Ok, so Wed. night I think I hurt my knee pretty badly during a soccer game.  I made a cut, heard a pop, and felt a lot of pain.  So I'm instantly thinking, "wow, there goes the ACL."  It swelled up badly, and I went to the doctor the next day, and scheduled an MRI for Friday.  I payed $500 bucks for the MRI, but now my knee feels night and day better.  I still can't straighten it all the way, or bend it all the way, but I can walk around without a limp, and most of the swelling has gone away.

Is it possible that a torn meniscus/MCL/ACL would feel this way, or did I just waste the money on the MRI?

my brother has injured all components of his knees and studied athletic training for a period of time and he says that if you can't straighten or bend the whole way it is probably damaged meniscus. Just wait for the MRI results. He had an injury that tore his ACL partially and they didn't diagnose it correctly and during rehab it tore completely and really messed up his knee. He had to get surgery and now his knee clicks when he walks with pretty much every step.

If you do get surgery, don't go to the guy that was cutting on Tom Brady's knee. 3 infections and counting.  

It could be a number of things, I tore the articular cartilage and from what you describe it is very similar. When it comes to join injuries MRI's are never a waste of money; believe me and many other older members this will come back to haunt you later in life!

Hurt right knee in football and then constantly aggravated it during future years playing pickup touch football and basketball games.

ACL is gone and cartledge has disappeared.

May I suggest getting it corrected now, when you are young.

My current orthopedic, and he is a sensational surgeon, said to keep on going until I can't walk and we will do a knee transplant.

Right now I am getting the chicken grease injections and taking Aleve.

So please get your knee corrected by a good orthopedic surgeon with the understanding that it will probably never be 100%.  

Hurt right knee in football and then constantly aggravated it during future years playing pickup touch football and basketball games.

ACL is gone and cartledge has disappeared.

May I suggest getting it corrected now, when you are young.

My current orthopedic, and he is a sensational surgeon, said to keep on going until I can't walk and we will do a knee transplant.

Right now I am getting the chicken grease injections and taking Aleve.

So please get your knee corrected by a good orthopedic surgeon with the understanding that it will probably never be 100%.

great advice. i tore my acl and had what my orthopedic called a "bucket handle" tear in my miniscus. i had acl reconstruction and my knee is as good as new. the normal feeling that you are having right now is "normal" because the swelling went down. the only advice i can give, is if you do have a torn acl, make sure you find an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in acl reconstruction. i don't know what kind of insurance you have, but do yourself a favor and start researching orthpedics on your plan.

L. knee X1

R. knee X2

Just because the swelling is down does not mean the knee is well. While you are young you need to have it fixed. If not you will regrett it. Will only cause more damage

Try this: Plant your foot with pressure on the floor and then twist your body(Leg) right and left W/O lifting your foot off the floor. When you quit screaming call your doctor and scheldule a followup appointment.

Don't try the above unless you have a set of crutches at home. If you need some I can send you several pairs.

L. knee X1

R. knee X2

Just because the swelling is down does not mean the knee is well. While you are young you need to have it fixed. If not you will regrett it. Will only cause more damage

Try this: Plant your foot with pressure on the floor and then twist your body(Leg) right and left W/O lifting your foot off the floor. When you quit screaming call your doctor and scheldule a followup appointment.

Don't try the above unless you have a set of crutches at home. If you need some I can send you several pairs.

Haha thanks, but I know before even attempting what you say that it will hurt.  I go in for my follow-up today to go over the MRI results.

As far as doctors go, I'm not sure I could have one much better.  This is the guy that does the knee stuff for the Longhorns' football team

Honestly it could be really bad like an acl or it could just be a sprain. I have thankfully not had any serious knee problems but I have sprained, hyperextended and just about everything else you can do to a knee. I have also sprained my ankle many and times have heard it pop before. sometimes a bad sprain can take up to two weeks or more to get better. if it gets better the more you use it it is probably just a sprain.

Our group of physicans will be sending you their bills within a week . If you have problems in paying the bills , please call and make payment plans.

I am 21 and I have had three knee surgeries on my left knee. I was playing soccer hyper extended my knee heard three pops. I was walking on it after the game with pain and then the next day swelled up couldn't move it. I got an MRI and found out it was a fully torn ACL and torn meniscus. If you tear your meniscus you will have a very hard time putting weight on it. The meniscus sucks... once you tear it the majority of times you tear it again and again which is why I had two more knee surgeries. I think it was smart for you to get an MRI. Just because you can walk around without a limp doesn't mean you didn't tear a ligament. It most likely means that you didn't tear your meniscus which is a good thing. I think you either have a partial tear or your strained a ligament badly. Keep us posted, I am curious. You really don't want to mess around with ligaments in your knee. Get it done right so you don't need to pay for it the rest of your life.

I tore ACL,MCL,PCL and miniscus and was walking almost without a limp till my surgery. It is very possible for it to feel better without actually being better. Case in point had a friend who played and entire baseball season with a torn ACL.

Just got back from the doctor, it is in fact an ACL tear, have surgery scheduled for the 17th.

Just got back from the doctor, it is in fact an ACL tear, have surgery scheduled for the 17th.

Good luck and keep us posted on your recovery.

Enjoy the pain meds.

I had reconstructive surgery on my ACL/MCL in 1988. I had the surgery done by the Detroit Lions Ortho. Dr. David Collon. I haven't had any problems since.

Good luck with your surgery, and do everything your Doctor/Therapist says.

Falcon

aw, that sucks man, good luck

Good luck. Surgery is never fun. At least you did it when its getting cold.