Need a rec for a knee doc, please

[ThinkFast]

Hey all - I wrenched my knee a couple weeks ago and it still isn't right. Hyperextended it. X-rays show nothing. I'm concerned that it could end up needing surgical repair - been over three weeks and still not getting better.

Seeing KP sports doc on Friday, so hoping he'll be able to tell me more. Haven't gotten MRI yet, either. In case I end up needing it, looking for recs for a good ortho surgeon for knee work - suspecting ligament damage. Main worry is that being Kaiser, I'm afraid my doc here will recommend someone local rather than at a different facility. So wondering whether anyone here has any experience or recs.

Thanks.

 

[Abacinator]

Dr Laura Timmerman in Walnut Creek fixed my wife's knee up after Muir orthopedics botched the repair for her dislocation.

 

[afm199]

Hey all - I wrenched my knee a couple weeks ago and it still isn't right. Hyperextended it. X-rays show nothing. I'm concerned that it could end up needing surgical repair - been over three weeks and still not getting better.

Seeing KP sports doc on Friday, so hoping he'll be able to tell me more. Haven't gotten MRI yet, either. In case I end up needing it, looking for recs for a good ortho surgeon for knee work - suspecting ligament damage. Main worry is that being Kaiser, I'm afraid my doc here will recommend someone local rather than at a different facility. So wondering whether anyone here has any experience or recs.

Thanks.

In defense of Kaiser, I've had some awesome treatment there, including two lifesaving operations.

The thing with knees is that time really does help and is needed. They are super slow to heal but they do.

 

[ThinkFast]

Dr Laura Timmerman in Walnut Creek fixed my wife's knee up after Muir orthopedics botched the repair for her dislocation.

Thanks - I'll check her out. Interesting about Muir. They were ranked very highly in the US News World Report hospital rankings - higher than any KP. Walnut Creek KP was among the highest of the KP sites around here, though.

And thanks for the encouraging info, @afm199. It's been three weeks, and showing little or no sign of improvement. I'm thinking my skiing is going to be off this year up at Tahoe.

Anyone need a cabin for January?

 

[somesuch]

Dr. John T. Kao is outstanding.

 

[fraz]

Dr. John T. Kao is outstanding.

This is true. I drive over the hill to see him after a friend recommended. Next year's deductible... new shoulders?

 

[Climber]

Dr Kevin Stone in San Francisco is among the best in the Bay Area.

He was the doctor for the US women's ski team, did a lot of SF Ballet dancers, 49ers and others.

He saved my meniscus when every other doctor would have removed it.

 

[Maddevill]

In defense of Kaiser, I've had some awesome treatment there, including two lifesaving operations.

The thing with knees is that time really does help and is needed. They are super slow to heal but they do.

True, I had knee surgery in November 2021 ( tibia plateau fracture, plated) and I still can't bend my knee like I need to. However, it is improving but really slowly. Right now depending on the bike, I either shift with my heel and I have a thumb shifter on my ZX14.

Mad

 

[bcj]

Have you been using crutches and absolutely 0 weight bearing on that knee?
If you're still hobbling about on it, you're doin it rong.

I had to crutch around for a full 8 weeks to get mine under control. Age sucks.
It's extremely hard to do, getting up to fix food and pee on a regular basis, but it's the only remedy that worked for me.

Doc! It hurts when I do this!
"Don't do that" seems to be the correct diagnosis in my case.

Whizzing around on the free electric carts at Safeway was kind of fun,
but the reverse beeps were loud and I couldn't reach stuff on the higher shelves

 

[Abacinator]

Thanks - I'll check her out. Interesting about Muir. They were ranked very highly in the US News World Report hospital rankings - higher than any KP. Walnut Creek KP was among the highest of the KP sites around here, though.

And thanks for the encouraging info, @afm199. It's been three weeks, and showing little or no sign of improvement. I'm thinking my skiing is going to be off this year up at Tahoe.

Anyone need a cabin for January?

I was surprised as well because Muir Ortho does have a good reputation. My wife had a dislocation and the surgeon repaired it with a cadaver tendon. Evidently he strung it too tight and it limited her range of motion considerably, even after a second surgery to remove excess scar tissue. She was told that it would improve over time with PT but never did. Dr Timmerman indicated that she's seen the same issue multiple times in Muir Ortho patients that have come to her. After she performed her procedure, the improvement was almost immediate and my wife's knee is basically normal again.

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

My wife had her knee replaced by Dr. Joseph Matthews at Kaiser Santa Teresa and she liked him. Seems to be pretty knowledgeable - by simply looking at an X-ray of her other knee he could tell who did that replacement, when, and which manufacturer made the joint - that replacement had been done 10 years previously. The second knee was done about 4 years ago.

 

[Climber]

OP, what have you been doing for your knee since thist started?

You should be:
1. Icing twice a night for 15 minutes each.
2. Alternating heat, following icing (at this stage).
3. Epsom salt bath, as hot as you can take it, on your knee, you can put knee in or do a bath with your knee submerged. This would replace one of your heat cycles. It's the magnesium in the Epsom salt that you want to get in through the pores.
4. Wear a compression knee brace, not just the pull over but one where you can tighten it.

Good luck!
I've had 4 knee surgeries in my right knee.

 

[BillSmith]

Wife had her knee replacement done by Kaiser. Redwood City offices. After studying the variety of doctors, went with the one that shared on his bio an interest in model trains. Figured he just might be meticulous.

Spurious logic to be sure but she came out remarkably better than one could expect.

The doctor's part is easy. Rehabilitation is the essential part. Do not push the process. Wife was lucky as she had accrued months of sick pay. Stayed at home for five months.

Know another that went back to work after two months off. Did not go well.

G'luck!

 

[ThinkFast]

Have you been using crutches and absolutely 0 weight bearing on that knee?
If you're still hobbling about on it, you're doin it rong.

I had to crutch around for a full 8 weeks to get mine under control. Age sucks.
It's extremely hard to do, getting up to fix food and pee on a regular basis, but it's the only remedy that worked for me.

Thanks. Took me 2 weeks to work that out. The missing bit of info was that after crutching around for a few days and it starts feeling ok, you still have to keep crutching around! I didn't know that, so one morning I woke up without the pain and thought - ok, I'm good. Just take it easy and should be fine. Wrong. Started hurting again, so then it was back to the crutches.

OP, what have you been doing for your knee since thist started?

You should be:
1. Icing twice a night for 15 minutes each.
2. Alternating heat, following icing (at this stage).
3. Epsom salt bath, as hot as you can take it, on your knee, you can put knee in or do a bath with your knee submerged. This would replace one of your heat cycles. It's the magnesium in the Epsom salt that you want to get in through the pores.
4. Wear a compression knee brace, not just the pull over but one where you can tighten it.

Good luck!
I've had 4 knee surgeries in my right knee.

Thanks for the input. 4?? Yikes.
I've been doing the RICE thing non-stop. In fact, yesterday I realized I was doing too much icing and I think I overdid it to the point where it was making my knee ache. Haven't tried the hot/cold changeup, though. So will give that a try. Not like I'm doing anything else these days.

I have a Bauerfield knee brace already, which I got to help with tendonitis on the same knee. The thing I pretty tight - they're custom sized to your leg size. I've been wearing that when I don't have ice on it.

Will give the epsom salt bath a try - something to do...

Thanks, all, for the doctor tips - I love BARFers!

 

[berth]

OP, what have you been doing for your knee since thist started?

You should be:
1. Icing twice a night for 15 minutes each.
2. Alternating heat, following icing (at this stage).
3. Epsom salt bath, as hot as you can take it, on your knee, you can put knee in or do a bath with your knee submerged. This would replace one of your heat cycles. It's the magnesium in the Epsom salt that you want to get in through the pores.
4. Wear a compression knee brace, not just the pull over but one where you can tighten it.

I tweaked my wrist over 2 months ago, when I dropped my bike. Finally had it X-Rayed and it didn't show anything (I didn't think it would, but...).

It's just light ligament damage. "Soft tissue". Much better now, compression wrap really helped.

Is the ice/heat cycle simply therapeutic for symptomatic relief, or does it promote healing?

I though that was mostly to deal with swelling.

 

[seadog]

Dr. Bobroff, KP Walnut creek did my Mom's knee. Worked great. Fortunately I haven't required a new knee just yet. Also, the doc mentioned that my Mom's knee recovery went so well due to her diligent physical therapy recovery program. Hope your treatment / recovery goes well.

 

[Climber]

I tweaked my wrist over 2 months ago, when I dropped my bike. Finally had it X-Rayed and it didn't show anything (I didn't think it would, but...).

It's just light ligament damage. "Soft tissue". Much better now, compression wrap really helped.

Is the ice/heat cycle simply therapeutic for symptomatic relief, or does it promote healing?

I though that was mostly to deal with swelling.

Cold and heat both promote healing with different mechanisms. The cold will constrict your capillaries, this forces the current blood away, when you stop the cold, new blood flows in, richer in Oxygen, white blood cells and not loaded with debris from damaged cells. Heat promotes more blood flow, which is one reason you do it after ice.

Epsom salt has magnesium which promotes soft tissue repair. By soaking in hot water, the magnesium is absorbed through your pores and is in the location to do good.

Knee braces help reduce the strain on your tendons and ligaments. Every time you engage damaged tissue you risk re-injuring the tissues.

 

[mercurial]

In defense of Kaiser, I've had some awesome treatment there, including two lifesaving operations.

So you're sayin you got lucky!

Kaiser is a horror fest. All they care about is giving you the minimum level of care required to not get sued for malpractice. GF is a nurse and hates them. I remember when my mom went to emergency room for chest pain, they took over an hour to perform an EKG on her (they thought it was a panic attack, which it was, but there is really no excuse to delay an EKG at the slightest sign of a heart attack.) I've heard the blood work bands they use to determine "normal" readings are often wider than what is normally recommended. One of my yoga instructors has parkinsons, took 8 years to diagnose since they never bothered to get him to a neurologist or any other specialist.

They really just suck ass.

 

[Mr. White]

So you're sayin you got lucky!

Kaiser is a horror fest. All they care about is giving you the minimum level of care required to not get sued for malpractice. GF is a nurse and hates them. I remember when my mom went to emergency room for chest pain, they took over an hour to perform an EKG on her (they thought it was a panic attack, which it was, but there is really no excuse to delay an EKG at the slightest sign of a heart attack.) I've heard the blood work bands they use to determine "normal" readings are often wider than what is normally recommended. One of my yoga instructors has parkinsons, took 8 years to diagnose since they never bothered to get him to a neurologist or any other specialist.

They really just suck ass.

So you're mad they were right about your mom because they did it their way instead of yours?

I had no issues with Kaiser when I had an emergency appendectomy, or during the birth of my kids.

 

[Jammer]

So you're mad they were right about your mom because they did it their way instead of yours?

I had no issues with Kaiser when I had an emergency appendectomy, or during the birth of my kids.

KP is good on obvious conditions, not so much with rare or chronic condition. So really, lucky you and yours.