Knee pain driving me round the bend !

[Juliette02]

I have had a swollen painful left Knee since just before Christmas.Not hot

Checked - No breaks, no torn ligaments due to injury.

Bloods check for rheumatoid arthritis - Negative

However a year ago I suffered and was hospitalized with Covid / Pneumonia with other symptoms which included a painful left knee & left elbow and general swelling in both legs.

By the time I’d left hospital the pain, swelling had all gone; presumably the antibiotics and steroid treatment I’d been given helped ‘everything else’

However the type of knee pain I’m now experiencing is very similar to 12 months ago but just made the association as I Intially thought I’d damage it.

Now Researching other ‘causes’ the nearest I can get to similar symptoms is

‘ Reactive Athritis’ ? I have had other infections since the hospital episode, throat, S&D etc which I can now associate with subsequent knee pain ?

It’s making me feel very tired and unwell and my Doctor is ticking the ‘check list’ box but it’s slow and laborious as it’s increasing difficult to get appointments.

[mrsjsmith]

Sorry to hear that Juliette, knee pain is miserable. Apart from the obvious and elevate where possible, it might be worth trying to find a good private physiotherapist to help. Sadly the NHS ones in my experience tend to just give exercises. If you can find an old school one that is still ‘hands on’ it might help.

As your not in treatment I found fish oils helped with knee pain , and a good massage oil with Arnica.

Colette

[LeoPa]

Is it swollen or only painful? If it is acute inflammation then anti-inflammatory drugs may help. If it is chronic inflammation then lifestyle changes will be necessary.

[Lenny123]

May not be the same, ,but i have had horrible , similar pain, swelling, redness, prolonged attacks, puzzle to oncologist and rheumatologist. Self treated with ice packs, anti-inflammatory agents, splint. Has receded in time.

In retrospect i am pretty sure they were due to tendinitis, especially extensor tendinitis. Possibly due to atypical gout.

Long story short, suggest you get an Uric acid level. Easy enough to treat with Colchicine, if so.

Best of luck.

[Juliette02]

Thank you ! I will do that !

[cd49]

Juliette02,

While I've never really been limber, as I've aged my muscles have become unreasonably tight. My GP suggested assisted stretching after I complained about my knees and hips hurting more than normal. I've been getting stretched for over a year now (every three weeks) and I am much improved. My sciatica is gone and my knee pain still flares up periodically, but nothing like it was before... it is now contained to issues when walking down (strangely not up) stairs. From my perspective, it is a very significant improvement. From what I understand, shrinking hamstrings can cause cascading joint problems. Anyway, it might be worth exploring. Good luck getting some relief.