How easy do I take it while I wait to confirm if it's torn ACL?
Hi folks! About two weeks ago, I (39F) fell hard on my knee on the sidewalk. Like a full body splat. Yesterday, my PCP said she thinks it's an ACL tear and next week I have an appointment with an orthopedist and then an MRI. However, in between now and the orthopedist visit I'm supposed to go on a trip that involves a ton of walking over two days. I don't expect any major pain. Is that a bad idea?
Here's what I'm experiencing:
- I don't experience pain walking or bearing weight on the knee, nor did I really at any point since the fall. I walked a mile right after falling, and it hurt a bit -- but not at all in a structural way, if that makes sense.
- I can't bench the knee fully, especially at first. It's getting a little better each day, and is always better at the end of each day and worse right after I wake up. For the first few days, it was really difficult to get into the car. I gingerly get into cars and into bed now.
- The pain is like there's a super a tight band horizontally across the top half of my knee. It's never been bad enough to need any painkillers, there's no profound aching or anything. The pain feels like near the surface. If I bend the knee too much, it feels like I'm ripping the skin or something just under the skin. Made that mistake a couple of times early on.
- I don't notice any new knee instability. That said, for years I've felt a bit of general knee instability when knees going down stairs. Before reading this forum, I never knew that was associated with ACL tears. Maybe I tore it years ago and didn't realize.
- A small area on the top of my knee is numb, almost as if there's nerve damage. And the area around that just feels weird, like if I touch one spot near the numb area, the whole area even inches away from the numb spot feels like it's being lightly touched. (Nerves are so strange)
- I didn't notice a popping noise when I fell.
I have an MRI and ortho appointment, but I'm wondering in the meantime just how careful I need to be. Can I go ahead and do what's comfortable (the max I'd do really is everyday movements + lots of walking)? My primary care doctor recommended ice, heat, elevation, and avoiding putting much weight on it. But it feels weird to do all that for a knee that feels just fine structurally.
Thanks!