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-   -   Knee inflammation, MRI shows nothing, what to do? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=827464)

  • Sep 7, 2016, 08:44 AM
    rackcity
    Knee inflammation, MRI shows nothing, what to do?
    I went to a notable sports Dr. in my city because for a year and a 1/2 I'll wake up with knee problems. It was too tender to put pressure or weight on it, and would hurt while sleeping. I go there, get an MRI done. It was determined this was caused from my bone touching my tissue while I was lifting heavy weights and doing squats. MRI showed no bone issue, nor tissue damage. I was told I have a lot of inflammation in the area, and to take ibuprofen whenever it hurts. I was basically told to lay off the heavy weights on legs and do light exercises. I took this advice and 8 months later, it has not gotten better. What at this point can I do?
  • Sep 7, 2016, 09:15 AM
    smoothy
    Arthritis would have been detected with an MRI... so with that eliminated as well as tissue damage issues, they probably assumed inflammation to to heavy exercise, since eliminating that was a source of the problem, and the problem still occurring this long after, it might pay to see them again.

    There are other conditions that could result in joint inflammation that aren't easy to diagnose you would not want to ignore if you did end up having one of them. Being as I know 2 people that do suffer from one of the possibilities, I'd err on the side of caution and go back.
  • Sep 7, 2016, 11:18 AM
    talaniman
    You go back to the doctor, and report what has gone on. 8 months is far to long to not have done so!
  • Sep 7, 2016, 12:01 PM
    tickle
    I am a runner and have problems with my right knee off and on, over the years actually. I deal with it by laying off running for a couple of months. Take Advil to lessen inflammation. I know nothing short of knee surgery will correct it, or make it better. Weight lifting impacts your body ALL THE WAY DOWN TO YOUR TOES. By this, I mean compression. So it stands to reason it would develop knee problems, and lets face it, 95 per cent of the population has arthritis at some point in their lives and this will never get better. It is how you deal with the issue that helps you carry on with activities you like to do, but sometimes to a lesser degree.

    I dont know how old you are but age is not a factor if you live right,take care of your body and dont over stress it. We only have one kick at the bucket. I will be 74 soon, and still running but know my limits, as you should to no matter how old you are.

    Sure. see your doctor again, he will listen and send you for test after test until you get sick and tired of the regime.
  • Sep 7, 2016, 06:01 PM
    joypulv
    It helps to be an educated patient, especially when you aren't getting anywhere.
    Start googling 'conditions knee' and spend a week reading.
    There are many, and they take a lot of study if you aren't familiar with all the parts.
    As an orthopedist friend of a friend told me years ago, the number one thing many people have to do first is lose weight. If you are overweight, nothing a doctor can do will do much good at all unless you lose weight.
    So... are you?

    Other suggestions (aside from coddling the knee) are warm baths, gentle exercise like tai chi, a very good quality knee brace with adjustable straps and an opening at the knee, good shoes with inserts, and making sure that you keep that knee moving, without making it do much. I have even found ointments useful at times, Ben Gay or Icy Hot.

    [I read some older posts, and you WERE overweight. Are you still? You also had a broken leg as a kid, that has bothered you ever since? Same leg as this knee?
    All I can say is start putting the pieces together YOURSELF. You are your own detective.]
  • Sep 17, 2016, 10:29 AM
    rackcity
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by smoothy View Post
    Arthritis would have been detected with an MRI... so with that eliminated as well as tissue damage issues, they probably assumed inflammation to to heavy exercise, since eliminating that was a source of the problem, and the problem still occurring this long after, it might pay to see them again.

    There are other conditions that could result in joint inflammation that aren't easy to diagnose you would not want to ignore if you did end up having one of them. Being as I know 2 people that do suffer from one of the possibilities, I'd err on the side of caution and go back.

    Thanks for easing my mind about the arthritis, that is very comforting to know as I was panicking that I had it (didn't know it could be detected via MRI). I sure assumed so too that the inflammation was due to the exercise, but lately I've not been up to much and took all of their advice and it is still not helping. When I first wake up it's the worse, with some movement it gets better but not great. There's some days where I can sit on my knees, then there's other days where I can barely put any pressure on it whatsoever. It's such a strange predicament. I am going to go back soon.

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by talaniman View Post
    You go back to the doctor, and report what has gone on. 8 months is far to long to not have done so!

    Thank you so much, I am definitely going back.

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tickle View Post
    I am a runner and have problems with my right knee off and on, over the years actually. I deal with it by laying off running for a couple of months. Take Advil to lessen inflammation. I know nothing short of knee surgery will correct it, or make it better. Weight lifting impacts your body ALL THE WAY DOWN TO YOUR TOES. By this, I mean compression. So it stands to reason it would develop knee problems, and lets face it, 95 per cent of the population has arthritis at some point in their lives and this will never get better. It is how you deal with the issue that helps you carry on with activities you like to do, but sometimes to a lesser degree.

    I dont know how old you are but age is not a factor if you live right,take care of your body and dont over stress it. We only have one kick at the bucket. I will be 74 soon, and still running but know my limits, as you should to no matter how old you are.


    Sure. see your doctor again, he will listen and send you for test after test until you get sick and tired of the regime.

    Happy to see you are living a very active lifestyle at the age of 74, that's inspiring and just pure awesome! I definitely am taking your advice and am going to visit them again very soon as this isn't getting better at all!

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by joypulv View Post
    It helps to be an educated patient, especially when you aren't getting anywhere.
    Start googling 'conditions knee' and spend a week reading.
    There are many, and they take a lot of study if you aren't familiar with all the parts.
    As an orthopedist friend of a friend told me years ago, the number one thing many people have to do first is lose weight. If you are overweight, nothing a doctor can do will do much good at all unless you lose weight.
    So... are you?

    Other suggestions (aside from coddling the knee) are warm baths, gentle exercise like tai chi, a very good quality knee brace with adjustable straps and an opening at the knee, good shoes with inserts, and making sure that you keep that knee moving, without making it do much. I have even found ointments useful at times, Ben Gay or Icy Hot.

    [I read some older posts, and you WERE overweight. Are you still? You also had a broken leg as a kid, that has bothered you ever since? Same leg as this knee?
    All I can say is start putting the pieces together YOURSELF. You are your own detective.]

    Thank you for your reply. I have been all over google reading about this. I guess being a former pharmacy student I'm paranoid and always self-diagnose, but this time I'm just not able to pin-point what it is. When I described it to them how I felt I wasn't really able to well because it was so hard to actually explain what I was feeling. But the Dr. came in and said I practically healed myself and that it should subside with time, to lay off the heavy squats etc. Actually I laid off a lot and this didn't hardly help. Exercise actually makes it feel better, but once I cool down, it's back again. It's a weird phenomenon. Actually, exercise makes it feel better, but doesn't make it go entirely away. I still feel weak in the knee during exercise sometimes. And I'm on my way to losing weight. I've lost 14 lbs so far, and to be healthy, have around another 49 lbs to go! P90x works wonders. But I definitely will be paying the Dr. another visit soon.

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