[pct-l] knee pain

[radpin at gmail.com (Eric)]

Steve;

I sustained (and then re-injured) a slight tear in a ligament over a
month ago, and it has taken forever to heal. I'm 26, in decent shape,
and normally heal fairly quickly. This has been terribly slow.

I've packed ice on my knee about 4 times a day for 20-30 minutes a
clip, was taking 500mg of motrin two times a day, and wearing a few
different braces.

I switched from motrin to feldene, which is a prescription anti
inflammatory normally for arthritis, but it has made a huge difference
in my knee. The fact that it's once a day and that it "builds" up in
your system I think is what did it.

I was about ten seconds away from needing knee surgery, but because
the pain has gone away and the "popping" and "knocking" in my knee is
almost non existent now, it looks like by playing it smart and taking
it easy for the next few months I very well might be able to keep my
own ligament and not need to get sliced open.

My only advice about knee injuries: DO NOT MESS AROUND. Knees have
terrible circulation, are under an incredible amount of stress, and
once injured take weeks and months (not days and weeks) to heal
properly. I've found that doing a lot of upper body weight training
was the only thing I could do to keep from getting too fat, because
walking more than a half mile a day was nearly murderous.

I would highly recommend going to a doctor and getting an MRI done immediatly. 

This injury will most likely keep me off the PCT this year coming up,
but if I screw around with my injury, it will most likely keep me from
backpacking for the rest of my life.

Eric




On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 05:41:19 -0800, Steve Peterson
<steve_peterson@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Might be ilio tibial band syndrome. That refers to a band of tendon/ligament
> that runs from the hip down to the top of the tibia (below the knee). If it is
> "tight" it rubs on some part of the knee (I'm not an anatomy expert) and causes
> inflammation/pain.
> 
> My pain was in the "knob" on the outside of the knee. Pressing on it with my
> fingers created mild pain.
> 
> There is a stretching exercise for this that is hard to describe but basically
> involves standing in a doorway, with your shoulders in line with the door jamb
> (i.e, if the door were closed, your back would be parallel with the door). Stand
> somewhat in the middle of the doorway, with your legs straight, (and assuming it
> is your right knee) lean your right shoulder against the door jamb, bending
> sideways such that your hips get as close to the jamb as possible. You are now
> supported by your feet and your right shoulder.
> 
> Carefully allow your right knee to move forward, bending your right leg; it will
> "lurch" suddenly as your right leg stops supporting your weight (your left leg
> is hopefully still holding you up :-). Do that 10 or 20 times--what's happening
> is that you're stretching the ilio tibial band as you bend your knee. I did that
> once or twice/day for several weeks before mine went away. Also, it is important
> to reduce/eliminate unncessary walking, especially up/down stairs, inclines, etc.
> 
> Given that you got it on one side, I'd recommend doing the stretch both ways
> (lean against the left shoulder, etc.) just to make sure both sides are flexible
> enough not to cause problems.
> 
> If this is what's ailing you, you have my sympathy. It's a bear to deal with.
> 
> 
> 
> Elizabeth wrote:
> > Hi list,
> >
> > I just returned from a five day "pretraining" hike on the AT through the
> > Shenandoah NP. While I was on the trail, I started to notice a pain on
> > the outside of my left knee whenever I was going downhill. Towards the
> > end of the hike it was pretty bad, stiff and sort of a shooting pain
> > when pressure was applied. Has anyone had this problem, and do you have
> > any stretches or suggestions for ways to avoid this in the future?
> >
> >
> > Never had a knee problem before and pissed off,
> >
> > E
> >
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