Possible menicus tear

Hi Kayly, been there & done that with the knees many times over the years. If possible look online with your insurance & try to find an ortho that deals with knees only. When I first started out with knee problems in the late 80's I used a regular ortho. He scoped my knee & could not find the tear & became very frustrated because he knew there was a problem going on. He said I am referring you to the best knee dr in this city & did. I really figured at the time I needed PT, my symptoms were a lot of swelling, however, my quad muscles had atrophied really bad, a lot of pain & weakness. I was wrong, lol. The knee dr said PT will not fix this, you need it scoped. He scoped it & found the tear. Over the years I have had 4 scopes on the left & 1 on the right for various problems. So, please try to get a knee only ortho. After all of these scopes the best thing that helps me keep my knees moving is getting into the pool & moving these knees. I am at the point my only options are replacements & I am not there yet. For sure you will need an MRI. Depending on the results will depend on whether a scope is needed. Some tears can actually heal on their own.

Take care.

Queener:
Your current symptoms (sharp pain to the medial aspect of the knee and feeling as though the knee is giving out) are less specific for a meniscal tear and more in line with possible debris in the knee and weakness of the quadriceps (front thigh muscle).

Meniscus tear symptoms tend to include: specific pain along the joint line, medial more than lateral; catching and locking of the joint, especially during the last 20 degrees of extension; difficulty with rapidly flexing and extending the knee.

Certainly do feel free to contact your MD for an assessment. But also feel free to begin isometric strengthening of the quadriceps and gentle exercise (short arc quads, straight leg raise) with focus on strengthening the quadreiceps muscle. Use ice to minimize inflammation (a bag of frozen peas works well as the peas conform to the contours of the joint.

If you are overweight, losing 5 or 10 pounds can go a long way to decreasing knee pain and the load forces placed on the knee.

Also, look at your shoes. Shoes that are tired and worn can be a source of knee pain due to altering the alignment of the hip and knee angle. Women have a wider pelvis then men, and this contributes to a more hip to knee angle - placing more stress on the medial aspect of the knee. Getting a new pair of athletic shoes with a pronation correction can also help to reduce knee pain, especially knee pain in women. The hip and knee angle, called the q angle, places more stress in the medial aspect of the knee in women as compared to men.

Just a few ideas that you might explore to bring you relief.

Nameste,
Karen