Old Knee Injury

[TheBoys]

5 years ago I sprained my knee and from then on have had swelling and pain….it seemed to trigger my RA.

At that time after about 9 months I had an mri which showed a bit of damage and a maniacal tear. The advice then was rest, nsaids etc and things will improve.

Then time passes and you get used to a bad knee and just see it as your worst affected joint with RA.

This week I was making the bed and got a twang in the knee and bang- pain/swelling. So I went to a good physiotherapist for a steroid injection and he did it by ultrasound. In doing so he examined the knee and diagnosed a meniscal tear along with othe bits of wear and tear damage.

He asked me when my rheumatologist last examined my joints - and reflected that a lot of times - injuries are overlooked rather it’s all wrapped up as RA progression.

So clearly my original injury never healed. I took my meds; got overweight and generally don’t do much. Meanwhile the rheumatoid arthritis flares up in the knee every time there’s an issue .

So rather than me taking newly prescribed medication and an ever expanding list of drugs that don’t really cure much I want to see will the Rheumatologist refer me for some treatment which might actually alleviate a problem area. Probably zero chance on the NHS.

[Runrig01]

if your knees giving you a lot of problems, sounds like you need referral to an orthopaedic consultant. They can remove the torn meniscus through keyhole surgery called an arthroscopy. They tend not to heal on their own.

[TheBoys in reply to Runrig01]

tnx Maureen - I wish I’d picked up on this sooner as the knee has literally upended my life. I’ve contacted my Dr to see if it can be progressed by them or via my Rheumatologist or via my insurance.

[Garnacha in reply to TheBoys]

My rheumatologist referred me for an ultrasound guided steroid injection on my shoulder last year, went for it in May last year & found a small tear, he wouldn't do the injection as he said I needed to see an orthopaedic surgeon first, if he agreed then he'd do it.

My rheumatologist referred me (eventually 🙄) & saw the surgeon in January, I was shocked when he said I needed an operation instead & that I couldn't have a steroid injection, he said he'd add me to the waiting list but saw I had insurance & asked why not use that, to be honest I only thought I was going to have a steroid injection. Had the op 3 weeks ago, so you could ask your rheumatologist or just ask your gp for a referral letter to go private.

Good luck with whatever you decide

[TheBoys in reply to Garnacha]

hi - thanks for that- hopefully I’ll get something that will improve things.

[oldtimer2]

Sounds like a problem for the orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in knees! The evidence about treatment for knees (my partner has a problem knee) is very confusing. My sister has (in France) had both knee joints replaced for cartilage damage and OA - she injured them playing competitive tennis and went back to playing 'social' tennis for some years. (This was before she developed Rheumatoid Arthritis like me.)