I'm 15, female. I dislocated my kneecap at school about 7 days ago, and it was located back immediately by a PE teacher. There were no fractures nor broken bones from the x-ray but my kneecap is now just slightly higher than its original place.
Have been on bandage cast then knee brace for the last week, and by the fourth day the pain wasn't so bad anymore. Right now it's almost painless but it still feels stiff. I can straighten my leg by now.
My orthopedist recommended me to get an MRI to check if there are any tears but it's awfully expensive and getting opinions from my doctor relatives it's not really necessary because she said that I'd be experiencing way more pain by now if it teared.
Is there any way to know how my tendon is without MRI, like perhaps my symptoms?
My patellas use dto dislocate as well. I think you would be in a lot more pain if anything was teared.
Sarah
Hi there,
i tore my meniscus in my right knee and it was very painful. It causes your knee to lock as you walk and I had a " stinging" pain. I got it fixed. Quite a simple operation done my keyhole surgery. Alas, I went back to work, which was a physical job, and I retore it. Never did get it fixed again. I ended up needing a bilateral knee replacement.
i think, like your GP said, if you'd had a tear, you'd know it, very painful. There's a lot going on in the knee. You've probably got some trauma there, and damaged the tissue around the knee. I'm sure if you go easy and rest it when it hurts. Bit late to start icing it.
I wish you well with your recovery. You're young and fit. You'll be back to normal soon. Take care.
sue
Everytime your patella (knee cap) pops out, the weaker the surrounding tissues. At your age, all the surrounding tissues are soft and growing. As your body matures your tendons and ligaments are playing catch up. Have you noticed that every now and then you bump into things that before you avoid, or seem to trip, when there is nothing to trip over? The same goes for your knee cap. It natural, but now that it has happened, it will happen again and again. You may not feel a lot of after pain, but you will heal harder each time. By having an MRI, the doctors can see what damage there is to the surrounding areas of your knee and see what is happening to your soft tissue. You and those around you may think this a wste of time, but look at the whole picture. Any damage now can be fixed, later on will be too late. At your age, you don't say what country you are in, but as you say PE teacher I'll assume UK, you will be able to get the MRI on the National Health. Also, see a pediatric physio as opposed to one that treats adults. There is a huge difference when it comes to treatment. If you are not prepared to go down that road, the you will have to concentrate on developing your quads, weight training but no swimming, no gymnatics, running is "fine", but not if you do middle to long distance; the bends will do you everytime. Warm-up are a must.
Allow your joints to heal, be patient, if tou have to do any form of sports wear a proper brace, just as a support for your knee. Good luck and remember there are no short cuts.