Anyone here have tips for knee pain?

[ajollyholidaywithjo]

I figure this would be a great place to ask...I hurt my knee two weeks ago, and it doesn't seem to be getting better, it's actually worse. I leave for Disney next week, and I'm not sure how I'm going to manage walking the 30K+ steps a day. I've tried so many things; ice, heat, IcyHot, pain meds, compression sleeve, nightly stretches.

Am I doing something wrong? The muscle is just so freaking tight and I can't seem to get it to relax, and now the pain is starting to radiate into my thigh. My doctor gave me some muscle relaxers that I'm going to get today, but I'm not sure what else I should be doing. I can bear weight on it, it's just everything is uncomfortable and tight. It does hurt a lot to squat down though.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I would get to a knee specialist doctor (not general practitioner) ASAP and ask him/her if I need to postpone my trip.

 

[seshat0120]

Have you been to an orthopedist? I hurt my knee nearly three years ago and just suffered with it for a while. Turns out I have a torn meniscus. I use OTC painkillers (I find ibuprofen works better) as well as Aspercreme. I've done a round of physical therapy which helped a good deal since it strengthened my thigh muscles. Other than that, about two weeks before I go on a vacation where I walk a lot, I do get a Cortisone shot as well as wearing a brace when I'm doing a lot of walking. I know that I'll eventually need surgery for it.

 

[DLgal]

You need to see a sports medicine doctor before your trip.

The muscle relaxers will do nothing more than make your very sleepy. They don't actually relax anything.

You need PT and a treatment plan, more than likely. Drugs are the wrong answer here.

 

[ajollyholidaywithjo]

You need to see a sports medicine doctor before your trip.

The muscle relaxers will do nothing more than make your very sleepy. They don't actually relax anything.

You need PT and a treatment plan, more than likely. Drugs are the wrong answer here.

I've been on these particular muscle relaxers before, for another issue, and they don't cause drowsiness and they did help with my prior muscle pain. Maybe I just have a different brand or something.

 

[barkley]

I would get to a knee specialist doctor (not general practitioner) ASAP and ask him/her if I need to postpone my trip.

Have you been to an orthopedist? I hurt my knee nearly three years ago and just suffered with it for a while. Turns out I have a torn meniscus

i agree with both of these-i tore my meniscus and ended up with surgery after all else failed. i still have pain but cbd helps allot. florida sells it over the counter. i know it's illegal to take in the parks but i use the roll on stuff (looks like a deodorant stick) and it works for hours on end so it could be applied before you step foot into one of the parks.

 

[ajollyholidaywithjo]

I would get to a knee specialist doctor (not general practitioner) ASAP and ask him/her if I need to postpone my trip.

Unfortunately, I can't postpone this trip. I'm about to undergo surgery for cancer, and possibly more treatment after that. This is my last hurrah for awhile.

But if there are ways I can help alleviate pain in the park, or ways to help not make it worse, I'll do those things.

 

[seshat0120]

You're best option is to see an orthopedist, then. Only he/she can best help you in managing the pain since that's going to be based on what the actual injury is. In my case, my torn meniscus didn't present as that and the first diagnosis was Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome because my kneecap wasn't tracking right. It was only when treatment for that didn't work that the orthopedist I'm seeing looked for the torn meniscus (and found it). Treatment changed after that including what I was doing in physical therapy. It's only then that I started to get some relief. You can apply or take all the painkillers/muscle relaxers you want, but all it will do is mask pain. It will do nothing for the actual injury which may well get worse.

 

[DLgal]

Unfortunately, I can't postpone this trip. I'm about to undergo surgery for cancer, and possibly more treatment after that. This is my last hurrah for awhile.

But if there are ways I can help alleviate pain in the park, or ways to help not make it worse, I'll do those things.

Rent a wheelchair?

 

[DLgal]

You can apply or take all the painkillers/muscle relaxers you want, but all it will do is mask pain. It will do nothing for the actual injury which may well get worse.

This can also make the injury worse if your pain is masked and the muscle relaxers cause you you to be TOO "loose."

My uncle was a sports medicine doctor. He always hated when PCPs would prescribe pain pills or muscle relaxers for acute injuries. Inadvertently, patients would come to him after being "treated" by their primary doctors in much worse shape than if they had just come to him immediately after the injury.

 

[garada3]

Unfortunately, I can't postpone this trip. I'm about to undergo surgery for cancer, and possibly more treatment after that. This is my last hurrah for awhile.

But if there are ways I can help alleviate pain in the park, or ways to help not make it worse, I'll do those things.

I bring ziploc bags into the parks, then ask for large cups of just ice when we sit down to eat. Using an ice pack during meals has helped me get through a Disney day.

Biofreeze roll-on version also helped and was easy to carry around.

 

[ajollyholidaywithjo]

This can also make the injury worse if your pain is masked and the muscle relaxers cause you you to be TOO "loose."

My uncle was a sports medicine doctor. He always hated when PCPs would prescribe pain pills or muscle relaxers for acute injuries. Inadvertently, patients would come to him after being "treated" by their primary doctors in much worse shape than if they had just come to him immediately after the injury.

It looks like our orthopedic office in town has a walk in option, so I’m doing that now. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[seshat0120]

Good luck. I hope it ends up being something easily managed. After having various degrees of knee pain for 2.5/almost 3 years, I know how disrupting it can be.

 

[DLgal]

It looks like our orthopedic office in town has a walk in option, so I’m doing that now. Thanks for the suggestions!

I hope you get some answers as to what you have going on as well as some suggestions for how to handle your trip.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Did it swell up? DId you do something to aggravate it or did it come on all of the sudden? Age and physical fitness are also factors but won't ask about either.
Going through a knee injury myself from 2 years ago. It has consistently gotten better just on its own. I as a regular runner and aggravated it playing soccer . I had swelling above the knee but the pain is more like where your MCL is (so I suspect either that or meniscus).
I would get a high quality knee brace for your trip and just figure on icing it each day back in the hotel. Stretching helps a lot as does strength training.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Unfortunately, I can't postpone this trip. I'm about to undergo surgery for cancer, and possibly more treatment after that. This is my last hurrah for awhile.

But if there are ways I can help alleviate pain in the park, or ways to help not make it worse, I'll do those things.

Rent a scooter.

 

[ajollyholidaywithjo]

Did it swell up? DId you do something to aggravate it or did it come on all of the sudden? Age and physical fitness are also factors but won't ask about either.
Going through a knee injury myself from 2 years ago. It has consistently gotten better just on its own. I as a regular runner and aggravated it playing soccer . I had swelling above the knee but the pain is more like where your MCL is (so I suspect either that or meniscus).
I would get a high quality knee brace for your trip and just figure on icing it each day back in the hotel. Stretching helps a lot as does strength training.

It gets swollen near the end of the day after walking on it.

I’m in my 20s, and the orthopedist I saw didn’t seem concerned. They took X-rays, but they can’t tell if anything was torn unless they do an MRI. They said to just take anti-inflammatory meds consistently. And time. I have to give it a full 4 weeks and if it doesn’t improve by then, then it’s next steps.

But they didn’t seem concerned even though I told them I was walking a lot on my trip. I guess I feel discouraged cause I was hoping for more answers!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Amazon has the aluminum crutches I got from urgent care for $22, I'd call the Dr and ask for guidance than give it a shot to see if you heal before the trip. As long as you use them correctly I can't see the Dr saying it would hurt you to rest it since they are OTC & the trip is a big deal.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Amazon has the aluminum crutches I got from urgent care for $22, I'd call the Dr and ask for guidance than give it a shot to see if you heal before the trip. As long as you use them correctly I can't see the Dr saying it would hurt you to rest it since they are OTC & the trip is a big deal.

That's often the downside of crutches...using them correctly. You are not only unevenly balanced but bearing more weight on your arms and hands. Also OP will be walking much more than usual at WDW.

 

[DLgal]

OP, are you going alone? If not, rent a scooter or wheelchair for the duration of your trip.