Hey guys, Thought I would post on here in attempt to figure out what may be going on with my knee. For context, I am a college goalkeeper, but only got very serious in soccer a few years ago (I used to be a state level waterpolo player). At the start of last year I noticed my left knee feeling a little off, not painful but just like when I moved it during training it didn’t feel right. A few days later while warming up for a game I felt a pop and there was some pain/it was very uncomfortable. I saw my teams athletic trainers and they dismissed it and said i just need to go on more bike rides to get it stronger. I though that was very weird advice to give so I went to my usual physio (one who I have seen for years) and he said I probably had an issue with my patella tendon, most likely overuse. He said that he thought what might be causing it is the switch I made from waterpolo to soccer, and at a high level, going from not so much impact on my knee to very high stress and impact. However, he said with the exercises he gave me it should go away within a few months, the only other way for it to completely go away was to not put stress on it for a few months. I couldn’t do this as I was going to the USA to play college soccer so I decided to just do the exercises. It went away mostly.

Fast forward to this year. I actually had to have shoulder reconstruction which has (and continues to) take me out of soccer. I thought that this would be great for my knee to really get stronger and for all that pain to fully go away (as I was not able to train etc). That was not the case. I was always able to maintain a pretty average level of fitness by continuing to walk and do other exercises and I just slowly increase the intensity of them as I recovered from my shoulder. My problem is my knee pain is back and worse this time around. It’s directly on top and below my kneecap. Flares up all the time during exercise, and after exercise my knee feels like it needs to pop and it is really uncomfortable and sometimes a little painful. I can’t ride the stationary bike either because that movement makes my knee pop.

Does anyone know what this could be and how to help it? Would be greatly appreciated

Im 16 and male and I’m just wondering why my knees look this way, and what I can do to fix it. I used to be super overweight but have since lost around 80 pounds. Could me being overweight have caused this? I feel like this might be affecting my whole body as my lower back hurts quite often, and when I get up from sleeping, my feet have a tingling sensation. Anything helps

Hi, it's been 6 weeks since my MPFL reconstruction surgery. Currently with my physical therapist I can flex my knee about 70 degrees or so. I wanted to know when the unlock will happen? And most importantly, will I hear something like a "click" or something?

Hello! I know very little about this kind of thing. May 2024, I started experiencing some knee pain - no injury, just a sudden onset pain that has come and gone. Some days/weeks, I'll be perfectly fine, then the next days/weeks, I'll be limping, tender, and sometimes even feel extra strain going up and down the stairs. I absolutely cannot kneel for any reason, and I have been experiencing more clumsiness and falling in the last 6 or so months.

I finally had an MRI 11/29, and it shows the attached photos. I'm curious if anyone has had a similar experience/issue, if you had surgery or what the treatment is, and what your recovery (whatever that looks like) was like.

I have become fearful of walking on uneven ground and going down the stairs (I've had a couple really nasty falls - I still have some ankle pain from a fall a month ago). I want a solution, but don't know what it looks like.

I also don't know if any of the findings in the MRI are even causing the falling, but I'm sure the cysts are causing the discomfort and pain.

TIA for anything!

Heard a pop sound in my knee after it was pressed against a hard surface while moving, did my research and it said that its most likely the built up gas that pops like your finger knuckles, no pain yet so I wanted to see what else could be the matter?

Hi, So I (26F) have patellar dislocation (5x for the left knee, 1x for the right). My last dislocation was over six years ago, and it just... Hasn't gotten better. In fact, the last six months or so, it's gotten significantly worse. I am in pain every day, running has consequences, taking stairs is out of the question, and more and more I get flares of pain for no discernible reason.

I was under the impression that this condition was supposed to improve as I got older. And, sure, I haven't dislocated for a while (though many near-misses) but at the rate it's going I'm worried that soon I won't be able to walk at all.

I'm really scared and would really appreciate any advice or testimonies you could send me way.

Hi there,

Hopefully this is ok to ask on this sub, my mom is going for knee replacement surgery at the end of the month, and looking to help make the recovery process easier. Is there anything I should/need to have for her post surgery?

Hi, I'm 6 weeks after MPFL reconstruction surgery. Currently with my physical therapist, I can flex my knee around 70 degrees or so. I wanted to know when the unlock will happen? And above all, will I hear something like a "click" or something likes a that?

(40F) Started CrossFit 2 months ago and developing pain on outer side of right knee, especially during squats. No swelling but feels unstable sometimes. Already focusing on form but wondering if I need to modify certain movements?

I'm 26 years old now. I've been having trouble with my right knee since summer of 2020. It all started after I got super into running and had built up to running around 5 miles 3 times a week over the course of 6 months. I was already athletic and lifted and did sports so it was not that intense of a buildup. Then I got runners knee in my right knee which never seemed to get better. By the beginning of 2021 I was having sharp stabbing pains in my knee every time I bent it around 15-20 degrees and put weight on it. Around half the time I would still get those sharp stabbing pains if bent my knee without putting weight on it (like laying down), so I went to an orthopedic that said they specialized in knee injuries. I got an x-ray but no MRI and was diagnosed with PFPS (Which I felt was just a way to say "We have no idea why your knee hurts") and given a list of exercises to do at home.

I did the exercises for a few months and it seemed to help a little, I was still getting sharp shooting pains when I bent my leg and put weight on it, but it no longer felt like I was getting stabbed with a knife in my knee. So I tried to get on with my life, continued to try to lift while taking it easy on my knee and do other activities like rock climbing, but I could not run as the stabbing pains would come back. This continued for another 2 years without getting better and I decided enough and went to the orthopedic again. Still no MRI and he referred me to a physical therapist. This time they said I had patellar Maltracking and patellar tendonitis. I worked with the PT for a few months and most of the pain went away.

But now, even though most of the pain is gone (unless I do heavier physical activity, still no running) I have an issue where it feels like something is loose in my knee. If I completely bend my knee it feels like it catches at the very end of the bend and does a super loud pop. No pain associated with the pop, but it's not normal, you can hear it from 30 feet away and I can't feel my kneecap shifting with my hand so I don't think its the patella snapping back into its groove. I just want my knees to be normal. I want to do heavy physical activity, I want to RUN.

Now though, I'm 26. I don't have health insurance as I'm off my parents plan this year. On the bright side, I got a job offer with health insurance benefits but I don't start till January. I really want to get an MRI right when my benefits kick in and find out wtf is going on. But can they deny me coverage because I have had knee issues for the past few years? Also what does this sound like? I'm thinking I might have had a meniscus tear initially and now it's either shaped funny or floating around and making this ungodly sound that no knee should ever make. Will I need surgery? I'm so tired of this.

About 4 months ago I was riding my scooter, when I went to stop with my left leg, my heel slammed into the ground and I felt immediate pain in my knee, and it hasn’t gone away. I have limited mobility in that knee, immediate help required.

Hi. I have knee pain in both of my knees. It's been going on for 6-7 years but in the last 4 months its been getting way worse. It turned into a constant pain and my hip and back been hurting too. I went to many different doctors and they didn't found anything. All the physical examination is normal. My x-ray is normal. I had an MRI and they found bilateral Hoffa hypertrophy without obvious active impingement. Im not so sure what this means. Its been really bad. I often wake up because of the pain in my knees. It usually hurts more if i walk, walk up and down the stairs or anything physical. Also its been hurting even when im resting it. In the last few weeks my legs been getting numb for 10-20 minuets daily. Also every time I walk my knees just click and every click hurts. All I get every time when i go to the doctors is that i need to rest it or that i need to exercise more. I tried multiple painkiller too and didn't helped at all. Also tried physical therapy putting ice or heat on my knees but nothing. I also went to rheumatologist and they did multiple test. They testet me for autoimmune diseases and everything came back negative. I don't know what to do. I dont know what to do.. Does anyone have any idea what is this? Anything that could help? I really need help. This is the last thing I could think of

I injured my knee due to jumping I went to doctor and they said I’m going do physical therapy to able to get approval for an MRI. The physical therapy is yet to start still after a month from now. My issue now is I can’t stand on my leg at all I feel like my knee is loose and the side of my knee feels like something is ripped. I always want to bend it all the time and don’t want to extend it at all. Should I go to the emergency room and see what they can do or wait till physical therapy? Or what to really do??? I wrap it very hard so there is a support to that place because without wrapping it I can’t walk, it feels so loose All of this started April 2024 Thank you

Hi , I would like to give a bit of background - I had been an obese person all my life and started on a weightloss journey at 95kgs as a 22year old female. Reduced 30 kgs through a calorie deficit diet and brisk walking only over a course of 1.5 years targeting 0.5 kg every week. Did a lot of walking, like 7 kms daily at a high pace. By the end of it, i started having pain on either side of the patella on both knees. It was diagnosed as fat pad impingement. I stopped brisk walking for abt 4 months, Did some PT, and it reduced significantly. But never went away completely. I started brisk walking again. 2 years later, I increased the distance a bit and reduced 3 more kgs, and soon enough, i started having intense pain along the patellar tendon, and it was constant. This time it was diagnosed as patellar tendinitis. Again stopped exercise and did some PT, now the pain along the tendon went away, but the pain on the fat pad is killing me. I cannot stand even for 5 mins without pain, let alone exercise. The MRI did not show any major concerns except for mild pad pad impingement, which doctors say is just an observation. I have visited a dozen orthopaedic doctors and only been told there really is no evidence of an injury, but one thing they told me was, I have a misaligned knee - mild knock knees and patella alta( knee cap sitting slighlt above its usual position). So this misalignment along with overuse is causing pain.

But i have given relative rest for the last 4 months, doing a lot of stretching, icing, taking collagen supplements and good nutition, took anti-inflammatory pills, but the pain just doesn't seem to go away!! I know strengthening is the only solution for this, and im willing to do all of that religiously, but Im told that i shouldn't strengthen when there is pain, and Im really not able to do any of them like wall squats or anything. Did a bunch of vitamin C, D ,B12 and mineral tests, a few of them came back as deficient and i took supplements to correct it. I also get cracking sounds very often from my knees. Doctors say cartilage seems fine, so no concern of osteoarthritis.

PS - Over the last few months, I have also been having pain near the quadracep tendon and on the quad muscles themselves. So I'm not sure what combination of injuries I have - patellar tendinitis/quadracep tendinitis/knee fat pad impingement. Also I feel I need a very carefully drafted exercise set to cater to my condition. I also feel I have lost muscle during my weightloss, which may have altered the biomechanics of my knee - Like glute/hamsting/quad strength. I have tried to test for imbalances myself by trying exercise like single leg bridge and I seemed to hold it fine. I also am quite flexible generally. I know I need to work on my lower body strength , but I just want the pain to reduce a bit so I can get to the stage of strengthening.

My real frustration comes from the fact there is not enough conclusive evidence on MRI for doctors to take me seriously, but I have been in pain for the last 3 years.The patellar tendon and quadracep tendon looks intact in the MRI images. Are MRI's really accurate in detecting scar tissues ? Also do PRP injections really work? I donot want to take steroid injections, but even i want to, there doesnt seem to be inflammation seen in the images, so not sure if the tendon is inflamed or damaged in other ways.

Im really really desperate to find a solution and its affecting my quality of life badly. I am looking to get married in the next 1 year and I cannot imagine a married life with this pain. If anyone has had a similar expereince like this, i it would be really helpful if you shared it and I would be grateful for it. Thanks in advance!

Hi so to start off back in October, the 27th i had woken up to my left knee swelling. Thought I mightve slept on it wrong so I just iced it and didn't do much thay day. next day comes around and my knee is worse and I can hardly walk on it. I go to the ER and they pyt me through a CT scan. they say it's not infected and theres no signs of twars or anything broken, so there'd no need to pull fluid for testing and give me 800mg of ibuprofen. still a week later, nothings getting better and I still can barely walk. I go to my regular doctor and she reccomends a Orthopedist, get a next day appointment, get xrayed and they say the same thing. she puts me on steroids this time, they work for a bit until I run out and the day after it starts swelling again. so I go back, she puts me on a stronger anti-inflammatory Ketorolac, it worked for day 1 of taking it and then it swelled up again. I've still been taking it but now my leg is just extremely sore all of the time, I woke up this morning and the bottom left side of my foot is numb, I can't feel touch only pressure of touch. the orthopedics office is closed today and my MRI isn't until Dec 13th. I'm freaking out a little and not entirely sure what to do. I can't really afford to go to the ER again. do I stop taking the medication just in case it's that making it worse?? I don't know, I need help.

I haven’t had an MRi but am pretty sure I hurt my medial meniscus. Didn’t do anything abrupt - what probably did it was a combo of running, a 6 mile hike with a weight vest and a crossfit wod with a couple hundred air squats. It’s been almost 3 weeks and it’s still painful. Any idea how long it will take? I’ll prob get an mri regardless

I have a question about my MRI results, as I am confused about the wording. To summarize, I am a 23-year-old male who fell and twisted my right knee a month ago. It was significantly swollen, and I had to use crutches for almost two weeks after the fall, the swelling has since subsided. Currently, the pain is achy when at rest. Walking, twisting motions, and flexion cause immediate pinpoint pain in the posterior part of my knee, which subsides with rest. My PCP ordered an MRI, but I’m still waiting for her to interpret the results. I have received the radiologist's report, but I’m unsure how to interpret it. The wording states that I strained my PCL, but I thought strains only pertained to muscles and tendons. Sorry for no imaging; I’m still waiting for the hospital to release them.

Hey y’all! I’m not really sure when it started, but for the past couple of years my knee has always popped, specifically when I go up stairs and whatnot. If I bend down, no matter how I stand up, my knee makes a clicking/popping/crackling noise. It was never painful at all, until I took a pretty hard fall about 2 weeks ago. Just a bump in the road where I was walking and my shoe got stuck and I tripped and fell onto my knees. Originally, it was fine and I thought maybe it was just a scrape and I went about the rest of my day just fine. That night, I woke up and had to pee and got up and just could not walk at all. My right knee hurt so bad and I had to hold onto my surroundings just to make it to the bathroom which is literally the room next to mine. The next morning, I went to the ER (as it is the only thing my insurance will cover unfortunately) and they did an x-ray and said everything came back normal and they sent me home with a possible meniscus tear/sprain or strain. They recommended I follow up with my primary care doctor. I got an appointment for this past tuesday, and she couldn’t really diagnose me with anything except for “pain in right knee”. She gave me a steroid/lidocaine injection in the knee joint and said that would rule out arthritis if it didn’t completely fix it, but also hopefully relieve some pain while I wait for them to call my insurance provider and see what sort of discount I can get on an MRI scan.

I can’t pinpoint any exact point of pain in the knee, it just is so uncomfortable even when it is resting that it has become unbearable. I can’t sleep because I can’t get my knee into any position where it is comfortable. It feels so hard to describe the actual pain. Does anyone in this subreddit have any sort of thought to what this could be or relate in any sort of way? Any advice as to what to do to make it bearable, or any hypothesis as to what has happened is welcome.

I have this scheduled in January. I’ve had knee pain daily for almost 4 years and nothing helps so my dr wants to do a scope. I had an mri and it shows a flap of torn cartlidge. He thinks a scope can get rid of about 90% of my pain. It’s supposed to be about a 15 minute procedure and he said I’ll go home on crutches and will be walking normally in a week.

Anyone else have this procedure? Is this something that usually requires a nerve block? Idk why but the idea of a nerve block really scares me

Hey there! I live in Mexico part time and of course it was a lot faster and easier to get an MRI of my Knee there. However it’s in Spanish and is translated below. I hope to be able to afford to go see a specialist very soon, but just wondering if anyone would be able to interpret these results to help me out for now…

Study: MRI LEFT KNEE Dr. Aqc FN: 02/06/82 Date: 28/11/24 T1, T2 and DP-weighted MRI study, showing the following findings: Increased intensity of the subcutaneous cellular tissue of the anterior region of the knee (infrapatellar). Increased intensity of Hoffa fat. Focal areas of increased signal intensity at the level of the lateral femoral condyle. Osteophytes are observed in both femoral condyles. Decreased medial femorotibial space, preserved, the chondral lining is of normal thickness and signal. Lateral meniscus; both the anterior and posterior horn with the presence of a hyperintense line that contacts the lower articular surface seen in consecutive images. Medial meniscus; posterior horn with small focal area of ​​increased signal intensity, anterior horn of normal signal and morphology. Signal intensity changes in the distal portion of the patellar tendon. Signal intensity changes in the oblique popliteal ligament. The thickness, signal, path and insertion of the cruciate and collateral ligaments and quadriceps tendon are respected. The patella is lateralized, the articular cartilage in its medial portion is observed to be reduced in thickness associated with signal intensity changes, intact patellar retinacula. Insall-Salvati index of 1.27. Synovial fluid with normal volume and signal, with no evidence of distension of the recesses. The structures that make up the popliteal fossa are unchanged. Diagnostic impression: Lesion of the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus grade 3. Lesion of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus grade 3. Lesion of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus grade 1. Patellar tendinosis. Lesion of the oblique popliteal ligament. Areas of bone edema at the level of the lateral femoral condyle. Hoffitis. Chondromalacia grade 2. Patella high and lateralized. AV. Friar

I fell while rollerblading and twisted my left leg outwards and my kneecap popped out the same way. I popped it back in myself while still slightly disoriented from falling so it couldn't have been out for more than 2 seconds. I put ice on it immediately and I'm laying on my back with my leg up on my bedframe. It hasn't swollen that much and there's no pain unless I put weight on it. 

My question is do I still need to go to the ER or can I just Stay in bed until Monday

I’m getting MPFL reconstruction on the 11th of december. I’m going to disneyland paris on the 2nd and 3rd. Do you think I will be safe going on the roller coasters ? My knee dislocated twice this year. First one in february and the second one at my first training back about 6 months after ( without surgery ). Please help

I was diagnosed with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) about 6 months ago after I noticed searing pain from my left knee after straightening out my leg from sitting cross-legged. The sports medicine doctor I saw basically said there was no immediate solution and suggested I did leg exercises and walk more, which I did for about 4 months but fell out of the habit because of work.

When I first got diagnosed, I would say the pain was about a 7. Today, it’s like an 11. If I sit cross-legged for an hour while I’m on the computer and then stretch my legs out, the pain from my left knee is so bad that I have to hold back a scream and I feel like I’m going to vomit. It’s probably the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life for about 30 seconds. Also, I’ve noticed that when I stretch my legs out, my left knee now clicks/pops which makes the pain even worse (didn’t do that before).

I’m 24 and I’m terrified that I’m destroying my knee and I don’t know what to do about it anymore. I don’t feel like the walking/exercises that I was doing before were helping and now it’s significantly worse than it was 6 months ago. What can I do to help? I’m not very active/athletic, I don’t even run regularly or anything so I don’t really understand how I got this in the first place. I also never feel the pain while walking, only when stretching out my legs.

I got my first cortisone injection in my knee 7 days ago and its hurt way worse than it ever had! My doctors office doesn’t seem concerned (they keep saying “give us an update tomorrow) but everything Ive read said a flare should be brief.

Has this happened to anyone before?

Looking for fitness advice. I'm likely going to have a knee reconstruction in about 6 months. It's a 30yo unreconstructed ACL/MCL/meniscus tear that I've been able to live with very well, but recently I've done some new damage to the meniscus and the thing has become a literal and figurative pain to deal with. I have a Dr visit in the new year and then will get the necessary imaging and will go from there.

However - I want to be in the best shape possible going into surgery so I can have the fastest possible recovery. I know that one of the best things I can do is get back to a healthy weight. But I've also been looking up exercises to make myself as strong as possible, and all I'm finding is stuff that seems geared toward couch dwellers. Stuff like "lay down and bend your legs", "take walks", and "do incline pushups on the counter to be ready for crutches". I work a warehouse-type job and already spend all day walking, standing, squatting, lifting, and carrying. So "try to bend your legs a bit" isn't helpful to me.

I have already incorporated mobility type exercises like leg lifts and glute bridges into my routine. But I'm looking for next-level stuff. Any help is appreciated.