Knee ligament injury

[balaclava]

I am posting this in the hope that someone has some knowledge / experience and advice on these injuries?

It happened over a couple of weeks and finally snapped 2 weeks back. And when I say snapped I mean it was aching and then one day there was a distinct snap and I immediately could not walk. The pain at the top of my fibula where it meets the knee joint was excruciating. I was taken to A & E by ambulance and was told that I had torn my lateral collateral ligament which I presume is posterior ligament at the head of the fibula. Since then things have gradually got better and I can now walk a few steps without crutches. I have an appointment with Physio tomorrow and the specialst next week. Anyone any excperience - how long to repair, does it fully repair, are my golfing days over?

 

[Rooter]

i would be pushing for an MRI scan if it were me to get a true understanding of what has happened. I have had 4 knee operations in my time and can no longer run more than 1 mile. i really really would not be pushing the boundaries of what it can do until you know the extent of the damage.

 

[golfsaint]

First off all dont worry your golfing days are not over ! i beleive? , i have snapped my Anterior crucuite ligament twice and the second time that took the remains out , so no liagment there now, and yes it will take time to heal & dont play too soon , but am sure it will be ok.Does it fully repair? not sure but when its cold on the fairways you can feel it

 

[Alex1975]

I did a similar but not as dramatic thing 2 years ago... I did not rest and did not seek the proper help. I have now been seeing a physio and have had to re learn to walk as I had started to walk through my hip.

Get rest!!! gets help and do as they tell you!

It will take a while but dont make it last 2 plus years like I did.

 

[nickyj4]

Just back from ACL reconstruction, had my op in Sept last year and still in midlle of rehab. Been back playing for about 2 months, leg feels better than it has in a long time. You really need an MRI as it may just be a tear rather than a full rupture like mine. If its a tear it can heal with physio and strength work, if its a rupture you will need an op. I had part of my hamstring taken and used to repair it.

I will say that I did the damage years ago and manged to play golf with no issue and only found out I had knackered it when I tore my cartilage. Once I get my final assessment in a couple of months ill be allowed to get back to footy and all other sports so dont worry about playing golf.

Heres a link to my rehab program, beware the op bit is a bit gruesome looking

http://www.gsss.co.uk/knee/rehabilitation/2009-01-11/acl-rehab-programme-2009

 

[G_Mulligan]

I remember doing this in my sports injury module, from memory there is an anterior, posterior, and a cruciate ligament. Not heard of the one they are talking about but I am no expert. Like above I would be pushing hard for an MRI so you know the exact extent of the damage before discussing any rehab or surgery options. I have nothing but respect for the NHS but I would not rely on the opinion of an ER doctor for this kind of thing, you need a specialist and they need to see exactly what is going on in there.

Your golfing days are far from over though, their are guys out playing with no legs at all so a stiff or sore knee on a cold day will be fine

 

[Rooter]

I have nothing but respect for the NHS but I would not rely on the opinion of an ER doctor for this kind of thing, you need a specialist and they need to see exactly what is going on in there.

Exactly the same with all things health, my daughter was mis diagnosed by 3 GP's (i suppose the clue is in the "General" part) Saw a proper paediatrician and its sorted. The Knee guy i saw, i was lucky enough to have BUPA, but he was awesome.

 

[bignev]

Had similar last season mine just torn not snapped. Took 2 months with no golf followed by physio.
But get the right treatment and it will heal just dont rush your return because if you do you will only end up back at square one.
Good luck and look forward to golf later in the year.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

As others have said, push for the MRI and get a concrete diagnosis and view of the damage from an expert. After that, I hope your recovery is quick but if you have to miss most of the 2014 season for longevity and pain free golf next year onwards it seems a sensible if frustrating sacrifice

 

[balaclava]

MRI scan - I realised very quickly that I needed an MRI scan but getting one is another matter! The people who operate the MRI scanners work 9-5 Monday to Friday and the people in charge of agreeing to the scan spend their days trying to find reasons not to let you have one! I went to my GP . . . "if you don't know what I've done how can you advise me on the best treatment?" She agreed and put me forward for a scan, a week later the scan people sent it back because she hadn't specified which knee it is! If I can get a scan it'll be 8 weeks. The NHS is an unmanaged disaster.

 

[didsbury_duffer]

Insist on scan, and then get it sorted properly. Didn't realise we had so many crocs on here. :ears:

 

[balaclava]

I’ve just come back from physio.

I have waited 2 weeks to see someone who might give me some answers, some guidance, some treatment. She knew nothing other than that I had been referred there by A&E. She spent 30 minutes asking me about the history including, what tablets I take, what I am allergic to, etc. etc., and then said “sorry your times up, I can’t examine you now until next week!” . . . . . .

I’m now on the phone waiting for the complaints dept to answer!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I did a similar but not as dramatic thing 2 years ago... I did not rest and did not seek the proper help. I have now been seeing a physio and have had to re learn to walk as I had started to walk through my hip.

Get rest!!! gets help and do as they tell you!

It will take a while but dont make it last 2 plus years like I did.

This is good advice, if you try to do too much your body will compensate and you will most probably knacker your hip in the process.

 

[Foxholer]

I’ve just come back from physio.

I have waited 2 weeks to see someone who might give me some answers, some guidance, some treatment. She knew nothing other than that I had been referred there by A&E. She spent 30 minutes asking me about the history including, what tablets I take, what I am allergic to, etc. etc., and then said “sorry your times up, I can’t examine you now until next week!” . . . . . .

I’m now on the phone waiting for the complaints dept to answer!

I sympathise, but that's just the way it is! By all means, complain, as that's one of the metrics for allocating more resources, but don't expect an overall improvement in service. If you achieve anything by complaining, you are only 'stealing' service from another area! In exactly the same way that allocating more time to you would have 'stolen' time from someone else.

Making the NHS more efficient is the challenge. A form that you could have filled out before 'examination' would surely have been more efficient, but possibly not allowed to cover procedural requirements - should they mis-interpret/get it wrong!

I have a mate who has had more than his fair share of MRI scans recently. But that's because of his Cancer! Your knee is not deemed a 'priority' for expensive, hugely in-demand kit! Footballers get pretty good service though!

NHS is not so much 'unmanaged disaster' as ' (just) managed chaos' imo. Sometimes though, it's mis-managed - and there are, unfortunately, too many examples of that!

Hope it turns out well for you. I certainly feel the effects of damage to my knees, ligament and other, that I've suffered over the years. Hasn't stopped me playing golf - nor tennis really - however, so no need to sell the clubs!

 

[balaclava]

I know there are people with cancer and I know that my knee injury isn't going to kill me but that doesn't take away from the fact that the NHS is badly managed, in fact it's not being managed, it's a bunch of individuals all doing what they like, telling each other how overworked and under paid they are. I've lived in several other countries and I've never come across anything as bad as the NHS. But then, like all state run industries, it doesn't need to function efficiently so why should it?

In this instance the MRI scanners work 9-5 Monday to Friday; why aren't they working 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week - because they don't want to!

And, whilst I'm having a rant, I was in A&E for 5 hours and looking and listening to the others in the waiting room, at least 50% of the people there were not natives. I don't know what passports they carried but I do know they weren't born here (and likely as not shouldn't be here) and I also know that none of the NHS staff asked anyone if they were entitled to the treatment! How many of them are in the MRI scan queue?