Interior Knee Damage

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Heidi,

First thank you very much for setting up this website and donating your time and knowledge to help the rest of us. Very kind of you

I'm 40 and out of shape, 30lbs overweight after already losing 40lbs on Atkins since Nov 2010. So I decided to begin a jump rope program. All went well jumping rope on my deck. Last Thursday it was raining so I went indoors to exercise on a wood floor. I had a great workout that lasted 40min, I pushed myself to go as long as possible. Felt great afterward. That night both knees tightened up, so I got two neoprene knee sleeves. Next day my left knee felt okay but the right knee didn't improve at all.

It's been a week and the right knee hasn't improved one bit, might have even gotten worse. I can't bear much weight on it and I'm shuffling around with a limp. I can bend full motion with little trouble when I'm lying down. When I put pressure all around the area, there is direct pain when I squeeze the interior area about two inches below the patella. The patella itself feels fine though a little squishy. According to what I've read here on the website the most likely description is Pes Anserine Bursitis as behind the knee is tight as well. I'm icing both the front interior and back of the knee. I'm keeping it at rest and taking glucosamine. But again no improvement.

I don't have insurance and I can't afford to spend $1000 on tests just to have the doc tell me what I've learned here on your site and to continue resting the knee. So how long does an injury like this last? Do you think accupuncture might provide some relief? Is there a preferred position when resting the knee to help the healing process? Is there a point where I don't have a choice and simply must go to a doc? Any other advice you might have? And finally, does this mean I should never jump rope again?

Thank you!

Best,
Greg

[Heidi]

Hi
It doesn't mean that you should never do it again, however you should consider why this has happened.
Was that session a lot longer or harder than previous ones? Was the surface harder? I would imagine a deck has more spring in it that the wooden floor so this may be a cause.
You're doing the right thing to rest, ice and wear a knee support. Try to gently stretch the quads, hamstrings, groin and calf muscles.
If you have had no improvement in another week then I would advise you to see someone.