Knee injury

[rkrog]

Few months ago my right knee start to hurt, very likely (I suppose) due to a hard fumi komi ashi. There is a sharp "click" during bending. All indicates that menisc muscle is about to be torn apart.
what to do - what not to do?
robert

[David J]

Go see a doctor? I'm biased, but if you can find a good osteopath I would go see one of them in preference.

By the by, my left knee has clicked extremely loudly for years - no problems at all.

<rei>

Dave

[ben]

Go see a doctor.

[Critical_Bill]

don't screw with it, see a doctor.
I have the same clicking in my right knee, but not to troubbled with it, only when i try 7th kata does it act up. however wearing a kneebrace/kneepad helps.

[Haowen]

Stop training immediately and see a doctor (a good one, not some witch doctor). I had the same problem when I was an undergrad and the school doctor had absolutely nothing to say except "rest". pfft. I would recommend chiropractic treatment to make sure things mend up properly aligned, Physiotherapy helps too.

By the way the meniscus is not a muscle, it's a piece of cartilage in your knee that acts as a shock absorber when your leg impacts. It can take quite a lot of pressure so it's possible that it's not your meniscus that's torn but just the surrounding ligaments. Still these things typically take months to heal so make sure you don't go back to training until you have recovered your full strength and range of motion.

Commiserations... I'm on hiatus too because of a nerve problem in my hands.

[David J]

Ok, here's the scoop from my missus (an osteopath)

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By all means go and see your doctor IF you happen to know that they have GOOD orthopaedic knowledge. Your lucky if they do, without doing doctors too much of a dis-service they can't specialise in everything. If not don't bother, it's a waste of time. The most likely route here would be for them to either fob you off with some painkillers or put you on a waiting list for an orthopaedic consultant. Then you can sit back and wait years!

DO go and see either an osteopath (obviously my preference), a chiropractor or physio. The musculoskeletal system and how it works is our speciality.

Your choice will depend on where you live, who is available nearby and of course, cost! If you know anyone who can recommend a physical therapist to you even better.

The therapist should take a detailed case history of the nature, location of pain, onset, progression, aggravating, relieving factors, your current general health and family history. They then should put you through a series of active and passive movements and tests to evaluate the tissue causing your symptoms. If they feel physical treatment is relevant a plan will be discussed and initiated. However, if an operation is more appropriate they'll probably have contacts with people and may be able to speed up the process and can then help post-operatively with rehabilitation exercises.

I can't give you any idea from what you've posted on exactly why you're getting the pain without the above details or seeing you but hopefully with some treatment, care and suitable exercises you should be back to full fitness in no time. Hope this helps and if you let me know where you're based I might be able to recommend someone.

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<rei>

Dave

[James R]

rkrog, you could try taking the food supplement Glucosamine Sulphate, Glucosamine is present in almost all parts of the body but mostly in connective tissue.

Cartliage is the protective material that stops bones rubbing together in the joints, part of Glucosamine's function is to enhance the synovial fluid - that's the 'glue' that holds cartliage tissue together - which in turn helps to lubricate the joints.

Glucosamine supplementation can help the body to manufacture molecules called glycosaminoglycans and it's these that give cartliage its functional shock absorber effect.

If you do a search on the web you can find a wealth of info on the positive effects of Glucosamine, remember it is not a drug but a naturaly occuring product in our bodies.

[David J]

Hi it's your friendly osteo here.

As James correctly advises glucosamine is a well worth supplement to take.

If you do so you'll ideally need glucosamine HCl (1,500 mg/day), chondroitin sulfate (1,200 mg/day), and manganese ascorbate (228 mg/day) , they work best in conjunction. Bear in mind though that it takes around a month before you start getting any benefit, so if you go along this route don't give up taking it and find yourself a cost effective supplier on the internet.

Also very worth while taking is omega 6, again naturally present especially in fish but very good for joints.

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<rei>

Dave

[rottunpunk]

i broke my right knee when i was ten
and due to medical negligence it wasnt found out till i saw a specialist

henyways so davids advice of a good osteopath is spot on
mine was fixed in about three sessions (until i bust it up again and havent bothered getting it re-done)

but yeah, get it checked out, and if it hurts try not to stamp it so much

hope you get better

:p