Re: knee buckles Debbie

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbie:

I have had knee problems since I was a young child.

When my right knee began buckling after having had

several different injuries, I ignored it and kept on

going. Well, it completely buckled out from under me

one night, and tore my anterior cruciate ligament

entirely. I could place no weight at all on it

without it giving out and it was soooooo painful.

Seems that I had had a tear of the ACL for years and

that was what was causing the buckling, and that last

time I stepped down it tore the rest of the ACL - you

would not believe the pain I was in. If I had had a

MRI for it earlier, I would not have caused the damage

I did to my knee. In addition to the ACL tear, I had

a torn meniscus, my patella was off to one side, I had

torn cartilage in other areas, and strained my tendons

and ligaments. I had to have surgery to repair all

that was wrong, and basically they said the surgery

just stopped short of being a total knee replacement -

took a long and painful time to recover.

My knee was a mess and I did not know it, well I knew

something was wrong but just figured I would tough it

out because I did not want surgery - I knew it hurt

sometimes, and buckled, and I completely fell down

many times, but I really gave it no thought and just

kept on with it. Don't do what I did. I would

definately suggest that you ask for a MRI of your knee

- x-rays are not going to show the kind of damage you

might have to your ligaments, cartilage, or if there

is any kind of meniscal tears. Don't mess around with

this, okay? It might only be loose ligaments causing

the trouble, but just to be on the safe side, have the

MRI done.

Take care - Kathe in CA

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