Something is wrong with my knee!

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Agnes

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Hello, everyone! I don't know if I belong here, and I certainly don't want a knee replacement, but I would love to hear what others have done with my symptoms.

I've been getting gimpy for the last year, and in recent months the pain has gotten significantly worse. I have seen an OS who took X-rays and said I have arthritis in both knees. He gave me a steroid injection which gave me total relief for 10 days, at which time I had my first PT appt. Sigh. So, I've continued doing leg strengthening exercises, but nothing weight bearing. Doctor agreed to give another injection a month after the first so I can take a long planned two week trip. I am comfortable now, though not quite as much as the first time. Doctor advises getting an MRI if the pain returns. He seems uninclined to speculate on what is wrong. PT mentioned meniscus trouble.

The worst pain pre injection was from standing up after sitting. A 9 out of 10 pain. I would have to screw up the courage to do so. It feels like it is in the back of the knee/upper calf area. I had less severe pain walking and using stairs. I have found the best way to get around is to keep my leg stiff and kind of swing it forward when I walk. On stairs, I go one step at a time again keeping the bum knee straight.

I'm 63, a bit overweight and in decent health. No injuries to the knee. Although I'm pretty comfortable right now, I wonder if this shot will wear off like the first one. I still get jabs of pain on stairs and sometimes when walking. I think there is something wrong in there, and I assume the doctor is leading me through the insurance hoops required to get a diagnosis.

Does any of this sound familiar?
 
Chances are if you have arthritis the shots will wear off. My first shots lasted a few months, but then they began lasting for shorter periods of time. Two months before my TKR the shot lasted 1 hour. Your doc should be able to tell from x-rays if you are bone on bone. I'll leave a few articles for you, one includes a score chart to see how much your knee pain is effecting your life. Just because it says pre-op doesn't mean you need surgery. :wink:

Welcome to BoneSmart, glad you found us!

Here is some pre op reading for you.

New BoneSmart members like you are in various stages of their journey to joint replacement. Making the decision whether or not to have surgery and preparing for surgery can be easier once you have done your research and know what lies ahead. Here are some tools that can help you decide what is best for you.

If you are at the stage where you have joint pain but don't know for sure if you are ready to have surgery, these links may help:

Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic knee?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?


If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:

Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?


Regardless of where you are in the process, the website and app My Knee Guide can help you stay organized and informed. The free service keeps all the information pertaining to your surgery and recovery in one place on your smartphone. It is intended to be a personal support tool for the entire process.

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced knee, take a look at the posts and threads from other BoneSmarties provided in this link:

Stories of amazing knee recoveries
 
What you describe are common complaints for those with arthritis. You don't need to have suffered a knee injury to have problems within the knee. I had one knee cause me many years of pain due to an injury and the other one from just living into my 60s. I'm having my second replacement tomorrow so I will then have a matched set.

Steroid injections can be helpful to some people but I found in my case they lasted for a shorter and shorter time. I also began cutting back on physical activities and began missing out on activities within my family because of the pain.

Use the score chart Karri has given you. Just tap on the title and it will come up for you to look through and rate how much your knee pain.

I see you are in PA too. I'm on the eastern part while Karri is in the west. If your in the Poconos were I am let me know because there is a surgeon you need to avoid. It may take me a few days to answer you.
 
I find it rather odd that your surgeon wouldn't give you an accurate diagnosis. I guess he wants the MRI to see if you might have some meniscus damage that could be repairable. There is a slight chance of that. But, the reality is if you have arthritis, it is not something that is cured. It only gets worse.

The key would have been in your discussion with him for him to tell you the extent of your arthritis at this point. There really are no "insurance hoops" you would have to go through. However, things like therapy and the steroid shots are things a surgeon would try if a patient indicated she wasn't ready to consider a knee replacement. Do you think you might have left him with that impression?
 
Thanks for the replies! The doctor definitely said my ins would not approve an MRI without trying PT first. My impression about the arthritis was that it is expected that a 63 year old person would have some. I didn't think to ask about the extent of it. I assume that it is only a problem if it is bothering me.

I tend to ignore pains in the hope that they will go away! And usually they do. I went through a similar situation with my rotator cuff. Wasted a lot of time trying to rehab the shoulder until I got the MRI which showed the tendon completely torn. It was never going to heal, in spite of the therapist's assurances of the body's amazing ability to heal itself. I'm trying to be more aggressive about my care this time.

I notice that many on this forum get diagnosed by their X-rays. Could it be that I more likely have a soft tissue problem? If the relief from the injection is temporary, I am going to need to do something. I'm too young to be dragging my leg behind me, and I'm afraid I'm going to fall at some point.
 
I had no PT before surgery, doc didn't even suggest it as just walking was painful and no problem getting approval for surgery. I did have a few years of Euflexa shots and the cortisone shot that lasted an hour.

A soft tissue problem would mean you've injured your leg or fallen. Do you have your x-rays?
 
An OS should be able to diagnose arthritic knees from X-ray, I think. The symptoms you describe certainly sound like what I'm going through pre-op. Sitting to standing, for example. Today the pre-surgical nurse asked me to give her a pain number for my knees. "Waking from sleep," I said, "is around a 5. But sitting to standing... that's 9!" For me that's the most painful thing of my day, to stand from sitting. Swinging your leg to walk, that could be me, too, and sometimes is. I force myself to walk "normally" as much as possible, even though it hurts, but the inclination is there to swing the leg to spare the pain. And I've been going one step at a time for months now. What you have sure sounds like what I have. Alas, it's common for women our age, even if not a bit overweight, to have arthritis in the knees. I hope you get better answers from your doctor soon!
 
Agnes, you can go to another OS to see if you get more information and a diagnosis. I never had an MRI, just x-rays. Where in PA are you located?
 
No. I don't have the X-rays. The doctor looked at them before he came into my exam room. I wish I had found this site before I went to see him. I would have been armed with more intelligent questions. I'm afraid I've just been relying on his guidance. It never even occurred to me that I might be facing knee surgery. Geez!

@SusieShoes, I also live in the Philadelphia area! Yes, our symptoms sound alike. Good luck with your surgery!

I'm leaving on a two week road trip tomorrow. If the pain returns when I get back, I will get the MRI.
 
One thing is certain about the Philadelphia area: there's no lack of great hospitals and surgeons. Karrie is onto something about going to a different OS if you want another opinion. My knee doctor (prior to surgery) and my OS both showed me X-rays every time and thoroughly explained what they showed.
 
I agree with what the others have said. Go and see another surgeon. You need a surgeon who will discuss your knee with you in more detail, and who will show you your X-Rays.
Also, should it come to the point where you need a knee replacement, you will need a surgeon who specialises in those, doing at least 150 per year.

It sounds as if the surgeon you saw is treating your knee for osteoarthritis, because he gave you the injection.

Are you able to phone your insurance company and ask about their criteria for a knee replacement. Find out if your insurance does have the requirement that you go to PT first. Some do, and some don't.
 
I certainly don't want a knee replacement
I have seen an OS who took X-rays and said I have arthritis in both knees. The worst pain pre injection was from standing up after sitting. A 9 out of 10 pain. I would have to screw up the courage to do so. On stairs, I go one step at a time again keeping the bum knee straight.
These two comments appear to me to be contradictory. I suggest you print this off and complete it. It will give you a much better idea of where your knee is at!
 

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I probably would have been put off if the doctor recommended knee replacement on my first visit. I was expecting to hear something is torn, like with my shoulder. I will definitely get a second opinion before I agree to anything invasive.
 
It's good to check your options, get a second opinion, and learn as much as you can. From personal experience, I fought to avoid knee replacement. My last two years before surgery, I as in pain, had increasingly limited function, and endured lots of PT, and medical treatment including multiple cortisone shots, two sets of 3 orthovisc injections, and finally a series of PRP injections. In my case, I would have preferred to have my surgery sooner. The two years of decreased exercise and mobility, I entered surgery weaker than I would have if I'd just had the surgery sooner. I was particularly dissatisfied with PRP which required over two months of limited activity and offered no relief. If it needs to be done, don't be afraid to make the decision.
 
Add me to the "get a second opinion" group. You need a surgeon who will discuss your diagnosis and treatment options with you. Certainly strengthening your quads can help take stress off the knees, but if your knee is really bad that will only help to an extent. (I learned that late in the game.) I think the only thing an MRI would add is indicating if you have soft tissue issues in addition to the osteoarthritis.
 
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