When an injury like that occurs, swelling and the build-up of fluid is normal. However, you could have a torn ACL, or another scenario causing your pain, so its best to get it checked. It may be feeling better because of the decrease of swelling, but if you arent having significant improvement, and its been three weeks, there's a problem.

Answer 5

Have you seen a doctor ?
have you had an x-ray...cat scan...mri ?
I dislocated my knee and an MRI confirmed that I had blown-out all 4 of my ligaments and damaged both cartlidge...I had to have a double incision surgery...the Doctors repaired the mcl and the acl...they did a graft of the patella tendon to become one of my new ligaments...the injury occurred 11/10/05...surgery 02/02/06 and I am still going to physical therapy three times a week and to the gym every day...SEE A DOCTOR !

Answer 6

I had the exact same problem with one of my cats about a month ago.She was limping on one side. I took her to the vet and he told me she had gotten into a fight with another cat and it was very bruised and had infection in it.He said she could have died if I waited any longer and I took her two days after she wouldn't stop limping.She had a very high fever and they kept her for the night.She was on antibiotics three times a day for two weeks. I would take her to the vet just to check her out in case. Hope this helps!

Answer 7

If you haven't been to a doctor you might want too...because you may have also torn anterior or posterior crucia ligament.....it usually takes about6weeks to fully heal