Knee injury - have to wait for treatment. Any exercises I can do in the mean time?

Hello Ladies! 5 days ago I crashed pretty specularity which I'm guessing damaged the ligaments in my right knee. There is still some swelling, lateral stability is weak at best and I don't have very good range of motion. Unfortunately, my husband just started a new job and so we won't have health insurance for another 4-6 weeks.

I know I need to see a Dr. but that's just not going to happen until we have insurance. I've already been told by a nurse they will need to look at it with an MRI. (I'm getting acupuncture done on Sat as an alternative).

What I was wondering is for those of you that have had knee injuries, were there any exercises recommended to help strengthen the area or keep it loose?

I would like to keep it from atrophying until I can get into the sports med clinic in 4-6 weeks.

Thanks!
Scrappy

I wouldn't think you should do anything until it's checked out, but if you insisted I'd pick swimming. I've had a few friends with knee replacements and surgery and they always do aqua therapy.

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Originally Posted by Scrappy

I would like to keep it from atrophying until I can get into the sports med clinic in 4-6 weeks.

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You can rebuild the muscle. 4-6 weeks is a long time to go during which the injury could get worse and progress to requiring surgery. Swimming is a good suggestion. You can call now to get your appt made 6 weeks from now. If you wait until insurance kicks in to get the appt made, you might be waiting another 4-6 wks!

Maybe I'm missing something, but even if you wait until the new insurance kicks in, won't the injury be declared a "pre-existing condition" and, therefore, not covered under the new policy?

I'd think if he has already started working there, you could go now and the insurance should still cover you, you might just have to file the claims later. I think the coverage should kick in on the date you start work, even if all of the paperwork and getting stuff taken care of isn't done yet. But maybe it's different there.

Hmm, I'm not sure how his coverage will work for pre-existing conditions. I will cross that bridge when I get there, but in the mean time I need to keep working that leg. Swimming is a great idea but I don't have ready access to a pool. Any machines at the gym that will help?

Thanks so much!
Scrappy

Rest and ice.

Maybe for insurance purposes, the accident hasn't even happened yet.

I would not try to strengthen an injured knee if you don't even know what you have done. First off, even if you did something to the knee, a doctor would not have you doing strengthening exercises right off the bat. You must get the swelling, etc. out of the knee before you would ever do strenghthening things.

So, rest, ice, elevation, anti-inflammatories if your stomach can tolerate them, try not use as much as possible; no exercises!

Then once you know if you have injured something. You need to find out if it is serious or not. If it is really requires surgery, then you have the surgery. And, then any exercises to strengthen would be done well after surgery.

If no surgery is necessary and it is just a minor injury, once the inflammation, etc. is gone, you could slowly begin strengthening exercises which probably should be supervised by a PT or some such professional.

spoke

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Originally Posted by Scrappy

Hmm, I'm not sure how his coverage will work for pre-existing conditions. I will cross that bridge when I get there, but in the mean time I need to keep working that leg. Swimming is a great idea but I don't have ready access to a pool. Any machines at the gym that will help?

Thanks so much!
Scrappy

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Can you make some inquiries now as to coverage? Even the injury isn't going to be covered, then you might as well find out now and get whatever care you can afford out of pocket (understanding that some costs can be negotiated). To wait four to six weeks for your coverage to kick in only to find out it's not coverage seems like a waste of time.

Thank you everyone for the helpful feedback! I have a call into my husband's employer to find out if the benefits go retro-active to the date of hire (good suggestion!) - hopefully I will find out the answer on Monday.

If not, I wasn't planning on telling the Dr. the exact date of the injury. A torn ligament won't heal that much in a month on it's own - especially since I am a terrible patient and cannot stay sitting on my butt all day resting.

Friends have brought me over a cane and some crutches so I can get around slowly. The knee can bear some weight, but feels very unstable... such a strange sensation :-b

I tried the recumbent stationary bike yesterday at the gym but the cranks are too long and my knee doesn't want to bend past 90 degrees. (it must have stiffened up - after the crash I biked 4 miles home - mild shock is a great painkiller)

Scrappy

I crashed my bike a couple of years ago and injured my knee. It didn't hurt but the knee swelled up pretty good and I found that I couldn't put weight on that leg without locking my knee. Otherwise it would just collapse. I went in to see the doctor the next day and they took Xrays and found that I had fractured my tibia. The doctor said that I was very fortunate that the fracture hadn't sheered to the left or right (because most of this type do) or it would have required surgery. Immediately, I was put in a wheelchair and told not to put any weight on that leg until it healed (it was 6-8 weeks). I didn't get any cast, just time in the wheelchair. I think the doctor was concerned that putting weight on it might worsen it and possibly cause it to sheer.

After a certain period of time (I don't recall the exact length of time maybe 4-6 weeks), the doctor had me see a physical therapist who gave me leg exercises to strengthen the muscles. I was told cycling would help strengthen the knee so of course once I was allowed out of the wheelchair, I was back on an indoor bike and then on my regular bike. :)

When the accident first happened, I wasn't in any pain. The knee was extremely swollen and my leg couldn't bear any weight if it was bent. So I didn't anticipate a fracture or wheelchair time but I knew something was definitely messed up.

When possible, I would see a doctor as soon as you are able.

As someone who has worked for the evil insurance companies for 23 years I can tell you coverage isn't retro active, but almost always pre existing is covered. Obviously you'll have to make sure, but most of the time that is the case.

Hi Everyone, good news! Major improvement! - yesterday afternoon I was taking a "standing break" in my kitchen and my knee suddenly made a 'pop' and all at once regained some range of motion! This morning I was able to take about a dozen or so unsupported steps - woohoo! It's still unstable - but at least it feels straight again :-)

Baby Steps!
Scrappy

I just have to chime in here. If you are seriously injured--and it certainly seems like you are--please go to a doctor. Don't wait; you risk doing permanent damage. Figure out payment later--hospitals will work with you.

If it were your child, would you do the same thing? Take care of your self.

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Originally Posted by tulip

I just have to chime in here. If you are seriously injured--and it certainly seems like you are--please go to a doctor. Don't wait; you risk doing permanent damage. Figure out payment later--hospitals will work with you.

If it were your child, would you do the same thing? Take care of your self.

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I will chime in to say I agree 100% with Tulip. I would not spend any money on acupuncture (mention in the very first posting) -- an unstable knee has a serious biomechanical issue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scrappy

Hi Everyone, good news! Major improvement! - yesterday afternoon I was taking a "standing break" in my kitchen and my knee suddenly made a 'pop' and all at once regained some range of motion! This morning I was able to take about a dozen or so unsupported steps - woohoo! It's still unstable - but at least it feels straight again :-)

Baby Steps!
Scrappy

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I've been meaning to get to this thread for several days and haven't had time to address it appropriately. But I do have some time tonight.

There are three things here that point strongly to meniscal damage - 1) significant swelling, 2) feeling very unstable and difficulty weight bearing and 3) the quote above.

If you have a meniscal tear, the flappy part of the tear can get into a non-anatomical position (twisted on itself, folded back on itself) and will block normal motion. If the knee suddenly pops and then can straighten all the way, it's usually because something has happened to change the position of the flappy bit of the tear and gotten it out of the way so to speak.

The other condition that does this, but usually self corrects within hours not weeks of the incident is a patellar dislocation. So I would consider this less likely.

Either situation is considered significant and needs to be investigated further.

The danger of waiting a long time to have it looked at is that every week you go without using it normally, the more muscle wasting that occurs and the longer your rehab will be after the fact. But you aren't going to risk further structural damage to the joint by waiting.

Meanwhile, you can ride a stationary bike without clipping in, on light resistance. This is considered a non-weight bearing exercise and that is the key right now. If you can't go all the way around with the pedals, you can oscillate back and forth and that can help loosen the knee quite a lot. Don't try to force any motion, that can make a meniscal tear worse.

Don't try to do any squats or other weight bearing exercise that has you going into a knee bend until you've had this properly looked at!!!

Here are some other suggestions but don't do them if they are painful at all!!!

I would do this with the legs relatively straight and start by having your whole lower leg, up to the knee supported by the ball. If you don't have a ball you can do this with an ottoman or chair.

This video shows a bunch of different weight bearing exercises that would be quite safe to do as long as you don't have any pain. It's a bit long but worth watching, especially for the quad exercises and the side lying gluteus medius exercise.

I hope that helps some.

And yes, YOU STILL NEED TO GO GET IT CHECKED OUT!

Heal well and fast.

Hello! Thank you everyone for the support. I have been doing the exercises in the articles you ladies have shown me. The good news is since that small pop this weekend, and with the regular exercise it has gotten MUCH better thankfully. (whew!) I have been able to walk on it short distances with a cane or single crutch and was able to do some easy leg exercises at the gym.

I managed a few revolutions on the stationary bike at the gym today. Still pretty stiff and slow. It didn't help that the adjustable seat slid down like 2 clicks with my knee at the apex of the pedal stroke (read - in bend.) Bending it waaay more than it felt like going on it's own. YEEOUCH!

A friend ours specializes in shortening bicycle cranks - he put together a stationary recumbent exercise bike with 125mm cranks so I can start strengthing it without too much strain on the knee joint. (I can't wait to get it home and try it out!) He's also going to put short cranks and a 28t front chainring on our semi-recumbent hybrid so I can ease back into riding soon... YAY!

I know it still needs to be seen by a Dr, but at least now I can get around and get out of the house.. and soon... soon.. I'll be back feeling the wind in my hair.....ahhhh :-)

With Gratitude! And to be continued...
Scrappy