Hoops

Any tips on managing a strained knee?

Good advice on getting a referral from a GP to an ortho. And no complaints with SportsMed and they offer a great all in 1 place service but they charge for that convenience too. One ortho worth keeping in mind is Wilson Lee, a knee specialist who operates out of Melbourne Street and was associated with the 36ers in their glory days is highly regarded by amateur sports people. Was one of the pioneers of arthroscopic knee surgery in Australia and did many AFL recons in the 80s and 90s and takes pride in his very high success rate. He also doesn't charge an arm and a leg (xcuse the pun) for consults. Mind you he takes a pretty conservative approach with a strong focus on recovery and longevity. For that reason he won't touch LARS and is out of favour with professional players and clubs. I must state my bias here as he did an ACL recon on my knee in 1989 and it's still holding up well - better than the rest of me in fact.

As a sports trainer, I would go see someone at Sports Med SA located around the city. The specialise in sports education as well as sports injuries and know the best practise. Prior to seeing one of these specialists, keep it warm and depending on whether you strap your ankles for games, you can also strap your knee however just dont cover up the actual knee rather below, behind and to the top of the knee. The aim is to keep the knee together and in place and not have the knee 'all over the place'. Its hard to diagnose but if you feel its bad, head to a hospital for examination cos basic xrays are covered under medicare and it gives a very provisional diagnosis

good luck

however i do agree with your final thought.

if in doubt get it checked out!

wax on wax off, if you read my posts, i clearly stated i went to the gp then got a referral to a orthopedic surgeon who then requested the MRI.

dont quote me on those numbers either as i had it done about a year ago and cant remember the exact figures. but if your point is some people cant afford to have that done i completely agree. but in my case i could and the problem had been ongoing for months before i had enough and wanted the problem resolved.

MRI is not cheap, cost me $550 upfront from memory, however medicare gave me $440 back. so at the end i was $110 out of pocket. wait was bugger all. i got out of the specialists office on the wednesday and was booked in for it the following friday night then back to the specialist the following wednesday. MRI even showed up a little burr i had that the surgeon said he could go in and fix up if my ligament didnt heal itself after the few months rest after which he would have recommended going in and fixing up the damage. but luckily it never came to that.

Go see Darren Ng

pfft, forget the physio and go to your gp and get a referral to a specialist, in particular a orthopedic surgeon. thats what i did, got an MRI done on me knee and showed i had a torn ACL (only slight) and it was swollen. rested it for 6 months and it was good as new.

not sure the extent of your injury but i could do normal things and it didnt hurt but when i fully squated i could fill a strong pain behind my knee. it was only in that circumstance that it hurt but it was ongoing for a couple of months then got it checked out. i went to the physio first up and it didnt help much at all. somethings just need time. however i did get massive muscle pains in my back which the physio fixed up straight away.

Go and see above comments...and then go and see a sports physio