Help! How do I fix this
I’m 18F and have been dealing with significant right knee pain and swelling for a while now. It became difficult to bend my knee properly and even standing for long periods hurts. One side of my thigh also became visibly more swollen than the other.
I got an MRI done and it showed synovitis with mild to moderate knee effusion, IT band friction syndrome, Grade 1 MCL sprain, and mucoid degeneration of the ACL but no tear. There were also mild Grade 1 meniscus changes but no actual meniscus tear, fracture, or major ligament injury.
Because of the swelling/fluid, my orthopedist did a knee aspiration and steroid injection (Kenacort + lignocaine). They also tested the synovial fluid. The TB PCR came back negative and there were no malignant cells found, but the fluid did show inflammatory cells.
It’s been a few days since the injection and I do feel slight improvement. I can bend my knee about 80% now, but going beyond that still causes pain mainly on the outer side of my knee. Standing still hurts somewhat too. I’ve been doing quad exercises, straight leg raises, heel slides, hamstring stretches, and gentle strengthening.
One thing that’s worrying me is that when I bend my knee, my kneecap seems to protrude outward more than normal. I’m not sure if it’s swelling, muscle imbalance, or some kind of patellar tracking issue after the inflammation.
Has anyone experienced something similar with synovitis/effusion or IT band syndrome? How long did recovery take and what helped the most? Please help me