Injury question

While jogging, I fell on my knee hard enough to get that stomach-sick thing. I went straight down on the patella before my hands could even catch any weight. It hurt for a couple of weeks, I probably limped for a full week, but there was not any noticeable problem for the several years after that.

Hey thanks for the reply. I’m hoping it is a nothing burger. I have injured my ankle before, so I am familiar with that pain/healing process but this is my first knee smack so I’m treading into unfamiliar territory.

Did the whole RICE thing after I really twisted my knee last Xmas,… lots of pain. Everyone is unique of course, but saw my Dr during my “thru-physical” and she wasn’t overly concerned about it at the time. I didn’t mention thru-hiking btw ;), … just said I’d be walking bunches.

Now hiking with a decreasing base wt (decreasing total wt after “the desert” and water carries) really let my knee heal during activity with almost no pain in the last few months.

So as soon as possible, I’d first see if a doctor is good with you walking in the countryside with it and then rationalize a truly UL basewt is like moving with a big meal. Probably add some pain-reliever and a way to elevate the limb at night.

Good luck.

Hey thanks HK.

I didn’t twist, just crashed straight down. Hopefully my recovery will be as easy and painless.

BTW, if you are continuing north on the PCT you ain’t done with “the desert” yet. Oregon is full of surprises!

Good luck!

I have injured my ankle before, so I am familiar with that pain/healing process but this is my first knee smack so I’m treading into unfamiliar territory.

I don’t think it’s the case the knees are somehow quicker to heal than ankles. It depends on what types of tissues you damaged in either. When I fell like that, a doctor friend of mine (warning: 3rd hand medical advice) said I probably just bruised the bone (and, of course, ripped off a big chunk of skin). Bone heals much more readily than tendons or cartilage.

Thanks for the info MJ.

I didn’t mean to imply I expected the knee to heal up faster. What I meant is that I am fairly confident with what to expect/ what to do/ how far to push regarding my ankle. I know I can get it back in shape before October. With my knee on the other hand, I’m fumbling around in the dark for the first time.

I’m now a bit more than 72 hours from injury. Swelling has settled and begun to pull back letting me home in a bit better on where it actually hurts. My knee is sore on the outside, and feels tight and unstable in the joint/just under my patella. I cant walk up stairs on that knee without it wanting to collapse, but I have full range of motion aside from stiffness from the swelling. I’m going to give it till tomorrow after work and then decide if I’m going to the doctor.

Hey I’m a nurse and work with occupational injuries (knees, elbows, necks, etc).

Your symptoms sound aggravated enough to rule out possible meniscal tear, patellar displacement or even ligament strain / tear. The only way to know for sure is to be seen and rule out with an MRI, especially if you want to know for October. Sometimes injuries of these types require some physical therapy to regain full function.

The ankle will probably be fine with rest, elevation and ice. Make sure you take that Ibuprofen with food.

Was your knee bent at around a 90 degree angle when you banged it on the rock?

Thanks for the reply Alexander and Rob.

I haven’t been able to make an appointment with anyone yet partly because I’m not entirely certain where to go … so I’m in research mode. I generally avoid doctors cause I’m dumb and stubborn (as per my wife) so I don’t even have a GP to call.

Today was the first day my knee felt better than the day before. Still stiff, but full range of motion. No particular extra pain if twisting. However I still cannot do stairs and if I walk too long I feel like my knee is hyperextending backwards. Plus my knee feels hot. I know that sounds weird. I’m hoping this is indicative of just a slight ACL thing, but that’s just google-fu talking.

To the best of my recollection my knee was bent when it made impact with the rock/slab. It kinda all happened real fast, lol. I know my ankle went out and dropped me twice more on the return 5 miles, but my knee was only slightly sore until the following day.

I was just going to ask you if the instability feels as if the knee wants to hyperextend backward….

I tore my PCL (Posterior Cruciate Ligament) years ago…hard impact on the knee bent at a 90 degree angle, then the knee feels like it wants to hyperextend backward.

My knee is pretty good now.  They don’t operate on the PCL as much as the ACL or MCL, because according to my doc, it’s more difficult to get at and a lot of people heal just as well without surgery.

My doc prescribed PT for me to get all the muscles strong around the knee…it worked well for me.

I’d go to a doc to at least get some pictures.

Mid-May 2016 I was running down a steep rocky trail and went down superman style with my right knee landing hard on a sharp rock; the rest of the impact was taken by my left fore-arm below the elbow (the muscle and other surrounding soft tissue).

I tested my knee to make sure it would bear weight and gradually stood up. I limped downhill about a mile back down to the car at the trail head and that seemed to help loosen the knee up a bit.

I had a bad open wound on the knee that got stitches at the urgent care place I went to (my wife wouldn’t touch it – it looked quite a bit uglier than all of my previous wounds). The urgent care doc insisted on x-raying my knee and found a hair line crack on a spur on the patella, not the patella itself. I was referred to orthopedics for follow-up which I didn’t bother with.

The pain from the open wound and the awkward bandage around it was awful – much worse than the pain from the injury to the bone/joint. I kept my knee moving by walking around as much as I could and that seemed to help – sitting with the knee bent for more than a few minutes was painful.

It healed in two weeks where I could extend the knee both ways without groaning in pain. In four weeks I was back to normal activity though I wasn’t running down hills for a couple of months after (nothing to do with the knee……just my mind….).

Given the impact of the fall, at first I thought I’d broken my knee for sure. I was quite surprised when I was able to pick myself up and was able to stand.

Hopefully your knee heals fast and you’re able to go on your trips as planned.