anyone have bursitis of the knee? does it sound like i have it?

[disney world dreamer]

(i've already seen 2 doctors and i didn't find them to be much help)

i have been really trying to eat better and exercise and it had started to pay off as i've lost about 8lbs.

i had been walking 2 miles per day and on april 29th i had started to toss in a couple 15 second bursts of running.

on may 5th during the second burst of running my knees started to hurt so i stopped and after a few minutes it seemed to work itself out.

later that day i ended up walking another 1.2 miles on a nature trail that had some uneven ground and by the end my right knee had started to hurt a bit again.

on may 6th i walked and it hurt a bit but nothing terrible.
on may 7th i walked and a bit more pain but still felt like i could do it.
due to varying reasons i did not walk on the 8th, 9th, or 10th although on the 9th i went shopping with a friend at several malls and my knee was hurting pretty bad.

the 11th i walked and i did make it all the way but by the end my right knee was killing me and my left leg was hurting pretty bad from putting more weight on it and not walking normally.

on the 12th i went to my primary dr for my yearly physical and brought up the injury and how it had gradually gotten worse each day.
he did not look at my knee and when i mentioned that i want to be able to walk for my trip to hawaii he literally said "well don't walk. swim".

i left very discouraged.

friday the 13th i attempted to walk but was nearly in tears less than half way so i came home.

in those 8 days i tried ice a number of times, heat a number of times, bengay a couple times and ibuprofen.
the only thing that helped was the ibuprofen. it cut the pain in half but did not take it away fully.

on saturday the 14th i decided to go to urgent care.
i figured i'd at least get an x-ray even though i didn't think i had a broken bone but how the "system" works you can't seem to get the test that would actually show something like an MRI until you get an x-ray.

i think the dr there had it in his head exactly what was wrong with me before he entered the room.
he would not allow me to explain what happend and that its just getting worse and worse instead of better.
he was in the room for no more than 2 minutes.
he looked at my knee for a few seconds and told me i have bursitis, ice it, take ibuprofen, and set a 5lb weight on my foot and lift my leg straight up.
i explained ice had not worked at all and he said thats because you need to ice it ALL THE TIME.

when i asked about an x-ray he said there was no need for one.
i said i know there's probably not but i can't ask anyone for a MRI without first getting an x-ray and he said that there was no need for me to have a MRI because its bursitis.

he left and then a few minutes later the x-ray tech comes and takes me for an x-ray.
i told her i was confused because he just said i don't need one.
she said oh idk i guess he changed his mind.

she gave me a disk with the x-rays on it and took me back to the room and then 2 minutes later she came back and gave me discharge papers that were very vague by the way.

i really want to go to an orthopedic and see about getting an MRI because i'm really worried that there's something majorly wrong because he made it seem like bursitis is "nothing" and i feel like what i'm going through is far from nothing.

i may seem weak but i've been through alot including a dislocated wrist and a fractured elbow and they missed the fractured elbow because they were focused on the wrist so i went around for 4 days before anyone would believe me that there was something wrong with my elbow. they did an x-ray and put a cast on and i was much better.

i've also been through multiple surgeries.

i'm currently living with a torn rotator cuff from falling down the stairs in 2013.

and last year i feel at disney and slammed my chin into the ground and needed stitches.

so basically i've been through pain and this pain is pretty bad in comparison to some of that other pain.

so now that you know my story i wonder if anyone e3lse out there has bursitis of the knee and if its really as bad as what i'm experiencing or if you think that perhaps what i have going on is something else and i should go see an orthopedic?

since i've seen 2 dr's now and feel like i have not gotten any help i feel that is appropriate to start asking others instead of my doctors.

**EDITED TO ADD**
i forgot i should probably also mention what type of pain it is which is something that neither dr let me explain.
if i have a slight bend in my knee i can stand on that foot putting all my weight on it and it doesn't hurt.
if i have it locked there's a lot of pain.
if i bend it more there's pain but if i bend it all the way there's not pain again.
and the worse pain comes when walking and especially walking down the stairs.
when i lif that leg up to move it forward that motion is what hurts the most and makes me want to cry.
and when i'm sitting doing nothing it throbs.
on a scale of 1-10 when its at its worse without ibuprofen its an 11!
with ibuprofen but when walking its more like a 5-6.
when i have ibuprofen and i'm doing nothing its more like a 2.

 

[smokeyblue]

You likely have a classic overuse injury. MRI's are ridiculously expensive and it would be very questionable for a medical professional to order one when conservative measures haven't been taken like rest, ice, physical therapy, etc.

I've been there before. I've had "water on the knee" right before leaving on a trip and I was worried about it ruining things. I asked the doctor to pull the fluid off and he just said it was so little that it wouldn't make a difference and the possibility of infection was there too. I just babied it as much as I could and everything turned out fine.

 

[tennisfan]

The initial doctor was right to say switch to swimming as its a non weightbearing exercise which will allow the knee to heal and for you to carry on exercising. Ice for the first 24-48 hours promotes all swelling to come out then you switch to heat if necessary. I agree with the PP in that it sounds like an overuse injury, maybe look at appropriate footwear will help. Also try and stick to running on grass rather then concrete as its less impact to the knee.

Bursitis is cause but repetative movement, its just the fluid filled sac has become inflammed

 

[Christine]

I understand your angst over this but before you can head to the MRI, you need to take conservative treatment measure on your knee. This may involve rest (even from walking) and doing some "home rehab" for it. Then see what happens. If it's still bad, then you have a case for further treatment. My mother went through the same thing and her injury ended up being a torn meniscus. She got it from walking in hilly areas. But it's hard to imagine that a few bursts of running would cause this (although if you are older and out of shape, it could).

If you have inflammation, it could take 6 weeks to heal.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I have bursitis of the knee and your edited part describes it perfectly. Mine either come out of nowhere or sometimes it acts us with overuse. I describe my pain as a very strong ache in the joint when bending or flexing. For example, if I'm doing squats, once I'm up or down, I'm fine, but the movement is painful. If it's really bad I will go to the dr for some steroids but usually a round of Advil(as in taking regularly for about a week or two) will help the inflammation.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It would be helpful to know more information about you, such as (approximate is ok) age, weight, and what your activity level was before you started exercising. I'm guess you're a little older, maybe a little heavier, and have been more inactive? Walking is a great activity and sounded like it was working for you. I'm betting that adding in the sprints was the thing that added just the right amount of stress to your knees to cause swelling, and swelling is the real thing that causes pain. At this point, it almost doesn't matter EXACTLY which structure in the knees are causing pain - it's the fact that the general swelling is causing pain, and yes, conservative measures are warranted first, which will allow the swelling to subside. Then hopefully you'll be able to walk again without pain (unless you actually tore something like the meniscus). Unfortunately, once an injury like that occurs, you might be prone to it happening again, so if, in a few weeks, you're walking ok, don't do sprinting! Remember, the key to fixing this is to a) allow whatever was stretched or strained to heal (rest) and b) help the swelling to subside (ice and ibuprofen). It does take time.

Now, I'm going to get on your case about going to Urgent Care instead of your PCP. Why would you do that? I'm guessing because you mentioned it at your physical and didn't like the response? That really isn't the time to discuss an acute injury in depth. An injury usually requires a separate appt. A physical has something like a 20 minute time frame and there's a lot to discuss, so it would've been better to just make a separate appt with your PCP just to discuss the pain when it happened. I think you would've gotten a better response that way. Going to someone else isn't really consistent care. Is there communication between your PCP and this other doctor? I would suggest that from here on you start with your PCP so there can be a plan in place along with a timeline ("See me if it doesn't get better in X amount of weeks after XYZ") so that further testing and/or treatment, referrals, etc. can occur.

For now, though, you have to just rest it and let it heal.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/510724-my-knees-hurt-from-working-out/

I have bursitis in my right hip. The pain comes and goes. Sometimes it doesn't bother me at all for months, then I might go through a period where it does, often after sitting on something with little support like a lawn chair. Sometimes after a long shift it lets me know it's there, and it hurts even to lift my leg into the car. But it's never stopped me from doing anything. I know there are treatment options if I need them, but usually a small dose of Motrin does the trick. I think of it more of a chronic thing than an acute injury.

ETA just one word about Motrin - you have to take it round the clock in order to maximize the anit-inflammatory effect, at least for several days, probably longer. Many people take just one or two doses here and there, but that doesn't help the inflammation and pain as much as RTC does.

 

[disney world dreamer]

OP here with an update.

i'm SO glad i decided to go to an orthopedic.
i had waited it out until thursday and nothing was getting better.
they had an opening for friday (yesterday).
i felt like someone finally listened to my concerns and did a full exam.
i do in fact have bursitis.
i was given a very detailed explanation which made a heck of a lot more sense than some primary dr at urgent care telling me i had it and walking out of the room.
i was given a few exercises/stretches that actually seem helpful.
i was also told that they would do an MRI just to make sure everything was ok if i was still having pain when i go back in 6 weeks.

the most important thing is that i got a prescription strength anti inflammatory.
naproxen is doing wonders for me!
other than after doing the exercises my knee doesn't hurt at all and i've only been taking if for 24 hours!
the only downside is that i suddenly became itchy but had no rash.
apparently thats a fairly common side effect for that medication though.
i mentioned it to my mom and she said she experienced the same thing when she took it a number of years ago.
unless it becomes unbearable i will continue to take it.

i think as long as the medication continues to work and the inflammation goes away completely i'll be able to get back out there walking in no time!

also a PP mentioned you should jog/run in the grass but actually the orthopedic said not to do that.
grass is uneven ground and its very easy to hurt yourself unless you are extremely familiar with the grass you are running in.
she said jogging/running on concrete was fine but that i probably should take more time to adjust to doing it.

 

[sonnyjane]

So looks like your doctor was able to correctly diagnose you in two minutes, AND saved you the unnecessary expense of an MRI, you just didn't like their bedside manner? Gosh I'd be thanking them.

Take heed and rest. It's hard to have to sit out, but temporary frustration is better than permanent damage.

 

[lakelandgal70]

Yes I was just diagnosed this past year with it and also OA. Basically the bone is almost rubbing against bone. The pain from the bursitis is horrible. And I trained for a 5k while I was in terrible pain lol. No more running for me unfortunately. I can't take prescription anti inflammatory meds so using homeopathic methods and the pain is gone. Went and had another exam and X-ray and bursitis was gone so I am gonna keep doing what I am doing. I also went to PT and was shown things to do and told that recumbent bike and swimming were best exercises for me. Glad that you found out what is going on with your knee

 

[disney world dreamer]

So looks like your doctor was able to correctly diagnose you in two minutes, AND saved you the unnecessary expense of an MRI, you just didn't like their bedside manner? Gosh I'd be thanking them.

Take heed and rest. It's hard to have to sit out, but temporary frustration is better than permanent damage.

it would only cost me $10 to get an MRI and the orthopedic actually suggested that i get an MRI if when i go back i'm still in pain.
yes i did not like the bedside manor of the urgent care doctor. i don't deny that. it sucked terribly.
i think a dr should take the time to listen to your concerns because it may end up being something other than what they had in their head before walking in.
in fact this was the case with my dad a few weeks ago. my mom an RN of 40 years thought he was having a gallbladder attack so she took him to the ER.
the ER dr walked in and said he had a uti and wanted to send him home immediately my mom insisted on a CT scan to see if he had gallstones. the dr reluctantly agreed to it and then came in and said nope just a uti and sent him home with no pain meds at all. (my dad was doubled over in pain and its hard to get him to stop working on the farm so when he's laying out the couch you know its bad).
the CT scan report was sent to his primary and they called us almost in a panic to say he had 2 huge gallstones measuring 3.5cm and 4cm.
he is scheduled for surgery on june 9th and the surgeon said to call him at any hour if he's having another attack because his gallbladder could rupture and apparently its much like if your appendix ruputres. you could potentially die.

i'm not saying my personal situation is as important as my dad's but it goes to show that dr's can be arrogant and give a totally wrong diagnosis when they refuse to take the time to listen.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I ruptured my bursar sac. I am not sure if it is the same as bursitis, think it is more seve but luckily not permanent. At one. Point my leg swelled up so bad I had to go to hospital. I was afraid swelling would cause clot or something, it was that severe. It all happened because some idiot catcher pretended the ball was being thrown to him in a softball game. As I was running home he suddenly pretended that the ball was coming in. So I started to adjust my running in case I needed to dodge his glove. I felt a twinge then but it didn't blow up till later.

 

[powellrj]

I have had both bursitis and knee problems over the years. You need to try the basic fixes first. PT has always worked for me. New shoes with inserts, lots of ice, an anti inflammatory and an injection if these don't help. I would try all of these things first before you go for the more invasive fixes.

 

[minnie mum]

Well, it seems the orthopedist gave you the strokes you felt you needed, but the end result is no different from the urgent care. Rest, ice and take antiinflammatories. Ibuprofen or naproxen - you don't need a prescription for either ( at least here in Canada). You just need to know how much to take and how often. The meds will reduce the inflammation. And that is all that bursitis is. Inflammation of the bursa, sometimes accompanied by fluid build up in the joint. The resting part is the most important part of your treatment. As the first doctor recommended, stop walking/running. Swim instead. Or use a recumbent bike. Resuming your walking/running too soon will just prolong the situation.

 

[disney world dreamer]

Well, it seems the orthopedist gave you the strokes you felt you needed, but the end result is no different from the urgent care. Rest, ice and take antiinflammatories. Ibuprofen or naproxen - you don't need a prescription for either ( at least here in Canada). You just need to know how much to take and how often. The meds will reduce the inflammation. And that is all that bursitis is. Inflammation of the bursa, sometimes accompanied by fluid build up in the joint. The resting part is the most important part of your treatment. As the first doctor recommended, stop walking/running. Swim instead. Or use a recumbent bike. Resuming your walking/running too soon will just prolong the situation.

i think my points are being lost on some.
not listening to me and saying "swim in hawaii instead of walk" does not help. its not a lay around trip. there is an itinerary with a number of things that you have to walk or stand to do such as walking up diamond head.
not listening to me and not giving me decent medication does not help.
naproxen is a prescription here and let me tell you its working 100 times better than ibuprofen had been for 15 days!
i was also taking 16 200mg of ibuprofen per day which is too much and i knew it but i could not help it. i was in so much pain i was crying.
bedside manor goes a long way in my book because arrogant doctors are often incorrect in their diagnosis because they do not listen to their patients. he ended up being right but i've had experiences in the past that i've been misdiagnosed and have had to go back and demand further testing.

either way i'm grateful to the orthopedic because i currently have no pain again and that would not have happened had i not gone.

 

[sonnyjane]

arrogant doctors are often incorrect in their diagnosis because they do not listen to their patients. he ended up being right but i've had experiences in the past that i've been misdiagnosed and have had to go back and demand further testing.

Arrogant patients that turn to the Internet for medical advice when they don't like the advice their doctors gave them because it interferes with their vacation plans are equally frustrating and dangerous.

 

[minnie mum]

not listening to me and saying "swim in hawaii instead of walk" does not help. its not a lay around trip. there is an itinerary with a number of things that you have to walk or stand to do such as walking up diamond head.

Hm. Did he say swim, don't walk in Hawaii? (I don't think you've mentioned when your trip is) Or, did he say swim, don't walk NOW, until your knee has recovered? That is the typical advice given in cases such as yours. Possibly you misunderstood what he recommended.

 

[indygirl99]

i think my points are being lost on some.
not listening to me and saying "swim in hawaii instead of walk" does not help. its not a lay around trip. there is an itinerary with a number of things that you have to walk or stand to do such as walking up diamond head.
not listening to me and not giving me decent medication does not help.
naproxen is a prescription here and let me tell you its working 100 times better than ibuprofen had been for 15 days!
i was also taking 16 200mg of ibuprofen per day which is too much and i knew it but i could not help it. i was in so much pain i was crying.
bedside manor goes a long way in my book because arrogant doctors are often incorrect in their diagnosis because they do not listen to their patients. he ended up being right but i've had experiences in the past that i've been misdiagnosed and have had to go back and demand further testing.

either way i'm grateful to the orthopedic because i currently have no pain again and that would not have happened had i not gone.

And I think our point is being lost on you.

Your primary doctor told you to swim not walk. He is trying to help you rehab your knee but you don't want to listen.
You have your agenda and unless you get your prescription medicine and an MRI you do not want to listen to what you are being told.

Another big thing you need to take into consideration is what and how much you can realistically do in Hawaii. If you have been diagnosed with bursitis climbing Diamond Head is definitely out. I run half marathons and climbing Diamond Head kicked my butt.

Doctors listen much better to their patients who actually listen to them. It is a 2 way street.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

i think my points are being lost on some.
not listening to me and saying "swim in hawaii instead of walk" does not help. its not a lay around trip. there is an itinerary with a number of things that you have to walk or stand to do such as walking up diamond head.
not listening to me and not giving me decent medication does not help.
naproxen is a prescription here and let me tell you its working 100 times better than ibuprofen had been for 15 days!
i was also taking 16 200mg of ibuprofen per day which is too much and i knew it but i could not help it. i was in so much pain i was crying.
bedside manor goes a long way in my book because arrogant doctors are often incorrect in their diagnosis because they do not listen to their patients. he ended up being right but i've had experiences in the past that i've been misdiagnosed and have had to go back and demand further testing.

either way i'm grateful to the orthopedic because i currently have no pain again and that would not have happened had i not gone.

Naproxen is Aleve, and OTC in the US.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Naproxen is Aleve, and OTC in the US.

I think the OP is confused on this (or, just not listening). Not only is naproxen Aleve, but there are generic versions to be had in every Walmart, Target, and CVS in the country. Even if the OP needs a higher dose, she can talk to her doctor about possibly taking extra pills. I do NOT recommend doing this without an MD's approval, but my Dh did it with ibuprofen when he was having knee issues (with doctor's permission, of course).

OP, I would be doing everything possible NOW, to get in better shape for your trip. As others have said, Diamond Head might not be in the cards for you, but there are plenty of things to enjoy in Hawaii that are less demanding.

 

[disney world dreamer]

Hm. Did he say swim, don't walk in Hawaii? (I don't think you've mentioned when your trip is) Or, did he say swim, don't walk NOW, until your knee has recovered? That is the typical advice given in cases such as yours. Possibly you misunderstood what he recommended.

his words were "well swim in hawaii instead of walking. there's plenty of water."
i tried to explain that swimming is not an option and actually only one thing on the itinerary had to do with swimming.
all he wanted to do was talk about what flight i was taking and what hotel i was staying at.
i leave on july 11th and now that my leg is not really in pain i feel better about walking but at the time i was concerned that there was a serious problem and he was not listening and never even examined my knee.
i was also concerned because i'm going to hershey park on june 19th and that will require plenty of walking.