Pain Management Community

The first thing you need to do is get a diagnosis. X-rays are useless for seeing anything but bone. They do not see soft tissue and that is where most of the problems in the knee are. Go back to the surgeon and ask him to send you for an MRI. That will give you a better idea of what's going on. Knees don't hurt for no reason.

According to the surgeon, and his clinical examination by movement of leg and knees and identifying pain areas (no pain in movement, except when I sit down resulting in legs being folded and sitting on my toes as well as floor), he doesnt think I need an MRI. I have gotten advice from 2 renowned specialists (FRCS) and also my physiotherapist said the same thing, but yet I am feeling the pain.

I do not really think that at 16 weeks one should expect the pain to be completely gone. My left knee has swollen up and hurt severely twice about five years apart, seemingly for no reason, at least no trauma.

The first time I saw my rheumy and after examining me and ordering xrays, he was not really worried about it and it did go away after 8-12 weeks. The second time was about five years later, same thing, swelling and pain, but no trauma. My PCP repeated the xrays (they looked the same), and suggested I see an orthopedist. I talked her into some oral steroids, and finally saw the orthopedist when I finished them and was taking OTC NSAIDs. He explained why they do MRIs and did not really think one was needed yet. He said there was one ligament that the MRI does not show, so even if the MRI were normal, I could have damaged that one ligament, and surgery to take a look see would be necessary. He did agree to watchful waiting. This time the pain and swelling lasted about 24 weeks total, but did go away, and it has been more than ten years since the last time it bothered me. I am a good bit older than you, I am 61, and have FMS which can alter my pain response (not the swelling though) while healing.

If you trust your healthcare providers, I would just do what they suggest.

What have all these specialists told you to do about the pain you are having? Can you avoid the situations that cause pain for awhile?

Take care, Annette

Honestly, if you only have pain when you fold your legs and "sit on your toes" (I'm not sure what you mean by that) then I'm not sure you need to worry too much. As we grow older we lose our flexibility and the ability to sit in certain positions. So just don't sit in those positions. I lost the ability to sit cross-legged on the floor, or sit with my legs folded under me long ago. It really hasn't impacted my life at all.

It started off while saying prayers when I need to fold my legs. I had pain only while sitting on the floor with folded legs for around 6 months. After that, it started to get worse very rapidly.
Around the 6th month, I started to have this tingling feeling in my knees, resulting in not being able to sit with calves at 90 degrees of thighs (the usual sitting position), so I had to straighten up my legs to get some relief. Then after sometime, it got to the point that I couldnt find relief in even straightened up legs while sitting.
I saw the ortho specialist and he advised me to just get physiotherapy done, there is nothing wrong with you, you just need to strengthen your hamstrings and quadriceps (your muscles are soft by way of touching).
He has asked me to meet again in about 3 weeks now, and get physio and have pain killers when needed.

As far as avoiding the position is concerned, well now I do avoid the position for the last one month and am saying my prayers on a seat. But its embarrassing for me since when I go to a mosque, the only people who say their prayers on a seat are really old men with white or no hair.

Thank you for your post. There are a number of indications for a knee MRI such as findings suggestive of instability, persistent locking of the knee, and/or suspected bone infection. Most of the time a clinical exam will elude to the diagnosis. Conservative measures such as PT, ICE, Anti-inflammatories can be very helpful for common injuries but take time and patience. I would follow the advice of your doctor and follow-up in 6-8 weeks or certainly sooner should there be any changes in your symptoms. Good luck!

Allah does not care if you kneel while praying or not. He will hear your prayers no matter what position you are in. Please do not feel embarrassed, probably no one notices but you.

It takes a long time to strengthen muscles, do the exercises that the PT suggests, and see your doctor when he wants you to.

My Hero, is my nephew, he was born with orthopedic problems and cannot kneel at all, he has never been able to. His knees only bend to about 85-90 degrees ever. He is a great drummer though. He is 18 now, and I am so proud of him.

Take care, Annette

Thanks Annette and everyone else for the hope. I am getting physio done and one thing I forgot to mention is that my left knee (just below the knee cap) is aching very bad while walking as well. Perhaps due to driving a manual car (pressing the clutch may be) with weak muscles, which I have stopped doing so now.
I will see the doc in a few days. Keep me in ur prayers.

Regds,

Best of luck to you.

I prefer a stick shift, but gave them up some years ago due to health issues. I am used to an automatic now, but it took getting used to.

Take care, Annette