I've had a thing happen a few times with my knee where if I sit a certain way, something on the outside of my knee moves out of it's place and it's super painful. It happens when I sit with my foot tucked under me, making a number 4 position with my legs, then reach for something. Obviously I try to not sit in this position, but old habits die hard.
The last time this happened, before today, the pain was so unbearable that I couldn't move even enough to get off the couch and be carried to the car, so we needed to call an ambulance. On the way to the hospital, a combination of morphine and a pothole popped my knee back into place and I was totally fine. Today, I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance again but managed to take a lot of motrin and have one of the kids wrap a heating pad around my knee and after about 90 minutes of not moving, my knee just relaxed and it was fine.
The only way I can describe it is that it feels like something that stretches along the outer side of the knee slides out of its proper position and gets stretched and stuck. When it gets stuck, I just want someone to come and take my heel and force my leg to straighten, which will move this things back into place.
Any ideas what this is and what, if anything, I should do about it?
Go to the doctor. Find out exactly what is wrong. Meloxicam will cut down on the inflamation, stiffness, and pain. You can do stretches at home, but you have to do it daily. I would treat it soon because it took my knee over a year to really heal and I still have bad days.
Yikes, that sucks! Probably an orthopaedic surgeon is your best bet.
Take care of that knee and the rest of your awesome self, k?
:)
I popped my knee out years and years ago and it was never quite the same...until after knee surgery.
After my knee injury I had a "foreign body" probably a bone chip, that floated round accumulating other stuff until it was large enough to give me problems. If I would sit a certain way and the ligament on the outside of my knee would get caught on it and I couldn't straighten it until something moved.
Go see you Dr. and get a referral to an orthopedic surgeon.
I have totally trashed my knees but that doesn't sound familiar. There are two ligaments that run on either side of your knee but for them to be out of place your lower leg would be obviously twisted.
Could it be leg cramps? I ask because you say your muscles relax and you are better. Although I have never had anything like that in my knees I have had muscles cramp up in my lower leg.
Your knee cap can slide but that you would feel in the front more. Your best bet is finding an orthopedic surgeon and asking them what is going on.
There are a lot of things that happen in knees and cause pain - IT band, ACL, MCL (ligaments), the patella (kneecap) can slide off and back in. You are skipping a step here because you are going from fine to ambulance! That's how you handle it once MAYBE, but never twice. Get a referral from your primary care physician to an orthopedic specialist, and get a workup. An xray and a manual exam will tell a lot, and then a determination can be made about what to do about it. That might include some strengthening exercises, some physical therapy, or another intervention. But the emergency room is not the way to handle it since you know you have a problem. You should not be driving a car if a knee can go out that easily - it's not safe for your children. And what about walking up stairs or even just turning in a certain way. So call for an appointment and don't try to treat this yourself with heat and anti-inflammatories. It could be that ice is better than heat, and besides, you aren't fixing anything but just biding time until the next episode.
It could be a lot of things. My kneecap will sometimes dislocate and slip to the side, the first time it happened it hurt so badly I actually passed out. But then I learned how to handle it. When this happens, someone has to do exactly what you said: I have to try as best I can to relax with my leg bent, not flex any muscles in my leg. Then someone has to pick up my bent leg, support all the weight with one hand under my foot and the other under my thigh (the not flexing any muscles to try to help is key here, because that interferes and is incredibly painful), and very slowly straighten my leg and the kneecap will pop back into place.
I went to the dr the first time, and he said it was because I had a muscle imbalance - my outer thigh was stronger than my inner thigh, and that put outward pressure on the ligaments and would cause my kneecap to slide out. The long-term solution is to stay in shape, because if my inner thigh stays strong and my leg muscles are balanced, it won't happen.
You might have a similar issue - but you should talk to a doctor and/or physical therapist to find out.
You need to go see a doctor!! And go see a knee doctor, not your primary care doctor. I have had lots of knee problems myself, and to be in that kind of pain, with needing an ambulance to help you, you need to really get it checked out and see what is really going on, and then your doctor can give you the best advice.
I injured my knee and saw my primary care doctor. He referred me to a specialist. My insurance required a referral. I suggest that you call your doctor and ask if he can see you or if he'll refer you to a specialist. I'm not sure that you need to see an orthopedic surgeon. Most knee difficulties are handled first with treatments other than surgery. If you don't have a doctor, look for a clinic specializing in sports injuries. Your problem is not a sports injury but it's in the knee and they are experts with knees.
Definitely get seen soon. You want to be proactive and prevent another episode. It could be that each episode will make it more difficult to repair the knee. Get medical help now.
