chronic knee pain in healthy teenagers?
Hi, for the last year I have been suffering from near constant knee pain. Last february I was diagnosed with tendonitis of the knee. Not only was it patellar, it was all three of the main tendons in my knee. I got it from over exerting myself when distance running. I was prescribed strong anti-inflamatories and put on crutches for over a month. After being taken off crutches, I continued to do the strengthening exercises that were recommended by the specialist I saw. It got better for a few months and I could run daily with no problem. Then in June I went running again and developed shin splints. once those subsided, the knee pain returned. I stopped running after that, and have continued to stretch and do the exercises. Despite my efforts, the pain is now in both knees (though it is worse in the originally injured one) and it is only increasing in severity. I am 17 years old and I cannot even stand or walk for extended periods of time now. I stopped running, I do the proper exercises, and I take mild anti-inflamatories. It is so severe at this point that it is greatly affecting my sleep and therein my school. If you understand why this is occurring in a teenager for so long despite fighting against it, please help me.
In addition, it is pain whether I am motionless or moving.
Public Comments
1. My best advice is to go see a doctor again hun! It's horrible that you're so young and you can't run anymore. I'm your age, a girl, and i play hockey. I recently broke my ankle and havent been able to play in a couple months because my ankle isnt the same.. so i feel your pain in that sense. But really hun, go to the doctor again and tell them what you're experiencing because if you dont, it could only get worse! Hope you feel better soon and that you get to run again someday soon!good luck!:)
2. I would invest in a memory foam knee pillow or a wide enough pillow that provides you comfort so that you can sleep. The knee can freeze if you don't keep it moving, so there is a list of exercises for you below. It can take weeks or extensive months....it'll depend on whether or not you'll need fluid released from the knee at a later date or surgery.
You need to keep the inflammation and pain down, so you must understand how to take the medication properly ~ you don't take it as needed, you take it consistently every day until you feel better.
If the doctor says to take ibuprofen (not addictive) every 4 hours for 10 days, then you take it exactly this way and after 10 days, you'll know if it feels better or still swollen and can then decide whether to continue with the anti inflammatories which are not addictive at a reduced amount or same amount.
The same goes with narcotics (percocet, vicodan, demerol, fentynal, morphine, &/or codeine).You take it as prescribed and not AS NEEDED this is how people develop an addiction because they wait for the pain then take the pill it doesn't work so they pop another and the addiction starts.
As long as you take it as prescribed, your body will stabilize on it and you won't feel loopy all the time or stoned. When you take it whenever your body doesn't get a chance to metabolize it so you get "crashes" with cold sweats & a yo yo of emotions.
I suffered with pain for years and it took 10 years before I was given the pain protocol which clearly explains to you how to take your medication for the best results and least side effects. I attend the pain clinic at our hospital every 3-5 weeks for an infusion for pain, so I'm up on pain protocols.
Be aware in the future for the following symptoms for bursitis of the knee. This can occur anytime now that you've had an injury so be aware of "bursitis" and the symptoms. There doesn't need to be a reason for BURSITIS, BUT it's incredibly PAINFUL. You could find yourself in the emergency room for pain control because tylenol might not touch it.
Bursitis is the most painful and it's difficult to bear weight. If you have an anti inflammatory, this will take down the swelling and pain fast. If it isn't working then you need to see your doctor asap to try a different prescription.
You should take it as directed on the bottle. If it says every 4 hours, then you take it every 4 hours. If you take it as needed, you might as well not even waste the doctor's time.
A lot of people think taking on as needed basis is better. It does nothing if it doesn't retain a build up of the medication so it can attack the inflammation.
ANTI INFLAMMATORY ~ ADVIL MOTRIN CELEBREX VIOXX
Sit on the side of your bed with both legs draped over. Try to straighten the knee. You may hear crunching, popping, etc. Keep doing it, up and down, up and down, like a handle on a pump...you'll need to keep doing it 4-6x a day.
You could also lie down on your bed. Lift your knees up and now try and move them like you would on a bicycle....keep doing it until all noise disappears from the knee ~ do not exceed 5 minutes.
Continue to do this, take anti inflammatories, ice the pain, and then warm the tendons.
***if you have puffy, swelling, and pressure increasing your pain, you may need to see the doctor to have the water drained.
http://www.drugs.com/cg
pain protocol further explanations...http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/gosh/clinicalserv…
Chronic Pain Condition, Knee Injury, Sciatics, Anklosying Spondylitis
3. It could be your ACL or MCL which are two ligaments in the knee that are common to injure when you're participating with sports. See if you would be able to consult with a orthopedic specialist on it, if you haven't and ask to see if you can either get some x-rays or MRI, or a scoping to take a look into your knee to see what is going on. I hope that this helps you, and I hope that it is not the ACL or MCL, as you don't need that problem at your age.
