THR Hips great but....right knee "kneeds" some advice!

[Jaycey]

Caroline I haven't had that problem with my knee but a colleague did suffer the same experience. He had been playing football (soccer) and twisted his knee. Next day the knee looked more the the football! :hate-shocked: He also had two rounds of removing the fluid. With a bit of PT and ice he never looked back!

Fingers crossed for you. Hope you are feeling better!

 

[sweetcaroline]

Thanks Jaycey! I hope the second aspiration "takes" this time although the knee never did return to it's pre-aspiration football dimensions! Hey, does this mean I can never play for Manchester United? (That's going to really annoy my Liverpool friends, ha ha!) :th_heehee:

 

[Jaycey]

Warning - football humor above! :hysterical:

 

[lynlouw]

Hi fellow Bone Smarties! As you can see by my dates, Righty will be three years old in a month with Lefty following seven months later. Aside from some psoas issues last year, my hips have been doing great!! However, one of the side effects from being off-kilter pre and post surgery has been that my right leg rotates inward still, causing some IT band problems. (I had my OS X-ray both knees and he said the joints were "nice and clean" which was good news.) Well, this right knee has always been tender on the outer side, right where the IT band inserts below the knee and it was something that was a minor annoyance. Anyway, I went to Israel in January and did a lot of walking. When I got back I noticed the tenderness had gotten worse and there was a little swollen area off to the side as well. My OS suggested PT and for the first two weeks, I had great results! So, feeling pretty good, I got back to my treadmill routine and one day actually did a 45 minute session. The day after, I noticed more swelling so at PT he worked on it with massage and manipulation. That didn't give me any positive results and since Tuesday my knee has been really swollen (but not painful.) PT doesn't know what's going on and I do have an appointment with OS next Thursday. In the meantime, any ideas as to what is causing this sudden swelling?? (I'm doing the RICE thing too.) Thanks!!

Hi Caroline

Best product on the market is MSM it helps with the joint recovery ,lubricates and strengthens the tendons.

I've been taking MSM since before my replacement as i was a gym junkie and it helps!!! trust me!

 

[C Mac]

I am also taking MSM, in a Glucosamine, Chondroitin combination supplement. I had taken this for a long time prior to surgery for my bum hip and now again for my torn meniscus.

I don't have as much swelling as you do Caroline, but I understand from my OS that I have a cyst and that it is made by the leaking of the synovial fluid from the joint. I actually wonder if the cyst is the body's way of trying to keep some joint spacing because of the damaged meniscus -- somewhat self protective.

I will say that I got really tired of speculating about what my knee issue was and just asked for the MRI -- I wanted to get a definitive diagnosis and get on with it. When you have an idea of where the tear is and how much damage there is you can better make decisions about whether you want to contemplate having it scoped. Just my two cents...

Also, that's great that you can get IT band relief from the pilates person with her rolling pin!! I hope that helps loosen it up for you so it feels better and also helps your knee alignment.

Take care,
Cardie

 

[sweetcaroline]

Thank you Lynlouw and Cardie! I am actually going over to GNC today for some vitamins and I will check out the MSM. I have heard good things about it. And Cardie, you're right, this speculating thing is causing me some angst. I think I will insist on an MRI when I see the Dr. next. I definitely have a leaking synovial fluid problem for sure. Did you have much pain with your cyst? I don't have much pain at all with this right now, knock on wood! Thanks again for your input!
Caroline

 

[C Mac]

Hi Caroline,

Well, if I'd written you back when you *asked* the question about whether I have pain where the cyst is located, I would have said "no."

Today after having another appointment with the knee doc it seems that maybe the minimal discomfort I sometimes feel on the outter side of my knee is the cyst -- or it is the point of insertion of the IT band. My cyst is only 2 x 4 mm in size and just a tiny glowing point on the MRI picture. I don't have any visible swelling of my knee, currently.

There seemed to be a lot more vagueness to the interpretation of the MRI, including the comment that sometimes what they think is a tear on the MRI is only inflammation of the meniscus and nothing ends up being removed when they get the scope in there. :rolleyespink:

That is really good that you don't have pain and I hope that continues. Now to figure out how to stop the swelling.... keep us posted on what your OS suggests.

Take care,
Cardie

 

[sweetcaroline]

Hi Bone Smarties!
I haven't posted in awhile but I do get on the website almost everyday. I am so happy there are so many new members taking advantage of all the great information Bone Smart has to offer!
I have some updates, concerns and questions.
-First of all, my hips are doing GREAT!! I had some pesky hip flexor pain for awhile but doing Pilates has really strengthened my core!! (It's easy for the hip flexors to take over the job when the core muscles are weak.) I hardly ever think of my hips until a well-meaning friend says "Oh....and how ARE your hips doing?"
-My right knee was doing much better after I had it drained and had a cortisone shot in mid-May. I was back to walking again and feeling good until last week when I put the treadmill on a 1% incline. My knee started swelling again and my IT band was so sore! I saw my GP on Friday who just wanted to give me another shot without explaining the mechanics of this problem. So....why would an incline cause problems for my knee when walking level doesn't??
- Also, I had been dealing with a really low toilet for quite awhile and had gotten into the bad habit of pushing myself off with my right arm. (Dumb, I know. ) I finally got a clue and bought a toilet seat riser but I had already given myself a case of shoulder tendonitis. This is really painful. Have any of you other Smarties had to deal with this? My Pilates instructor and I have been doing some exercises to keep mobility but I'm upset about this new issue. It seems like my right (dominant) side is a mess right now. (Except for my shiny new right hip!) I would appreciate any suggestions! Thanks!

 

[alexthecat]

Caroline, when we walk on an incline our gluteal muscles have to work harder. It's common for us hippies to have weak gluteus medius and minimus muscles. This weakness would be more noticeable on an incline and might cause us to walk a little knock-kneed. That sort of gait is stressful for the IT band. So, that could be a source of your pain.

Can you decrease the incline? Maybe try 0.5 (or even less) and then increase gradually from there over the course of a few weeks. PT might help too but, since you have a good gait on level ground, I think your body may be able to work this out for itself, if you ease into the incline walking. That's a great form of low-impact cardio, by the way, so definitely don't give up on it.

 

[C Mac]

... had gotten into the bad habit of pushing myself off with my right arm. (Dumb, I know. ) I finally got a clue and bought a toilet seat riser but I had already given myself a case of shoulder tendonitis. This is really painful. Have any of you other Smarties had to deal with this? My Pilates instructor and I have been doing some exercises to keep mobility but I'm upset about this new issue. It seems like my right (dominant) side is a mess right now. (Except for my shiny new right hip!) I would appreciate any suggestions! Thanks!

Hi Caroline,

Sorry to hear about the shoulder and I hope that it will settle down now that you've gotten the bathroom re-arranged more suitably. I number of years ago I got frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) from an injury caused by a misbehaving dog pulling, yanking and twisting about on the leash repeatedly. There were particular ranges of motion that were very painful and I found that anti-inflammatory medication helped some.

It took quite a while for the pain to settle down enough for activity and so I ended up doing a short series of PT which targeted strengthening the muscles in my shoulder in order to help improve the range of motion of that joint. I really, really wanted physical stretching and manipulation but the PT required the strengthening exercises as well. As the year progressed I found that walking with a good swing to both my arms helped to get the muscles moving and flushed with blood and then various types of swimming strokes also helped loosen it up more. I also found chiropractic adjustment helpful once the joint loosened up enough to be moved more easily.

I hope that this helps a bit & glad that your shiny hip is doing well
Take care,
Cardie

 

[sweetcaroline]

Thank you both, Cardie and Alex! I really think PT is the way to go with my shoulder. I'll have to see if I can get a referral from my GP. My Pilates instructor is very knowledgeable too and I always feel better after a session with her. I will be getting back on the treadmill this week with NO INCLINE! I will work on strengthening those glutes as well. This was the kind of info I wish my doctor could provide. (He's always in a rush whenever I see him.) Thanks again!!