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r/KneeInjuries

▲ 6 r/KneeInjuries+1 crossposts

Chronic severe PFPS 5 years.. my testimony(no happy ending)

I I'm 27 male 6'1 180.. previous to my injury at 22yrs old I played sports all growing up and baseball in highschool. Left my parents at 18 got a job working on barges off a dock, payed like 60-70k a year and was pretty demanding, I was dedicated in the gym throughout this time hitting decent lifts 300 squat, 265 bench.. did a push pull leg and strict diet. just a normal hard working kid for the most part. This is gonna sound stupid but I started to become somewhat addicted to my gaming PC playing cod warzone and I even started missing workouts to play the game, so one day I said this is enough and sold it to a family friends kid for 200$.. boom I was back in the gym and more dedicated than ever, I decided to take up Basketball as well, this is where it all went wrong. Think I would play like 2hrs after workout and I'd say about a week or 2 in I noticed small pain in my knee, nothing too serious.. I ignored it and continued playing, slowly but surely the pain got worse of course. Then started the typical boom bust cycle. Over the period of the next 6 months the pain would get bad then I would rest a week then they would get bad again ect. Till one day I said welp this is obviously going to continue so I quit basketball and I thought the pain would go away as long as I didn't play.. and it did for about 2 weeks then that original pain appeared one day at work and within 2 months I had to quit my job as the pain grew.. I went to physical therapy and got a landscape job that was less demanding but nevertheless the pain kept creeping with vengeance. Over the next 3 years of multiple pts saying they could fix me and even trying KOT the pain got worse and worse. Till I said enough was enough and I quit my job which at the time all I really did was sit on a zero turn mower making 18hr and decided to get surgery with the orthopedic saying this would be some kind of a magical fix.. I got something called a Tibia tuberle osteotomy and it was a nasty procedure with a 1 year recovery and it did absolutely nothing for my pain.. literally feels the same as the other knee.. this was 2 years ago, before surgery I had around 80,000$ saved up over my years of working and the year I was "recovering" I spent around 30k of it.. after all this I literally could not work anymore due to my injury. Every step hurt, even a 1 inch squat would feel like someone was taking a razor knife and jabbing below my kneecap, can't really walk around for more than 5-10 minutes without severe dullpain/burning forcing me to rest, atrophy quads due to the pain. Squatting absolutely off the table, 1 inch step up hell no. But what really sucks is not the actual pain, it's the I really can't enjoy a lot aside from electronics and hanging out with my family. All and any sports are off the table, fishing, hunting, anything that involves any moving around is gone. Well this is where things take a dark turn and say what u want idc. But this obviously took a huge mental and physical toll on me and I was at the time an occasional Adderall abuser and I decided f it f my life f everything and tried Meth for the first time about a year ago. Trust me I know how it sounds, but I literally hated myself and the world, I didn't enjoy anything and when I tried Meth it seemed like the world was green again.. yes my knees still hurt like hell but the drug kinda made me not care. Anyway over the next 6 months of drug abuse this obviously led to destruction. I went to rehab, I've been clean for 7 months now and found God on the way. Even met God twice btw which I plan on coming public about in the near future. When my addiction started I had around 50k and blew all of it except like 10k left when I went to rehab. I got out of rehab about 1 month ago and bought a car with what little money I had left and now I literally live out of my car and do door dash. I have all the qualifications to work on barges, load and empty them, move them ect. But I just don't have the body and it's a sad and pitiful existence it feels like most of the time but I have the Lord and hopefully he'll save me from this godforsaken place. I think all the time about getting high but I can't turn my back on him. Maybe I will try physical therapy again but I've just been to so many I've only gotten worse and see little to no hope in it. I've accepted that this is just the way things are, it does bother me knowing God can fix them yet he doesn't. I want to believe there's a reason he doesn't but I can't see a valid one. That's pretty much my testimony, pretty shitty ik. Wish I had a success story for y'all but I don't.. if I had any recommendations it would be if your in sport or gym ect, if you start to feel a little pain take it seriously, before getting injured I didn't even know it was possible to fuck up my knee, never had a injury before. I did it to myself but also I'd like to say the medical community failed me as well. you don't realize what u had till it's gone, good luck everyone God bless

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u/Actual_Web8197 — 3 days ago
▲ 3 r/KneeInjuries

please help me with my knee pain 😢😢

female teenager, knee pain since 2 years ago, had bone bruising, mcl n lcl sprains but all those are checked n cleared. (the mri i took was in oct 2024) the pain that i’ve marked have never resolved. however it did improve from last year where walking was a huge issue. this year, there’s still pain however it’s really on n off. sometimes both side hurts or it’s either or. the blue dots (i assume is due to the tendon there cause of my mild lateral patellar tilt) i’ve been doing tcm from nov 2025 to now, which has somewhat improve but still comes back on n off n idk what’s the issue!!! not sure if my parents will want me to see western docs again cause my previous doc kept saying “why ah, why?” like… am i supposed to know…?

u/Any_Coyote_7192 — 4 days ago
▲ 2 r/KneeInjuries

Subluxation or Dislocation?

Hi! I wanted to come on here and see if anyone might be able to help me. Obviously this is going to also be a question for my orthopedist but I wanted to see if anyone on here might know. I (22 f) have subluxated my kneecaps since I was 8. On my left knee i've only had it happen twice but on my right knee its been 15+ times. This last week I fully dislocated my right knee by slipping and I had to pop it back in myself (not fun).

The only other time I've remotely experienced something like this is when I was 12. I was climbing something at the playground and I took one wrong step up and my knee completely buckled and popped and I fell off. It felt like it was hanging on by a string and the swelling was ridiculous. I honestly don't remember what my knee looked like or if I felt an additional pop for the kneecap to go back into place or not. I genuinely would not look at my knee because it hurt so bad then. I went to the ER and they said I sprained it, then went to an orthopedist for the first time and from what I remember I think he said I'd most likely subluxated it. Until this point I had never gone to the doctors about my knees so I had no idea what was going on with them. I was told I have high kneecaps and the groove that the patella sits in is quite flat. I had to do physical therapy and was on crutches for weeks.

Since then i've subluxated them multiple times but never as bad as that one time until now. I'm usually back on my feet the next day with brace support and then out of the brace the next few days.

Because of last week's dislocation i'm actually wondering if the one I had when I was 12 was actually a full dislocation rather than a subluxation. Is it possible for a dislocation to happen but to pop back into place relatively quickly?

TL;DR:

I fully dislocated my knee last week and now I wonder if a subluxation I had when I was 12 was actually a full dislocation.

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u/LogicalPanic4558 — 4 days ago
▲ 8 r/KneeInjuries

I need guidance.

Apologies for the long post.

30m. On Feb 5 2026, I was on my way to work, and was driving on the highway when I was hit head on by a semi truck. Miraculously, I survived. I was extracted from my vehicle and brought to the hospital. I had a full body ct and xrays done. I was diagnosed with a left leg tibial plateau fracture, as well as a simultaneously broken and dislocated patella, and a shallow impaction fracture of the lateral femoral chondyle. I spent 2 days in the hospital bed with these injuries while I waited for surgery.

On Feb 7, I went in for surgery. It was an ORIF surgery, hardware and all that. (Pictured). I was immobilized in a zimmer splint for a few months, and developed a blood clot during tlmy time i was immobilized, in the posterior medial area of my knee, and went on rivaroxiban for 60 days or so to clear it.

I was then transitioned to a hinged locking brace and was cleared by my surgeon to bend up to 90 degrees flexion. I began physio, working on flexion, hanging my leg over the bed, and eventually with ankle weights attached. On multiple occasions during physio, id experience what felt like the patella sublexing, (ive experienced dislocations before, and have been diagnosed with shallow trochlear grooves), when forcing flexion. Id then go into a flair for weeks. Right before the patella sublexes, id feel a scary amount of increasing tension in my quad, vastus lateralis, before a blinding wall of pain from the "clunk". I kept at it with aggressive physio but began stalling out, ultimately being stuck at 55 degrees flexion 8 months post op now.

My surgeon suggested i may have "a little bit of crps", and sent me to the chronic pain clinic. The doctor at the pain clinic formally diagnosed me with crps through the Budapest method. My knee, around the tibial plateau area, grew darker, wirey hair, and other than that, the top of my foot would turn deep purple/red when standing up, and the veins would bulge (pictured), and wouldn't subside almost instantly after putting my leg back up. Id experience jolts of nerve pain in the leg, travelling into the topsides of my big toe and second toe, those toes would also go numb.

With my diagnosis of crps, I was put on 600mg a day of pregabalin, and vitamin c supplements twice a day. Ive also been put through a zoledronoc acid infusion to prevent the bone density loss that crps apparently causes, which was evident in imaging. I also had a lidocaine/ketamine/magnesium sulfate infusion. (First of 3).

Physio is painful in a bad way, im not getting anywhere, my leg feels like a peg leg when walking. I lose knee flexion range when standing compared to sitting, pointing possibly to a problem with the rectus femoris, especially being immobilized and shortened in a zimmer for so long. But at random ranges, my knee will freak out, sending a jolt of hot seering ripping pain through my knee, and on occasion, I will still feel a mechanical clunk in my knee, causing otherworldly pain. (This occurs now even when im not forcing max flexion range). On one occasion, when I was doing quad extensions over a foam roller, my knee caught, I removed the foam roller from under me, and was able to witness a visible shift of my patella under the skin as it "popped back". If I stand too long, I cant bend it, if I sit too long, i cant straighten it. I feel tightness through the scar on my knee, but they dont think its arthrofibrosis.

Eventually, with enough frustration, I asked my pain clinic doctor, why hasn't anybody given me an mri yet, since up to now, 8 months post op, ive only received xrays (and lots of them). They subsequently ordered an mri, and i was found to have a torn meniscus and tilited patella. This was missed up until I, asked for it. I had a followup with my surgeon and she harshly recommended against surgical intervention because "with active crps, nobody should be operating on you." She said I need to be more aggressive with physio and the patella sublexations are something I need to push through. (I cant).

I fully acknowledge that this is a difficult injury to come back from, but my leg is stuck almost completely straight, and physio has not been helping. I have a toddler. I havnt worked for 8 months. Im scared. Part of me thinks I dont even have crps, and that its just a shortened tendon that wont give up or something. I cant keep going on like this. Im starting to not want my leg anymore. I walked away from an accident that people dont normally walk away from, so dont get me wrong, im happy im still here, but this is becoming too much to deal with day to day.

u/coagulatedbloodfart — 12 days ago
▲ 4 r/KneeInjuries+1 crossposts

My son has knee and now hip pain that’s affecting his quality of life…he’s 28

My son’s been to the doctor and he’s had x-rays done and it didn’t show up anything. He had blood work done and no major red flags. It seems like it’s getting worse every day he can barely walk. He’s actually had to learn how to walk in a different way. What do I do? It went from his knees hurting really bad to now his hips are hurting really bad.

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u/Similar-Procedure935 — 13 days ago
▲ 1 r/KneeInjuries

Who to believe

Left knee has been bothering me. Xray said it was fine, doc sent me to PT. Did PT two months once every two weeks. Each time I went hurt deadly for three days. Kept telling them but they kept.pushing. Can only walk half mile on tread mill, use to do ten. Finially said I want an MRI, took weeks, Finially got it, these are the results. I called the knee doc, his nurse answered, said I didn't need to worry about what the radiologist said "he just says that". Well now I don't know who to believe. Is the radiologist just trying to get more money, is the knee doc just trying to get me out the door? Please help me. All i want to do is walk. I have Multiple Fusion in my neck and back, and walking is really the only thing that get it to stop hurting. Any guidance would be so greatly appreciated.

u/Danwphoto — 12 days ago
▲ 9 r/KneeInjuries

Why are my legs curved this way?

Hi! This is so random but I, (20f), started doing Pilates recently, and I’ve noticed that my legs seem more drastically curved than most people’s.

-The first slide is my legs raised, but not flexed, so it’s just like a comfortable neutral.

-The second slide is my legs fully flexed straight, like as vertical as possible.

-And the third slide are my knees from an upward angle. You can kind of see that the points of my knees are angled diagonally.

I don’t have a history of any major knee or leg injury’s. Some helpful info may be: I am mildly overweight, I have a history of knee pain happening abruptly with no warning, and my knees like pop or crack when I squat.

Another odd thing is that I sometimes will be sitting at a desk and extend my leg, and then feel like a build up of pressure under my kneecap. I will then have to repeatedly extend and bend my leg until my knee pops. If I do not pop it, it will feel uncomfortable.

Sorry if it’s formatted weird, I’m writing this late at night in bed lol. Thank you! :)

u/Winter_kiko — 12 days ago
▲ 2 r/KneeInjuries+1 crossposts

Looking for experiences with patellar chondroplasty, patellar maltracking, and unexplained loss of active knee extension + MACI/OATS

TL;DR: I’m 28F with a >1-year right knee issue where I cannot actively fully extend my knee from ~90° of flexion despite 10+ months of weekly PT. MRI shows mild patellar cartilage damage, a small fissure, and signs of patellar maltracking, but no major structural damage, and everything is unchanged from 10 months ago. My surgeon recommends diagnostic arthroscopy and potentially chondroplasty, with MACI/OATS as possibilities depending on what he finds.

I’m 28F and have been dealing with a right knee problem for over a year. My biggest issue is that I cannot actively fully straighten my knee from about 90° of flexion when sitting or lying down. If my heel is supported or I have some external resistance, I can get it straight, but I can’t get my quad to activate enough to fully extend the knee on its own.
I’m fairly active and can generally live normally. I cycle and strength train, but avoid single-leg exercises. My knee tends to feel fatigued/uncomfortable more than severely painful. Running can cause pain/swelling, and I’ve had to modify some activities. Driving distances of over an hour tend to cause it to swell. I’ve been doing weekly PT for 10+ months, including quad activation work, and my PT feels I’m probably at my baseline with conservative treatment.

Most recent MRI shows a 1.2 x 1.2 cm area of grade I chondromalacia on the lateral patellar facet, inflammation, and some clear patellar maltracking, but is otherwise normal and unchanged from one I had 10 months ago.

My orthopedic surgeon recommends diagnostic/exploratory arthroscopy because the inability to actively extend my knee has persisted despite PT and isn’t fully explained by the MRI. He would potentially perform a patellar chondroplasty if he finds an area that warrants it, and mentioned jumping immediately to MACI or OATS if he finds a larger cartilage defect that warrants a more involved procedure.

My surgeon told me that if I have a patellar chondroplasty, he would expect approximately 2 weeks back to a desk job and 6 weeks back to normal activity. This matters because I’m currently interviewing for a new corporate/desk job and am trying to determine whether I could realistically have the scope/chondroplasty done in the ~3 weeks before starting a new job.

For anyone who has had a patellar chondroplasty/debridement, what was your actual recovery timeline? How long was your knee baseline useable before surgery, and did it feel any better after?

I’d also love to hear from anyone who has had MACI or OATS on the patella, particularly if you waited to have the procedure or tried something else first, and what the recovery was actually like.

Thanks to anyone willing to share!

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u/cappuccinoontherocks — 12 days ago
▲ 8 r/KneeInjuries

Pending MRI, is this bruising from the inside?

I’m an educator and this injury is from work. Since I’m going through worker’s comp, I want to educate myself as much as possible.
Tuesday morning, I had an extremely bad interaction with a student. The nature of my job means I see this a lot and take strikes to my limbs pretty much daily, so I didn’t think much of the pain and stiffness I had after, plus we were getting a massive storm and that often gives me aches.
Wednesday, there was no marking, just some swelling. Then Thursday, I woke up with the bruise (slide 3) which progressed to what you see in slide 2 by the afternoon. Went to the doctor, and she suspects I may have torn my MCL, possibly the meniscus, and maybe my patellar tendon based on my knee instability. We are waiting for workers comp to set me up with an MRI.
Slide 1 was Friday morning. My leg is now swollen from mid though to my foot, even with prescription Naproxen. I also have had occasional pins and needles sensation down my medial shin, through my instep and to my big toe.

If you’ve been there, done this: is the bruise related to the MCL? Is the swelling pissing off my nerves and causing the pins and needles sensation? How worried should I be about that?

I’ll update when I know what the MRI says!

u/Powdered_Souls — 12 days ago