Posted 9/9/2012 6:49 PM (GMT 0)
Problem summary:
I am almost 30 years old and I have been running every day for the past 12 years. Earlier this year, my left knee began to have a “slipping” feeling. I saw the first orthopedic surgeon and he recommended I use a patellar stabilizer. I used this for a couple of weeks but I found myself putting all of my weight on my right knee as the pain in the left knee got worse. Soon thereafter I began having right knee pain as well. With pain in both knees, I stopped running altogether.
Treatment summary:
After the first orthopedic surgeon, I saw a second in the same group and he gave me a corticosteroid injection in the left knee, this did not help. I also had an MRI done and it showed a bone bruise with a small intra-articular effusion noted. Can anyone help me understand what the following results mean and what my options are, so far the surgeons have not been able to decipher it themselves either, or, they are not able to give me a good explanation of what is going on here:
Need help with these lines:
1. There is also early fraying inferior cartilage of the patella associated with the trochlear surface of the distal femur.
a. Does this mean the cartilage under the kneecap is worn out? Can this be repaired?
2. Medial compartment / Marrow: Abnormal marrow signal involving the medial femoral condyle deep to an overlying edematous appearing MCL compatible (the rest I understand, bone bruise) with a bone contusion and MCL strain.
a. Really need help with this one aside from the bone bruise/stress fracture portion.
3. Capsular aspect of the medial meniscus demonstrates elevated meniscal signal raising consideration for a meniscal contusion without tear.
a. Need help with this as well.
Questions to the forum:
I’ve not run in months and as I have a lot of pain in my left knee and my right knee doesn’t feel good either. Additionally, when I bend at the knees, I hear lots of cracking in both knees. Also, my right knee seems to crack and pop when I walk but stops after walking for a few minutes. I’ve seen three orthopedic surgeons and the first two told me basically to live with it. The third said there is definitely a problem but he said to wait another 4-6 months before we meet again. This is really frustrating. I really need help deciphering what this means and if anyone else has had this type of injury before and if they were able to get it resolved, or is it permanent?