severe knee pain xrayed not torn or broken whats next?

[Thseh]

developed severe knee pain during a  (3mile)walk (Iam relatively fit) was x-rayed  not torn or broken  referred to family physician  who at 6 weeks prescribed anti inflamatory and pain management... (ineffective)  and advised if not resolved to come back in a month..... is this appropriate treatment, I can only walk short distances have trouble with stairs AND am missing work.. advise please   and Thankyou!  

[siyonalappat123]

please check your esr , aso ,RA, c reactive protein, uric acid  . if you are ok . nothing to worry about it . first tell about the result

[Thseh]

Thank you

[Paxiled]

An X-ray can't see soft tissue, such as a cartilage tear.  It might be the meniscus, for example.  I don't know who diagnosed you or how -- was it an orthopedist?  Did anyone move your knee around to see how mobile it is?  I would guess your family physician knows absolutely nothing about knees except to refer those who have problems to a specialist.  I know when I've had knee problems I had to get an MRI because when I've gotten just an X-ray a definitive diagnosis could not be made.  If you had a thorough exam by a specialist it might be they determined you just sprained it or tweaked it, but when I was diagnosed with that I was sent right away to a physical therapist.  After years of off and on conflicting diagnoses it's probably tendonitis but could be a meniscus problem, for me the MRI didn't show anything but that's the test that shows the soft tissue that is usually a problem with a knee if there is more than just a tweak.  By 6 weeks it's kind of late for anti-inflammatory and ice and such, you do that right away.  You might continue icing your knee for the rest of your life, but just for comfort.  Hopefully, you just twisted it, but whatever you did, if it's still this bad this long after you did it I'm just surprised nobody sent you for an MRI or to a physical therapist.  And when you say not torn, again, torn refers to cartilage, and that doesn't show on a X-ray but manipulation can sometimes tell you.

[Thseh]

I went in on crutches...xray at emerg    was told  quote  you dont need surgery  nothing is torn  nothing is broken you have some arthritis and its just 'birthdays' (im 77) go home take advil rest call you family doc in a week  when I did the ealiest apptmt was a full month away.. (her site says she is looking for more patients!)   I went to chiropractor who asked how they could know it wasn't torn without a mri , he did acupuncture and with some tylinol I  carefully went off crutches   finally saw doc who prescribed  10 days  inflamation and pain meds  and refer for mri, and  to return apptment in month for injection (cortizone i think) if not better.   I am going back to chiropractor tomorrow for possible acupunture.. I am NOT please with theway this has been treated and am certain that part of it is that I am well past the 'best before date' so what could I possibly be doing thats really important     thanks for letting me complain!

[Paxiled]

Just so you know, chiropractors aren't actually trained at all in knees.  They're formal training is just adjusting the spine and nothing else.  Some learn other things, though, as they practice.  Your chiropractor probably isn't really an acupuncturist either -- once you have a medical degree you can go for a couple of weekends and get a certificate to do pretty much anything, but a true acupuncturist trains for several years and also learns Chinese medicine, as of course you have to know that in order to know how acupuncture works.  In this day and age, 77 isn't as old as it once was -- if you're relatively fit and healthy, as you say, your life span keeps going up nowadays thanks to the availability of clean water and plenty of food and the fact we don't have to catch our own food anymore.  I wouldn't personally get that cortisone shot until you get an MRI and an evaluation by an orthopedist who specializes in knees, because cortisone only helps with inflammation and only sometimes and can cause damage and anxiety problems for some folks, though you sound pretty much like you can handle stuff.  I'm 65 and have had a lot of bad luck with docs over the last few years, they've wrecked my life pretty much, so I'm just not very lucky.  It's always better to be lucky than good.  But again, why get cortisone if you need surgery?  Because if you have torn cartilage in a part of your knee that doesn't get blood flow, you might need that.  Hopefully you don't, and that will be the time for considering cortisone.  Without a diagnosis, and I maintain you still haven't had one, how can anyone treat you?

[Thseh]

had acupuncture and lazer treatment today  2 more next week, mri date,  reviewed what may be/have happened, future healing, and possible maintenence   measured for brace, wish I had gone this route from the start.  Thank you for  your help