Get it scoped or at least waggled back and forth by an ortho.
Snapped my ACL this one time while skateboarding, and since I could walk a few days later, although it would lock into this painful notch every once in a while for the next 12 years, I thought, oh well, I notched it or whatever.
But the cartilage between the bones wears away after a while of the instability. It gets worse and worse, so get it looked at. If the ligament snapped, can probably be fixed without too much lasting damage to anything, if the cartilage gets an edge chewed off/torn up, it can be fixed to some extent, but let the stuff all grind on each other until it hits bone, and you can end up kinda f’d
Been there more than once. Have a doc check it out, about three different ones and before you do anything think deeply about it. If the doc is not an option stay off it, keep it up and use heat and or cool for therapy. Water is a good environment for rehab. All the best. Don’t listen to my signature at the end of the post. It will come back.
been there a few times too…if you can walk…that’s a good sign…but stay off of it regardless, see an ortho if possible, stretch if you can, anti-inflammatories (watch those interactions though), elevation, ice(!)…re: rehab…biking, swimming, light squats, isometrics, yoga are great…skiing, snowboarding, surfing are bad (sorry)…I once became a sponger again after knee surgery…it was pretty cool to get back in the barrel all the time (not to mention the H2O, but that rag-doll lame leg can still get tweaked even if you don’t stand on it (or at least at 2x overhead Jalama it can!). i keep seeing ads saying that california emergency rooms never turn anyone away on tv…if you dont’ have insurance, maybe you should take them at their word and go see if you can get some help. good luck!
I’ve got some experience with knee injury. A few years ago I practially twisted my upper leg off the bottom. My knee hinged to the side and I heard a loud pop as it folded under me. Severred ACL, a large bucket handle tear though my medial meniscus, badly strained LCL, and bone bruise in my tibia. Ya, nice. Thanks astro-turf.
Had a good doctor who referred me to a good ortho surgeon. After grafting in a dead guys tendon, sewing up my meniscus, rehab, and time, I’d say I’m almost as good as before.
I’d say if you’re sure you badly injured, see a doctor. You’re probably going to need an MRI. They tell the story way better than an x-ray. The good news is that things like a minor ligament tear or a torn inner menicus edge can hurt like hell, swell up, and limit range of motion, but are relatively easy to fix and recover from. So, it’s possible that it seems worse than it is.
In the mean time, RICE. Rest Ice Compress Elevate.
I have HMO so I don’t get to have an MRI done until I wait for two weeks. I just want to get on with it and get it fixed so I can surf. I blew my left one in 1991 (ACL, MCL, PCL, LCL, MENISCUS) playing football and was told I’d never run or play a sport again, let alone surf… rehabbed like a mad man for 4 years and proved 'em wrong… It’s been so long though, I can’t remember if this feels the same or worse. I know I heard and audible “Pop!” or “Snap!” and lost support at certain angles, so…
Anyone know how to get around the HMO game? They always try to avoid paying for anything.
Hey Kawika, depending on your HMO, it might be possible to email an ortho directly. This will get you in faster, and is one step closer to the MRI. If this isn’t possible, as I found four years ago when I blew out my knee, call and file a complaint. After nearly a month of getting the runaround from my HMO, my complaint call was returned in about an hour. Unfortunately, you have to be a squeaky wheel with these guys to get any oil…
I have HMO so I don’t get to have an MRI done until I wait for two weeks. I just want to get on with it and get it fixed so I can surf. I blew my left one in 1991 (ACL, MCL, PCL, LCL, MENISCUS) playing football and was told I’d never run or play a sport again, let alone surf… rehabbed like a mad man for 4 years and proved 'em wrong… It’s been so long though, I can’t remember if this feels the same or worse. I know I heard and audible “Pop!” or “Snap!” and lost support at certain angles, so…
Anyone know how to get around the HMO game? They always try to avoid paying for anything.
Dude they can’t dodge that–it’s not the same knee. That snap was the ligament–sounds textbook.
I know with some breaks they often need to wait a couple weeks before they can see the damage. Might not be the HMO being the bad guy (though if it is, it won’t be the first time).
One way to get around the HMO game would be to make an ER visit. I know with my HMO, the co-pay for an ER visit is $100, and I don’t need to make any other payments. All diagnostics are free, so that should cover an MRI. They may even do the MRI right then and there, but there’s no guarantee. I would beg for the MRI and see what happens.
One way to get around the HMO game would be to make an ER visit. I know with my HMO, the co-pay for an ER visit is $100, and I don’t need to make any other payments. All diagnostics are free, so that should cover an MRI. They may even do the MRI right then and there, but there’s no guarantee. I would beg for the MRI and see what happens
Every experience is different, but they don’t call your primary doctors in HMOs “gatekeepers” for nothing. They are paid to provide health care and to protect the financial assets of the corporation. Good ones are worth their weight in gold to both parties. Stonewallers need to be stomped, but that’s another story. Lance has a good idea here, although if you’ve already seen a regular HMO doc you may not have this option. If they’ve “made an appointment” that still hasn’t come up, you can check this strategy, plead urgency.
I went in to my PCP (Primary Care Physician) on Monday at 11:00. He said I have to make another appointment two weeks to the date, to try to get in for an MRI, so I made one.
Would I still be able to do the ER visit?
If so, how should I work that one?
I know tri-city is a 3-5 hour wait too… of course what’s the difference… 3-5 hours in front of my TV or 3-5 reading Swaylocks in the waiting room with my laptop…hmmmmmmm… I don’t get treated this well on vacation… wait a minute…
There’s got to be away around the waiting period. I’d go directly to the ER and say it’s gotten worse, and that your primary couldn’t fit you in today. About a year-and-a-half ago, our then 2yo daughter fell and hit her head. I took her to the ER that night, and she checked out ok. The next morning, she started vomiting. It was our primary care Pediatrician that ordered an immediate MRI that same morning. If you went to your Primary with a possible broken leg, I guarantee he wouldn’t make you wait two weeks for an X-ray. Maybe he can get you a referral for a joint specialist that wouldn’t make you wait 2 weeks?
Yeah Kawika, if your PCP put you on standby without regard for your ability to make a living, I think you should ER it and plead pain and incapacity.
(((Not take this thread off the rails, but it’s funny, I thought we had “the world’s best health care (industry)” precisely because of these great things corporate Health Management Organizations (sic!) and “you don’t have to wait” for stuff like this. I myself cant afford the shit, so whatever you guys have sounds pretty good–haha)))
(((Not take this thread off the rails, but it’s funny, I thought we had “the world’s best health care (industry)” precisely because of these great things corporate Health Management Organizations (sic!) and “you don’t have to wait” for stuff like this. I myself cant afford the shit, so whatever you guys have sounds pretty good–haha)))
Instead of “health management organizations” they should probably be called “Wealth management organizations” ;-)…but they’re certainly better than nothing, and after a decade using one in a couple of merged configurations I have to say they’ve done okay by me. Scared the crap out of me a time or two, and in “management” situations they’ve made some really dumb moves (how about 4 weeks of physical therapy for my wife’s knee to avoid the cost of an MRI, only to eventually do the MRI and discover a cyst in there…funny how that didn’t respond to weeks of PT), but overall okay. Like any big institutions, you have to learn the ins and outs…talking to others in your program is always educational.
Howzit Kawika, Make an appointment with Dr. Kent Davenport at Hawaii Medical Group next to Queens Hospital. I think he still has an office there, I heard he just does consultations these days but he is/was the best ortho doctor in Hawaii and worked with Drs. Jobe and Curlin who were the orthos for the Rams, Lakers and the Dodgers. He did a knee operation for torn cartilage on me in 81' and my knee is better than ever. Even if he doesn't do ops anymore he would defintly will refer you to a great doctor for the operation.Aloha,Kokua
