Is it worth going to the doctor for this particular "hurty knee" issue?

July 17, 2017 8:40 PM

This morning, on two occasions, a few minutes in duration a few minutes apart I had an agonizing stabbing pain in the inside of my right knee. It felt like the worst contraction I had before actually going into active labor: took my breath away, broke a sweat, eyes watered. Very stingy. Knees still vaguely tender, but I haven't had the stabbing pain again and it's been a good six hours since. Should I book an appointment anyway? Snowflakes below the fold, as per protocol...

For a while between and after it was too tender to put weight on or bend. Then it sort of eased off. I managed to get kiddo to daycare and myself to work, with off and on tenderness that was *quite* tender at first, but overall eased over the course of the morning. Is this doctor worthy? Should I ice it and take it easy and see what happens? Wrap it or pick up a knee brace at the chemist?

I am tall and reached my height quite young, and wore a knee brace for a time in my early teens when active (PE, volleyball, ballet, gymnastics). For a long time now yoga positions put weight and/or torque on my knees (like this one) extremely uncomfortable – not painful, but it feels like my knee cap is going to pop off and it is unnerving. Just kneeling evenly on both knees or squatting is okay. The past few years I’ve noticed they’re increasingly (literally) creaky and occasionally “hurty” going up and down stairs. I started biking about 4mi 4xwk about six weeks ago and recently noticed some inner-knee tenderness when doing so - I presume it's being set off by the biking? I am not cycling hard or fast. The two stabbing pains this morning were a surprise to say the least.

I am 35, healthy weight, office job with standing desk, walk a ton and do some yoga/swimming off and on. I don't jog or play sport. No specific incidents lately that I can think of that would have caused an injury. YANMD.

posted by jrobin276 to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Yes of course. If you do have something in there that needs attention it isn't going to get better from being ignored.

(My husband ignored his knee stuff for years and the resulting necessary surgery was much more complicated with a longer recovery time and a bunch of ensuing exercise stuff he has to do for the rest of his life, than it would have been had he gone three years earlier. He believes the problem originated in the way he was holding his leg while driving, of all things. You don't need to be a jogger to hurt your knee.)

Just see a good orthopedist.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:52 PM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

My rule of thumb with joint pain is I head for the doctor if the pain impedes my stride. Your pain, even if it's gone, sounds as though it has gone past that limit with a bullet. I would definitely see a doctor.
posted by frumiousb at 11:51 PM on July 17, 2017

Definitely - and you can ask your doctor for a physical therapy referral too. They will look at the way you move, get to the root of the problem, and help you exercise / stretch so it doesn't happen again. (Unless it's something obvious and major that requires surgery, I suppose!)
posted by beyond_pink at 5:59 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

It's been a few hours? You could give a couple days and see if it goes away completely or not. Once I pulled my back or something (not sure, never happened to me before) and it was really, really painful, but it went away after a few days. I never saw a doctor because it was getting better and then resolved itself. It hasn't happened since so I figure I must've done something to it I wasn't aware of. I chalked it up to one of those things that happens.

I can often fret about pains or things I feel, but generally I find that waiting a couple days is the way to go for anything that isn't stopping me from living my life and doesn't seem like a sign of something serious. If you've had other knee issues that concern you, go ahead and talk to a doctor. But in this case, I kind of feel like he or she is going to suspect you just twisted it or something and tell you to come back if it continues.
posted by AppleTurnover at 12:04 PM on July 18, 2017

I'm guessing by the use of the word "chemist" that you're not in the US and don't have to worry about ridiculous health insurance nonsense. Therefore I would indeed recommend going to the doctor to get a referral to physical therapy. I had an experience similar to yours, and learning how to stretch and move has completely eliminated the problem and prevented another incident.
posted by AFABulous at 4:48 PM on July 18, 2017

A doctor is likely to send you for a scan and then refer you to a physio. If it's a bulk billed doctor then this is not really an issue but takes up time. You don't need a referral to see a physio - so skip the middle man and make an appointment and have them assess it. It could just be that your glutes or hamstrings need some strengthening to hold things in place.

Your profile says you're in Sydney - if you need a recommendation for Physios in Parramatta/The Hills memail me and I can point you to some good ones.
posted by cholly at 5:22 PM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Definitely see a physiotherapist or sports medicine doctor for evaluation. (Whoa yeah, if you're in Australia, you're in luck for PT - physios there are amazing, I've heard!)

I'd stop cycling for now, too, along with anything that causes pain. Cycling's usually a good conditioner for knees that need rehab (after other physio stuff's been done) - but it's critical that the bike fit (seat angle, height, etc.) and there might be some mild technique issues. I'm no expert on this (just know enough to get through my own physio), but knees could hurt if you're "mashing" or at a high resistance and too-slow speed (less than 80 rpm, I believe). In any case, would stop it until you got further expert guidance.
posted by cotton dress sock at 10:02 PM on July 18, 2017