Been doing that for at least a month till I injured my leg. I heard a 'pop' sound on my knee and thought I have sprain my muscle. *silly me...
Cos after the 'pop', I didn't feel any pain on my knee but my muscle around it.
Later in the evening, it became slightly swollen and I had to limp thou the night.
After a day or two, the swell was gone, but I still couldn't walk properly.
2 weeks passed and I got a bit worried as I was still unable to fully stretch and stand straight with my left leg without feeling the pain in the knee area. So I went to a GP and was told that I could have just sprain my leg and it would take some time to heal.
After a month plus with no improvement, I went to see my company panel clinic and explained my problem to her. She suspected that I have could have torn my ligament and suggested to see an orthopedic and get it fix. She then asked me to choose a hospital that is near where I stay for traveling convenience as the surgery is just a minor one, which any orthopedic surgeon can conduct.
So, I made an appointment and went to a doc at Colombia Asia Hospital.
He diagnosed me with Plica Syndrome and Chondromalacia patellae
I had 3 options.
1. physiotherapy to reduce the inflammation.
2. inject steroids directly to reduce the inflammation.
3. arthroscopy surgery to remove the gel and to even back the knee cap that is already been bruised.
He told me that the first 2 is a temporarily method and my problem would come back in the future. Only god knows when.
Estimated cost surgery : RM15,000
Just to ease my heart, I went to my company panel hospital at SALAM, Shah Alam Specialist Hospital to get a second opinion from the doc.
Told him the whole story again and he diagnosed me with the same condition as the 1st doc and on top of that, a possibility of ACL injury. He told me that I could have a possible ligament torn.
*slaps forehead* when I heard that.
*slaps forehead* when I heard that.
I had 2 options.
1. ACL surgery.
2. Change lifestyle
If I opt for non surgery, I cannot do any out outdoor activities except swimming and cycling anymore.
Crap! The first though that came into my mind is that what if there's an emergency that I need to jump or run for my life. There's no way I can run to save my dear life. I would be limping my way to safety which, I would probably be dead before I can even reach half way to a safety point.
The doc suggested that I do the arthroscopy to remove my plica gel and from there he would be able to see how severe the ligament torn is. There and then I can decide to do the hamstring reconstruction or wait till later on to see if I want to fix it in future.
Which means, I would have the double recovery period and the double cost of the surgery.
Estimated cost for the surgery : RM18,000
So instead of getting a confirmation on my diagnoses given from the1st doc, the issue of ACL is added to my problems.
His description of the hamstring reconstruction scared the hell of of me. My anxiety level went up and up every time I find more information about the surgery.
The surgery, the recovery period.. it was freaking me out...
I then decided to get a 3rd opinion. Made an appointment with an orthopedic at GlenEagles Hospital.
By the time I went to see the 3rd doc, it has already been 2 months plus after the injury.
I was still having problems standing straight, once a while I would just get a wobbly feeling when I walk or use the stairs.
I told the doc my situation, he made me do a lot more physical test compared to the other 2 docs. I had to describe my pain and discomfort in detail to him.
At the end, he told me that I'm just 'too flexible' and am prone to dislocation of joints. Great! Just great... I can foresee my future problems....
He told me that I don't need any surgery. Hallelujah!!
What I have is patella tracking problem. On my both knees.
I just need to build up my inner quadriceps muscle to pull my kneecap to the center as it's now on my outer side. I do need to inject cartilage back to my knee area because of my imperfect knee cap condition. I regretted by not asking more on my cartilage issue cos I was stunned with my patellar tracking problem. And the joy of not having to do any surgery.
I've been doing some exercise that he taught me for the pass week now. I'm feeling a slight improvement to my leg.
Because of my limping for the pass 2 months, I'm feeling the pain on my right knee as well.*crap
I do realize that I don't stand or walk properly. Not knowing how to balance the weight correcly can really put pressure to the knee.
I'm really worried about my cartilage right now... sighh...
I've actually made an appointment earlier on to see another doc at SDMC this coming Monday. This was due to the doc having his long holiday and fully booked appointment sessions.
Not to sure if I should see the 4th doc or play the wait and see game while continuing my exercise...
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