how long before my bad knee sprain heals?
i sprained my left knee playing basketball. its been 17 days since my injury and i still cannot fully extend and lock out my knee because of the pain in the inside of my knee joint, center/medial aspect of it. i feel a pressure and pain there when i try. i hurt it by planting my left foot with a slight bend in the knee and with all my weight bearing on that leg and also tried to slightly change direction to the right all in the same movement. i was not warmed up properly too. i felt a very painful and sharp pain right away and collapsed in pain. immediately, i could not extend it and i was in a lot of pain and it was a bit shaky and i could not bare weight on it. now i can walk but with a slight bend in the knee. it hurts if i try to plant my foot out in front of me with weight bearing on it. it also hurts to to twist it with weight bearing on it. i cannot still lock it out because of the pain and it is still slightly swollen and a bit stiff. the swelling was never major but it was and still is there. i have improved the ROM when i flex it because its less stiff and less painful to do this, but the extension has not improved because of the pain in the inside of it. if i keep my knee slightly bent while walking, there is no significant discomfort, but if i try to lock it out and bare some weight on it then it hurts. also hurts to extend and try to lock it out even with no weight bearing. so i cannot play sports right now. im worried that its a meniscus tear or badly bruised meniscus or a microfracture of a bone or something along those lines and possibly a stretched MCL or ACL too, i dont think i tore any ligament. I had my MRI yesterday and am gettin the report next week. im just worried if this can heal on its own if its just a really bad sprain (ligament stretch and/or bone or meniscus bruise) and how much longer cuz it's stil painful and its been over 2 1/2 weeks and i dont see it gettin better for another month or more probably. if i need surgery like anthroscopic then it's going to suck but im resigned to the idea and prepared to have it. btw, im not confident in my dr. cuz she is a family practician but hopefully i can get her to refer me to a specialist. its hard because in on medicaid (public medical insurance for low income). the MRI is being done and assesed by an independent place that does all kinds of scans and they told me a muscle skeletal dr. will asses my MRI. i wish it was a arthopeadic specialist. the place seems big and competent, called Radiology Limited, but it would be better to consult with a knee specialist too...i hope whatever happens i can consult with one and be treated by one and have whatever i need done there, whether i will just need physical therapy or possibly surgery.
what could be the cause of my knee pain/ diagnosis? How long should i expect it to be before i can regain full leg extension and be able to lock out my knee without pain? If it's just a really bad sprain (like a bad meniscus bruise, bone bruise, and/or ligament stretch) that can heal on its own with PT possibly but without surgery, how long before it heals enough so i can return to playing sports and be able to pivot on it with weight and be able to regain enough explosion movement on it for sprinting and twisting and jumping on it...at least to be able to play at a 80% level?
P.S. im male, 25 and this is my first knee injury ever. oh and btw, i just tweaked my right knee twice, once this morning and once just 10 min ago by coming into the car to sit down. its nothing but it worries me that this will be the start of knee problems now.
Public Comments
1. If it is just a sprain it can take a long time to heal, and is painful. The MRI will tell you if any ligament damage is done. IF it is just a sprain rest will heal it but if it is anything torn significantly you will need surgery.2. First, it's still quite early. Although the MCL ligament (the most likely one you injured based on the location you describe) tends to heal pretty well, it still takes several weeks. If you've noted improvement during this time, let it continue to heal for now. However, you are correct in that this MAY be a meniscal tear. However, many meniscal tears will eventually stop hurting after awhile as well.
I hate to tell you this, but you are not likely going to find an orthopedic surgeon who takes public aid. If it is at all like the Chicago area where you live, there are only about 3 surgeons in the entire metro area that will take it for an injury such as yours...and most of them are semi retired and don't do surgery anymore. They will perform injections or refer you to PT, but will not offer surgery for an "elective" procedure such as this unless you pay out of pocket for it. Only if you had an emergency that was life threatening would it be repaired (ie, think open fracture of the leg). It might be better in other states, by my experience is that for those on public aid, it's hard to get treatment for anything "elective." I've seen plenty of people on the PA system wind up with permanent limitations because of the limits of this insurance.
In your case, I would give it more time.
