Why does my knee lock up? Its been like this for years...?

Question

Since Sophomore year(basketball incident), my knee has been messed up. All the doctors ive been to say that its fine, but its not...

Like if i sit down,
if I bend my knee more then 95 degrees for a long time it'll just lock up and i have to turn my leg in a certain direction to unlock it.
i was like "if there was nothing with it then why does it do that?"
Anyone have any experience in stuff like this?

Answer 1

Definition: A "locked knee" is a term used to describe a patient's inability to either bend or straighten their knee.
There are two general types of locked knees. The locked knee can either be caused by a mechanical block to knee motion, or a locked knee can be caused by pain that is too severe to allow knee motion.

When a locked knee is caused by a mechanical block to motion, there is something that is physically being caught within the mechanism of the knee. Often the cause of a locked knee in this situation is a "bucket handle" meniscus tear. When this type of meniscus tear occurs, a large fragment of the torn meniscus can become wedged within the knee, preventing normal movement of that knee.

Patients can also have a locked knee when they have severe pain with any knee motion. While it may be difficult for a patient to determine whether or not there is a physical block to their knee motion, or if pain is the issue, a good physical examination can usually separate these two types of problems.

Treatment
Meniscal tears in children, as in adults, can be repaired, excised, or left untouched. Meniscal preservation in the pediatric population is currently the preferred option in the orthopedic community.8-10 Children generally have a more robust blood supply to the peripheral third of the meniscus (red-red zone) in comparison with adults, thus improving the potential for healing. Peripheral tears, assessed during arthroscopy, that are less than 1 cm long and have less than 3 mm of motion when probed are deemed stable and do not require surgical repair.11 Rehabilitation can begin when pain becomes tolerable. Nondegenerative, noncomplex peripheral tears 1 cm or longer with greater than 3 mm of motion are suitable for repair. The orthopedic literature is replete with favorable outcomes from peripheral meniscal repair.9,10,12-14

Mintzer et al9 reported a 100% healing rate in 26 athletes who were age 17 or younger when they underwent meniscal repair. A rim width less than 3 mm and ACL reconstruction at the time of repair significantly improves the rate of healing.8,10,12 Tears that extend more centrally beyond the peripheral third are more probable candidates for partial excision.

Answer 2

Did you get a second opinion? If there's something wrong with it seems like someone could find a way of helping you live with it better.

Answer 3

I had this and it was the start of my rheumatoid arthritis.