DD hurt her knee.........is it something or nothing? UPDATE #24

[christineann]

Tinkerbellish,

I hope you are going to an orthopaedic who specializes in athletes. My daughter was told by a general orthopaedist that she would need invasive surgery (retinacular release) and would be on crutches for 6 months during her sophomore year. We got a second opinion from a specialist who does the knees at the Citadel here, and he did the surgery by laparoscope, and she only missed one season. The doctor did a special technique and sent her to physical therapy geared toward athletes. I think it made a big difference.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

...and it doesn't look good!!! Jess is on crutches, is wearing a "leg immobilizer" and has to have an MRI. There are 2 possible culprets to her pain (and either one or both of them could be involved): One is a torn ACL (seeing how her pain is located EXACTLY where this ligament is) or it could be a torn meninus (sp??) since when he applied pressure to the knee, you could hear the "pop" across the room! She needs to go back in 2 weeks and I have to bring the MRI films with me. That will determine where we go from here.

Here's hoping it's nothing................

I'm soooo glad you took her in! Glad you even asked on the disk b/c it is something so easily cast aside as a non-issue when it can be a serious issue.


Well if it is meniscus--as my siggy shows..I had surgery in October and did 13.1 miles at Disney 2 weeks ago. . Usually with tears, they just cut them out. They repaired nothing, so you are just recoverign from the trauma of surgery (quad muscle goes--and has to be restrengthened). I was already in shape from training--so from surgery day and not being able to walk for 4 days....I was back on the treadmill and started running at 3-4 weeks. Sometimes they do repair it if the tear is small enough. Then the leg is immobilized for 2 weeks instead of 24 hours--but then once that is off...the recovery process is similar..though it may take longer to rebuild the muscle since it was out of use for longer.

For ACL--there was a girl who played soccer going through PT at the time I was. 5 months down the road from her surgery--her quad was back to 80% or so (They did some crazy machine that tests strength in both legs) and she had already resumed playing soccer.

I can vouch that meniscus pain hurts like heck--VERY VERY VERY bad. But once that bad boy is taken out--the difference (once surgery pains cease) is night and day. In fact--the area that was in pain from the tear..was immediately pain-free.


As for your daughters school play--our church did My fair Lady a couple of years ago and one of our singers fractured her pelvis. The director was kind enough to keep her in it--she was just repositioned on stage away from the dancers--and they even doctored some crutches so that it blended in with the costumes (i.e. looked like something used back then).

Consult with the director and see if the same consideration can be made for her.

to a speedy recovery!

I agree with Christieann--it is good advice even if your daughter isn't an athlete as I think it facilitates better healing as sports specialists retain what function they can and take care of you in such a way that is the least disruptive if that makes any sense.

(also--they took out placa (sp?) in the knee since it could cause trouble later on. This may or may not occur with your doctor--and if it is mentioned it is not a big deal as your doctor is saving her from future issues that it could cause. Some people are born with it and some are not.)

It isn't the end of the world---listening to doctors and the therapists--your daughter will be back on her feet soon!

 

[Lil_Tink]

With my dd, I would keep an eye on it. Then call her down for a surprise. If she comes running then I know it is not that bad.

In fact my 14yodd just showed me the bruises on her knee complaining. Now she is taking the dogs for a walk...can't be that bad.

(I havent read the board yet)
I guess be careful with knees and have it looked at.

On the subjects of the bruising I buised my knee really bad a few months ago, it was the size of a baseball..Darn Skateboards.

 

[Lil_Tink]

Hope for quick recovery and for it to be something simple.

 

[tinkerbelle22]

Oh my God, PD for you and especially your daughter! I had to be in and out of hospitals so much when I was little, I was born was dislocated hips, so I got a few operations and junk. It's really annoying, medical stuff

And coming straight from a performer, I hope she can do the play. It would stink of she missed it!

 

[Tinkerbellish]

christineann,

He is a sports geared doctor and he said I should be back for summer training which pleases me. :] My pediatrician said that I had pattelular tendonitis. I guess no 'eh? He did wonders for when I tore my quad last year as well.