MCL injury (knee) help please?

[ducaticanine]

hi.i'm a 35 yr old very healthy guy...

7.5 weeks ago i slipped on the squash court. hurt my knee. for 2 weeks i was limping and definitely had some pain. after that, i could walk totally normal and even ride a bike or swim. even until now.

after 4 weeks, i attempted to play a game of squash. but..no. instantly as i moved back and forth..it hurt. so,i stopped after 10minutes. as i said, its now been 7.5 weeks now..i can walk completely normal. but the pain still is there. inside. i even feel it in the morning in bed as i roll around. or just moving a certain way, theres the pain. very slight,but its there.

will this EVER go away?? i want to play squash so bad... what should i do? i dont think a doctor will say anything except to continue to rest. i assume if it were SERIOUS, i wouldnt be able to walk or it'd be very painful or something. any ideas please. the pain is on the inner side of the knee joint. as I've read it seems to be connected to the MCL part of the knee...

please email me for helpful advice: 73matarazzo@gmail.com

thank you

[Heidi]

Hi,

An MCL injury is possible. Another alternative is medial meniscus (cartilage).

The best way to try to determine this is to palpate the area where the MCL is. You can see this here:

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

Pain suggests damage. Another test is to put the medial ligament under stress by applying gentle pressure to the outside of the knee - keep the foot and hip still and knee slightly bent.

The other possibility is medial mensicus damage, which is the inner ring of cartilage inside the knee. Symptoms of this include anything like clicking, locking or giving way. You can find out more here:

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

Symptoms for this injury vary depending on the severity of the injury.

I would advise that you try your Doctor, especially if you think it may be cartilage. Some are more helpful than others with musculoskeletal conditions.

If no help there I would also recommend some physio to help whatever the damaged structure is heal and to re-strengthen the knee.

Either way, you should be able to play squash again. It might just take a bit of time and effort to get there.

Good luck!