I hurt my knee. What to do I do now so that tomorrow I can walk?
July 20, 2022 6:03 PM Subscribe
I was stepping into the shower and I slipped. I hurt my knee. Twisted it or something. It initially hurt so much I couldn't breath. Now I can breathe and I can even walk on it with pain, but my sense is that this will get worse, instead of better overnight and tomorrow I will wake up significantly disabled. How do I prevent this?
I have a tub/shower. I stepped in with the first foot and when I transferred weight onto it to bring the second foot in the foot that was in the tub slipped out from under me. I landed straddling the side of the tub. The toilet is right next to that so I was able to transfer myself to sitting on the toilet and then swing my injured leg out of the tub.
It took a while to be able to put any weight on it, but I can now walk on the knee, with pain. The thing is, I feel certain this will swell up and get worse overnight. I don't know how I know that but it just feels like that kind of injury. My knee and my bone down into the shin hurt. I have stuff to do I need to be able to walk and drive. It is my right leg (i.e my driving leg).
So what do I do? Walk on it to loosen it up? Or stay off it to rest it? Put one of those stretchy elastic things on it? (I don't have one and I cannot go out to buy anything (even in the absence of injury), but i could instacart if necessary.) Some sort of muscle or pain rub I should get my hands on ASAP? What?
I have a tub/shower. I stepped in with the first foot and when I transferred weight onto it to bring the second foot in the foot that was in the tub slipped out from under me. I landed straddling the side of the tub. The toilet is right next to that so I was able to transfer myself to sitting on the toilet and then swing my injured leg out of the tub.
It took a while to be able to put any weight on it, but I can now walk on the knee, with pain. The thing is, I feel certain this will swell up and get worse overnight. I don't know how I know that but it just feels like that kind of injury. My knee and my bone down into the shin hurt. I have stuff to do I need to be able to walk and drive. It is my right leg (i.e my driving leg).
So what do I do? Walk on it to loosen it up? Or stay off it to rest it? Put one of those stretchy elastic things on it? (I don't have one and I cannot go out to buy anything (even in the absence of injury), but i could instacart if necessary.) Some sort of muscle or pain rub I should get my hands on ASAP? What?
I Am Not Your Doctor but I have fucked myself up royally a time or two.
***See a medical professional as soon as possible***
Ice your knee prudently (only 15-20 minutes at a time every two to three hours). If you can take them, take non aspirin per the directions on the bottle and take an n-said per the directions on the bottle. If you can get a hold of emu oil and apply it directly to your knee, that works wonderfully.
posted by Issithe at 6:14 PM on July 20, 2022 [8 favorites]
***See a medical professional as soon as possible***
Ice your knee prudently (only 15-20 minutes at a time every two to three hours). If you can take them, take non aspirin per the directions on the bottle and take an n-said per the directions on the bottle. If you can get a hold of emu oil and apply it directly to your knee, that works wonderfully.
posted by Issithe at 6:14 PM on July 20, 2022 [8 favorites]
***Do not use heat on a new injury***
posted by Issithe at 6:15 PM on July 20, 2022 [15 favorites]
posted by Issithe at 6:15 PM on July 20, 2022 [15 favorites]
RICE it (Rest Ice Compression Elevation). And call a friend.
posted by rodlymight at 6:16 PM on July 20, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by rodlymight at 6:16 PM on July 20, 2022 [7 favorites]
RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation. Lay in bed with a thick pillow under the injured knee and some ice on top. If you can Instacart a pharmacy, most of them should have a compression knee sleeve in stock. Throw in some Ben-Gay and some Advil. It’ll still hurt tomorrow, probably a little swelling, but keep up that regimen and it should get better fairly soon. If it doesn’t start feeling better, call a doctor.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:16 PM on July 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 6:16 PM on July 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
Ice instead of heat. A good ice substitute is frozen peas or another bagged vegetable. If you have that, put a slightly damp thin cloth (a t-shirt, a napkin) around your knee, then the peas, then wrap that with another cloth. 15-20 minutes at a time, then take it off and rest.
posted by true at 6:17 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by true at 6:17 PM on July 20, 2022
If your pharmacy doesn’t have a compression sleeve, Target almost certainly does, and they deliver via Shipt.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:17 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by kevinbelt at 6:17 PM on July 20, 2022
I feel certain this will swell up and get worse overnight.
Ice, elevation and an anti-inflammatory. Your goal is to keep inflammation down, the best way to do this is to stay off your feet as much as you can. Walking to loosen things up is for after you have recovered somewhat, which may be a while depending on how bad the injury is. If this is very swollen tomorrow you should seek a medical professional. You may be fine tomorrow, or you may need a boot, and there's no way to know right now.
posted by ockmockbock at 6:20 PM on July 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
Ice, elevation and an anti-inflammatory. Your goal is to keep inflammation down, the best way to do this is to stay off your feet as much as you can. Walking to loosen things up is for after you have recovered somewhat, which may be a while depending on how bad the injury is. If this is very swollen tomorrow you should seek a medical professional. You may be fine tomorrow, or you may need a boot, and there's no way to know right now.
posted by ockmockbock at 6:20 PM on July 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
ACL/meniscus tear survivor here.
1. Like mentioned above: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. A stretchy ACE-type bandage, if you have one handy, will help with the compression, otherwise, just do your best to keep it compressed. Also, like mentioned above, some anti-inflammatory medication will help, and will at least help you sleep.
2. Prepare for not being able to do what you need to do tomorrow. Sorry, but, knees are complicated beasts, and you may/probably need to see a doctor.
3. If you wake up tomorrow and it's still in pain or still swollen, see a professional. Urgent care is good for this, but if you have a relationship with some other professional (I was #blessed to have just broken my wrist a year earlier, so I had an orthopedic surgeon in my recents), see them, as soon as possible. Like the morning, not next week.
3. If you didn't see an orthopedist first, be prepared for the medical professional to give you a referral to see one. This will likely involve an MRI or X-Ray, which is the best way to diagnose what is wrong.
4. Also note just in advance that ACL tears don't tend to hurt the next day but the swelling doesn't go down.
Knee injuries can just be a tweak, but can very likely be a Serious Injury That Needs Surgery. Learning which it is sooner rather than later makes the latter way better to navigate.
I'm sorry this happened to you. My injury was doing something even more banal.
posted by General Malaise at 6:42 PM on July 20, 2022 [6 favorites]
1. Like mentioned above: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. A stretchy ACE-type bandage, if you have one handy, will help with the compression, otherwise, just do your best to keep it compressed. Also, like mentioned above, some anti-inflammatory medication will help, and will at least help you sleep.
2. Prepare for not being able to do what you need to do tomorrow. Sorry, but, knees are complicated beasts, and you may/probably need to see a doctor.
3. If you wake up tomorrow and it's still in pain or still swollen, see a professional. Urgent care is good for this, but if you have a relationship with some other professional (I was #blessed to have just broken my wrist a year earlier, so I had an orthopedic surgeon in my recents), see them, as soon as possible. Like the morning, not next week.
3. If you didn't see an orthopedist first, be prepared for the medical professional to give you a referral to see one. This will likely involve an MRI or X-Ray, which is the best way to diagnose what is wrong.
4. Also note just in advance that ACL tears don't tend to hurt the next day but the swelling doesn't go down.
Knee injuries can just be a tweak, but can very likely be a Serious Injury That Needs Surgery. Learning which it is sooner rather than later makes the latter way better to navigate.
I'm sorry this happened to you. My injury was doing something even more banal.
posted by General Malaise at 6:42 PM on July 20, 2022 [6 favorites]
Sorry, that was a lot. My big tl;dr takeaway was "Prepare for not being able to do what you need to do tomorrow."
posted by General Malaise at 6:44 PM on July 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by General Malaise at 6:44 PM on July 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
Knees are weird and there's no guarantees - either that you will be totally immobile tomorrow, or that you won't. I limped around on a broken fibula head for several weeks - that was NOT A GOOD THING - but I thought I just maybe tore something and it was the Original Covid Summer Surge(tm) so I decided to walk it off. I also fell directly on my knee on a tile floor and was fine in terms of mobility the next day (but did almost faint a few times over the next few weeks from bumping it into something or getting into bed knee-first once because I forgot).
Your safest bets are nsaids, rest, ice, and elevation. Extra movement is likely not going to help, and you shouldn't heat a new injury. You can do a gentle periodic flex or change of positions, and you will have to limp to the bathroom or kitchen now and then and that's probably as much weight-bearing as you should do, but you won't really know until morning how fucked up it is and you only have a little bit of control over that in the first place.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:56 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Your safest bets are nsaids, rest, ice, and elevation. Extra movement is likely not going to help, and you shouldn't heat a new injury. You can do a gentle periodic flex or change of positions, and you will have to limp to the bathroom or kitchen now and then and that's probably as much weight-bearing as you should do, but you won't really know until morning how fucked up it is and you only have a little bit of control over that in the first place.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:56 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: OK, I ordered a knee sleave on instacart. Do I wear that when I sleep or just when I get up in the morning? Took 1350mg tylenol and an advil. Right now it actuall walks kind of ok for a few steps and then somehow goes out from under me and hurt like hell.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:07 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:07 PM on July 20, 2022
If you have topical arnica on hand, apply some.
Regarding pain medication, choose either ibuprofen or Tylenol but don’t take both together continually.
RICE.
posted by Riverine at 7:27 PM on July 20, 2022
Regarding pain medication, choose either ibuprofen or Tylenol but don’t take both together continually.
RICE.
posted by Riverine at 7:27 PM on July 20, 2022
Response by poster: Regarding pain medication, choose either ibuprofen or Tylenol but don’t take both together continually.
Wait, what? I take both together all the time (for migraine). Is there some reason I shouldn't do that?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:31 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wait, what? I take both together all the time (for migraine). Is there some reason I shouldn't do that?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:31 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
I checked with my doctor a couple of years ago, and was told that taking two different kinds of pain meds together was OK.
posted by amtho at 7:48 PM on July 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by amtho at 7:48 PM on July 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
Echoing others who have said RICE. Don't neglect the first step which is REST. Stop walking around unless you have to for the toilet or something. Don't do the "I'll just test how it feels now" thing, give it a proper chance to rest.
You're fine to mix Tylenol and advil as long as the total dose isn't super high (I do similar for my migraines as well) but it's the advil which will be helping your knee so if you can just take advil that's probably better.
posted by Athanassiel at 7:54 PM on July 20, 2022 [5 favorites]
You're fine to mix Tylenol and advil as long as the total dose isn't super high (I do similar for my migraines as well) but it's the advil which will be helping your knee so if you can just take advil that's probably better.
posted by Athanassiel at 7:54 PM on July 20, 2022 [5 favorites]
Oh also, wear the compression sleeve all the time as soon as you get it. Your aim is to reduce inflammation and swelling and also to provide extra support and stability when you do have to walk for essential reasons.
If this turns out to be a longer-term thing, you could look into physio/kinesiology taping methods but that's best done on the advice of a physio who will be able to recommend what will work for your specific injury.
posted by Athanassiel at 7:58 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
If this turns out to be a longer-term thing, you could look into physio/kinesiology taping methods but that's best done on the advice of a physio who will be able to recommend what will work for your specific injury.
posted by Athanassiel at 7:58 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
I thought RICE had been replaced with MEAT Movement, Exercise, Analgesics, and Treatment.
posted by aniola at 8:05 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by aniola at 8:05 PM on July 20, 2022
one clickbait source on MEAT vs RICE that seems pretty ok
posted by aniola at 8:08 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by aniola at 8:08 PM on July 20, 2022
Knees are tricky…
Ms. Windo tore her ACL and possibly some of the other CLs. Massive swelling, obvious damage, etc. A few years later I tore my ACL playing soccer. Finished the game. Not much swelling or really pain. Just instability. Played on it for another 6 months before I realized it wasn’t getting any better. Went to the doctor and found out.
Recently hurt my other knee, went to the doctor a couple of weeks later, they thought it was just an MCL strain. Hurt more than the ACL did. So,you can never tell with knees.
RICE is the way to go, along with any anti-inflammatories you can take. Slap that compression sleeve on there. My MCL was the biggest problem for me when I got up in the middle of the night to pee, and it was just very weak and wobbly.
I’d give it a few days before I threw in the towel and called the orthopedists, but that’s just kind of me. YMMV.
posted by Windopaene at 8:14 PM on July 20, 2022
Ms. Windo tore her ACL and possibly some of the other CLs. Massive swelling, obvious damage, etc. A few years later I tore my ACL playing soccer. Finished the game. Not much swelling or really pain. Just instability. Played on it for another 6 months before I realized it wasn’t getting any better. Went to the doctor and found out.
Recently hurt my other knee, went to the doctor a couple of weeks later, they thought it was just an MCL strain. Hurt more than the ACL did. So,you can never tell with knees.
RICE is the way to go, along with any anti-inflammatories you can take. Slap that compression sleeve on there. My MCL was the biggest problem for me when I got up in the middle of the night to pee, and it was just very weak and wobbly.
I’d give it a few days before I threw in the towel and called the orthopedists, but that’s just kind of me. YMMV.
posted by Windopaene at 8:14 PM on July 20, 2022
and then somehow goes out from under me
This part sounds particularly worrying. If it's not totally better in the morning, I think that a trip to a walk-in clinic is warranted (or an appointment with your family doctor assuming you have one and can get in to see them within a day or two).
posted by heatherlogan at 8:31 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
This part sounds particularly worrying. If it's not totally better in the morning, I think that a trip to a walk-in clinic is warranted (or an appointment with your family doctor assuming you have one and can get in to see them within a day or two).
posted by heatherlogan at 8:31 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
was told that taking two different kinds of pain meds together was OK.
My dentist concurs. You should obviously only do this when your pain is at its worst (and be really mindful about maximum levels of Tylenol you take) but it's okay to take both. Doctors often suggest alternating them. Prevention Magazine isn't the best source, but this is their article on it.
I wouldn't trust that clickbait source on MEAT vs RICE for an injury that has just happened (they're a physical therapy outfit, they are looking at people who are getting PT not who have just been injured). I clicked the sources and took a look at them and at least one of them has different conclusions than the ones stated in the article. Proceed with caution.
posted by jessamyn at 8:33 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
My dentist concurs. You should obviously only do this when your pain is at its worst (and be really mindful about maximum levels of Tylenol you take) but it's okay to take both. Doctors often suggest alternating them. Prevention Magazine isn't the best source, but this is their article on it.
I wouldn't trust that clickbait source on MEAT vs RICE for an injury that has just happened (they're a physical therapy outfit, they are looking at people who are getting PT not who have just been injured). I clicked the sources and took a look at them and at least one of them has different conclusions than the ones stated in the article. Proceed with caution.
posted by jessamyn at 8:33 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you decide to go to urgent care, look for an orthopedic urgent care. They are often part of the big ortho practices. In my experience, not only is it better to see the PAs & doctors there for these types of things, the wait times are much less than at the regular urgent care that deals with everything from stitches to esr infections. Knees need special attention.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 8:40 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 8:40 PM on July 20, 2022
"was told that taking two different kinds of pain meds together was OK."
Advil makes a pill that combines Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen.
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:58 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Advil makes a pill that combines Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen.
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:58 PM on July 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks all. I'll let you know how it goes in the morning. The instacart person brought me the wrong size knee brace and I can't get it on. But right now (Granted with lots of pain meds) it's pretty close to pain free when I walk (which is to the toilet or to the door to get instacart only). I go to bed hopeful and optimistic.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:01 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:01 PM on July 20, 2022
If there's no orthopedic urgent care around, I'd check right now how soon you can get an ortho appointment. If the wait time is more than a day I'd book it right now - if you end up feeling okay you can always cancel.
But take it super easy, cancel whatever you can of your activities tomorrow or get someone to help you with them, and go to urgent care if it's still really bad in the morning. As you've said, knees are vital for being able to live life normally. I've overlooked some ortho injuries in the past and let them just heal on their own because I hate dealing with doctors so much - but the thing is they never did heal 100%. I wouldn't mess around with knees.
posted by trig at 9:32 PM on July 20, 2022
But take it super easy, cancel whatever you can of your activities tomorrow or get someone to help you with them, and go to urgent care if it's still really bad in the morning. As you've said, knees are vital for being able to live life normally. I've overlooked some ortho injuries in the past and let them just heal on their own because I hate dealing with doctors so much - but the thing is they never did heal 100%. I wouldn't mess around with knees.
posted by trig at 9:32 PM on July 20, 2022
I was at a umpire clinic where the MLB minor league trainer spoke to us. He did say the Ice part of RICE was pretty much deprecated at this point. It doesn't promote healing--but it won't actually hurt you either, so if numbing was good for the pain, he said, go ahead.
posted by stevis23 at 9:38 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by stevis23 at 9:38 PM on July 20, 2022
Echoing the advice to check in with a doctor - joints are precious and some inconvenience now could save you function and further injury later. Also, it sounds like you may be familiar with acetaminophen toxicity from managing migraines, but if you’re taking more than a *gram* of Tylenol at a time, please check in with your doctor or nurse and be very careful - just three doses that size in 24 hours would be enough to begin being quite dangerous. I hope you heal up soon.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:42 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:42 PM on July 20, 2022
This is the article I was looking for. May or may not be useful, but at least this one is by the original author of the RICE treatment.
posted by aniola at 10:52 PM on July 20, 2022
posted by aniola at 10:52 PM on July 20, 2022
Response by poster: So I woke up intending to come in here and tell you it was miraculously better. Like when I woke up and first got up I thought it was 100% better, but by the time I reached the kitchen it was not 100% anymore. So it's much better, but every few steps (like 10-20 steps) I have pain and it kind of feels like the knee is locking up (it isn't...I can bend it, but it feels like it just somehow got too straight). Also my calf muscle is cramping up so presumably I'm unconsciously doing something weird to protect the knee. I am calling Telehealth now to see if there's an urgent care centre where I can get imaging done right away. Otherwise I'll call my family doctor at 9.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:31 AM on July 21, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:31 AM on July 21, 2022 [7 favorites]
It's good to get it checked out, but honestly it's not surprising that the knee isn't 100% overnight, even with good treatment. Knees are tricky and will take a while to get better. Don't worry, be patient. And keep up the RICE and advil.
posted by Athanassiel at 7:05 AM on July 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Athanassiel at 7:05 AM on July 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
“Got too straight” sounds like ACL to me. As mentioned upthread, I play indoor soccer. I am a goalkeeper and not a runner. When it happened, I had just done a little hop to catch a ball, and when I landed, something was wrong…
But, earlier that day, had slipped on a slippery paving stone on someone’s walkway, fell on my butt, and some hyprerextention probably happened. So your story does not sound unlikely. Hope it isn’t, as ACL surgery is a bummer. Long, painful, frustrating rehab.
Thinking good thoughts. Get that appointment. And an orthopedist doesn’t even need to have imaging to tell. After explaining my description, my doc grabbed my good knee, wobbled it a bit, and said “do you feel how that is sticking?”, then went to the bad knee, and before even doing the manipulation said “and do you feel how this is not”? So get seen, even if you can’t get an imaging appointment.
posted by Windopaene at 7:36 AM on July 21, 2022
But, earlier that day, had slipped on a slippery paving stone on someone’s walkway, fell on my butt, and some hyprerextention probably happened. So your story does not sound unlikely. Hope it isn’t, as ACL surgery is a bummer. Long, painful, frustrating rehab.
Thinking good thoughts. Get that appointment. And an orthopedist doesn’t even need to have imaging to tell. After explaining my description, my doc grabbed my good knee, wobbled it a bit, and said “do you feel how that is sticking?”, then went to the bad knee, and before even doing the manipulation said “and do you feel how this is not”? So get seen, even if you can’t get an imaging appointment.
posted by Windopaene at 7:36 AM on July 21, 2022
STOP WALKING AROUND ON IT UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO!
Rest, ice, compression with something, and elevate it on pillows. It's hot as balls out today anyway, relish in the excuse to sit inside with air conditioning and binge-watch something.
And prepare yourself for maybe a visit to urgent care tomorrow to get it looked at.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:52 AM on July 21, 2022
Rest, ice, compression with something, and elevate it on pillows. It's hot as balls out today anyway, relish in the excuse to sit inside with air conditioning and binge-watch something.
And prepare yourself for maybe a visit to urgent care tomorrow to get it looked at.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:52 AM on July 21, 2022
Just want to amplify the requests for you to seek medical advice ASAP. As someone told me on here — knees are really important, you only get one pair, you use them all day every day. If money is an issue we could crowdfund?
posted by lokta at 10:34 AM on July 21, 2022
posted by lokta at 10:34 AM on July 21, 2022
Response by poster: I have a 5 year old, so, unfortunately, I absolutely have to walk on it. I spoke to telehealth and they told me to see a doctor within 2-3 days and I got an appointment with my family doctor for Monday (she's only in-office one day a week these days unfortunately). It's not 2-3 days but it will have to do. I got a brace but I think it's too tight. I'm going to buy one of those stretchy elastic wrap things instead.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:31 AM on July 21, 2022
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:31 AM on July 21, 2022
Just a heads up that the type of ice packs they sell at the drugstore are usually not big or cold enough. If you can get your hands on a substantial one like a Colpac you'll be better off in the icing area. You might have luck with 1-day Prime, or somewhere local that has them on Shipt. They also sell them at every PT office, if you could get a friend to swing by one nearby I am sure they will sell you one. I wrap mine in a tea towel and wrap around my knee and tuck the ends under to hold in place.
posted by radioamy at 1:43 PM on July 21, 2022
posted by radioamy at 1:43 PM on July 21, 2022
How’s your knee?
posted by General Malaise at 2:45 PM on August 3, 2022
posted by General Malaise at 2:45 PM on August 3, 2022
Response by poster: Fine! It spent maybe a week at 95% and is now fine. It did aggravate my bad hip, though, which is still bothering me somewhat.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:01 PM on August 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:01 PM on August 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Oh, and I did go to the doctor and she said since it was recovering on its own it probably didn't require any treatment and that if the recovery stalled, I should let her know.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:37 AM on August 4, 2022
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:37 AM on August 4, 2022
Glad to hear. Hope it stays that way (and actually gets to 100%).
posted by General Malaise at 3:58 PM on August 4, 2022
posted by General Malaise at 3:58 PM on August 4, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:09 PM on July 20, 2022