Injured knee result of fast bowling

[gh05]

Hi guys,

I'm 25 and am usually very active and play a sport which is very hard on the knees. Well i noticed about a year ago that my left knee was producing a grinding noise if i did a full squat (both my knee's have always clicked but this was a different noise) and i just had to ignore it basically and carry on what i was doing as there was no pain. Well recently i haven't done too much sport but it feels like i might have realy damaged the cartilage in my knee. It feels like something is stuck in the joint because not only does it make a grinding noise louder than ever before but it feels like it's locking slightly whenever i bend it and it also feels weak if i put my weight on it.

I'm really worried about this because i don't want to go from being healthy and active to totally inactive. I also play sport at quiet a high level and not being able to do so anymore might affect me financially to (semi-pro). I just want to get it resolved as quickly as possible...I'm worried that if i go to my GP i'll be put on a waiting list for 9 months before i even get seen. Have considered private medical insurance just to get it sorted quickly but they don't treat pre-existing conditions.

Does it sound like serious cartilage damage to you? How's the best way that i can get it treated quickly? Should i go to the casualty to speed things up or will they just send me away because it's not serious enough?

Thanks guys.

[Heidi]

Hi,

This could be one of a couple of things. The simplest and best result for you would be patello-femoral pain syndrome. This is due to a lot of factors including muscle imbalances, biomechanical problems etc. You can find out more here:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/knee/indexcmp.php

It tends to produce symptoms of aching, clicking and giving way. Also pain when walking up or downstairs? It just comes on gradually, rather than a sudden incident. If you think it may be this it can be treated but you do have to work out what is causing the problem - associated with maltracking of the patella. Usually weakness of the VMO muscle, tight quads, hamstrings and/or calf, weak hip abductors and overpronating feet are all common causes, often in combination.

The other alternative really is cartilage damage. However, if it was a meniscus tear, which produces the symptoms you have said about, you would usually have known exactly when it happens. It makes a reliatively strong force to the knee to do this. Have a look at this page for more info:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/knee/medialmeniscus.htm

It could be a case of a fragment of cartilage or bone floating around in the joint too, this also causes these kind of symptoms.

The best bet is to get an MRI scan done on the knee. This is the only way of knowing exactly what is happening in the knee. Whatever the problem it is going to need some form of treatment - whether it be exercise therapy for patello-femoral pain or worst case scenario surgery for a loose body or cartilage tear (they don't always require surgery either!)

Good luck!