While on vacation last week, I flew off my bike trying to avoid a pot hole and landed and slid down a gravel road. I ended up with a serious case of road rash on my knee and arm, and I have lost the ability to entirely bend my leg at the knee. I ended up in the hospital of the very small town we were in. The doc did an x-ray, but not an MRI. I didn't break a bone, but I'm concerned about the cartilage under my knee cap. When I asked he sort of shrugged it off and said I can't bend at the knee because there is so much fluid around my knee. The swelling has gone down, but I still can't bend my knee all the way. Is an MRI a good idea? If so, what kind of doc do I see? A sports medicine person or an orthopedic surgeon?
2007-08-13 10:23:23 · 10 answers · asked by tanglefoot 1 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Injuries
You need to go to your primary care doctor if your knee is still bothering you after a week. Tell the doctor you would like an MRI of your knee and if your doctor also feels it's necessary you have one, they'll order one for you. Wait on going and seeing a Sports Med doctor or Orthopedic doctor until you get the MRI results. Based on what the results show, your doctor will refer you to the right doctor for the injury.
2007-08-13 10:33:13 · answer #1 · answered by lylitalianbeauty 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No an x-ray will not show any ligament damage, but it will show fluid and most times fluid is a sign of ligament damage. However, a fracture is the most dangerous thing in an injury as ligament damage can be repaired and then rehabilitated accordingly. I would ask to have an MRI if doctor even suspects any ligament damage inside the knee. Also with the added details that you put in there, it sounds like you could have some bursitis. It is inflammation of the bursa sacs inside the knee as well as the bursa sac on top of the knee. I hope that it is nothing serious and only the MRI can tell the true story.
2016-05-17 05:18:14 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Welcome to the American medical system. You should have this checked out right away. A sports therapist would be good, but they will likely recommend more tests anyway so perhaps a proper hospital with the mri machine, etc. I'm always paranoid about asking surgeons for their opinion since they are always hot to cut you open. So get lots of opinions and try to go for rehab therapy before consenting to having your knee "re-built"
good luck.
2007-08-13 10:30:52 · answer #3 · answered by mattmakesart 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes and Yes. You need to go to an orthopedic surgeon. If he does an MRI and then prescribes PT, make sure your therapist is a sports medicine person. Good luck. The first doctor was probably right, but I'm surprised he did not insist you follow up in a week after the incident.
2007-08-13 10:30:03 · answer #4 · answered by Zelda Hunter 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Well, the reason the doc did an x-ray is probably because he thought maybe you just broke something, and MRI's are NOT cheap. If you're worried about it, get an MRI.
2007-08-13 10:31:35 · answer #5 · answered by krvawt88 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
either doc would be good. perhaps they can drain it to see if it helps. the fluid build up is what makes it hard to bend. if that doesn't help, they'll most likely do an mri but that won't show cartiladge either. i think the only way to know for sure is arthroscopic surgery. that's what happened with me.
2007-08-13 11:50:44 · answer #6 · answered by racer 51 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well they cant say no, so if you really want to have it checked out and your worried about it, the worse thing that can happen is they say somethings wrong but its best to know for sure most times, i had the same thing happen
i hurt my back weight lifting and the next morning there was a bruise along my spine i had it checked and they said it was fine cuz i could still stand and then touch my toes, but i had them xray and stuff and i had fractured my back slightly
just get in checked if your really concerned about it
2007-08-13 10:34:22 · answer #7 · answered by Henrys Awsomest 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
go to your own Dr. and ask for an MRI to be done =this will ease your mind on what is wrong with your knee
2007-08-13 10:27:20 · answer #8 · answered by caffsans 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
i would reccomend an mri...
i would also reccomend an orthepedic dr instead of a small town dr.
you probably have to get an mri scan
8)
2007-08-14 08:40:41 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
why are you asking a bunch of non-medically trained people this question.
ASK YOU DOCTOR!!
2007-08-13 10:31:44 · answer #10 · answered by Jan Luv 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋