Bad knee injury from axe kick - help!

[flutterfists]

About three months ago, I was sparring in my TKD class. My opponent threw a butterfly kick at me, close range. It didn't hit me - however, when the kick reached its max height (which was locked out and almost verticle), the leg came down into an axe kick with incredible force... His heel struck the side of my left knee - the outer part - and my leg buckled in sharply, and I dropped like a sack of potatoes. The pain was almost unbearable. My instructors had to pick me up off the floor and practically drag me to the nearest bench.

My knee swelled up big time, and stayed that way for a couple weeks before it started to go down. I was awfully wobbley on it, and kept it wrapped for a while.

It's been about three months. I still can't bend my knee the way I used to without experiencing resistance and pain... it's slightly swollen, and swells a little more sometimes after class. Interestingly, although I was hit on the outer part of the knee, the pain is isolated on the inside. As you're reading this, completely close your legs together and make your knees touch. That's where it hurts on my left knee, completely on the other side where the impact occurred.

I've heard bad joint injuries can take up to six months to heal. I'm at the halfway point, and I guess I'm getting impatient. I never saw a doctor, I'm a little hesitant to push the subject with my mom... she's a nurse, and she doesn't seem too concerned with my symptoms. The last time I had an injury, she was sure I didn't need to see a doctor, but I forced her to take me anyway. It turned out no serious damage was done, and it was a little embarrassing.

Should I force the issue to see a doctor? Does anyone know if these are normal symptoms for a knee injury?

[sudo02]

sounds like you may have strained/torn/ruptured your mcl ligament, you need to see a good physio he/she will tell you what you have done etc. i tore my lcl (outside of knee), during my conversation with my physio i asked what was the best ligament to injury if you had to, he said it was the mcl as it has a good blood supply and is faily large.

p.s do not put off seeing a physio you could have been working on your knee and supporting muscles.

measure both your legs my left leg lost 2 cm due to my ligament injury, this will cause more problems.

this is only a guess from what you said. see a physio for a detailed assessment.

good luck & let us know how you get on

[flutterfists]

Thanks for the great advice! I researched MCL injuries on the internet, and based on my symptoms, it sounds like that's exactly what happened. I'm definitely gonna make an appointment with a doctor.

[Hapuka]

About three months ago, I was sparring in my TKD class. My opponent threw a butterfly kick at me, close range. It didn't hit me - however, when the kick reached its max height (which was locked out and almost verticle), the leg came down into an axe kick with incredible force... His heel struck the side of my left knee - the outer part - and my leg buckled in sharply, and I dropped like a sack of potatoes. The pain was almost unbearable. My instructors had to pick me up off the floor and practically drag me to the nearest bench.

My knee swelled up big time, and stayed that way for a couple weeks before it started to go down. I was awfully wobbley on it, and kept it wrapped for a while.

It's been about three months. I still can't bend my knee the way I used to without experiencing resistance and pain... it's slightly swollen, and swells a little more sometimes after class. Interestingly, although I was hit on the outer part of the knee, the pain is isolated on the inside. As you're reading this, completely close your legs together and make your knees touch. That's where it hurts on my left knee, completely on the other side where the impact occurred.

I've heard bad joint injuries can take up to six months to heal. I'm at the halfway point, and I guess I'm getting impatient. I never saw a doctor, I'm a little hesitant to push the subject with my mom... she's a nurse, and she doesn't seem too concerned with my symptoms. The last time I had an injury, she was sure I didn't need to see a doctor, but I forced her to take me anyway. It turned out no serious damage was done, and it was a little embarrassing.

Should I force the issue to see a doctor? Does anyone know if these are normal symptoms for a knee injury?

I'm sorry to say this but your mum or mom if you prefer might be a tad silly. Ive had something similar to this and I found out a year latter that is was a torn meniscus, now my surgeon has to remove the whole lot as its a bucket handle tear (the worst you can get) and hes thinking about reconstructing the whole knee! He says that I'll probably end up with arthritis in the joint. My doctor thought it was a torn Hamstring until I came back to him three months later to tell him my knee kept locking.

I would get my butt to a knee specialist as soon as possible before it gets worse. My mum thought it was nothing that serious until the surgeon told her otherwise. My mum was quite shocked. I would get an X-ray and a MRI done.

Its better to be safe than to be sorry. At the moment I'm feeling sorry. :(

[flutterfists]

Update:

Finally, I got in to see the doctor. Before I even saw him (I guess it's procedure for knee injuries), they did x-rays to rule out bone stuff. As expected, they turned out fine. After the doctor checked me out, he suspected I tore at least one ligament, and wanted to make sure things were healing okay. The MRI scans came back good, so he put me on a physical therapy program to strengthen the ligament and speed the healing process. I was told the kind of injury I had typically takes 6-8 months before it's completely healed, so I've got a little ways to go. All in all, I got a good report, and I'm glad I went. Thanks for talking me into going, guys.

[Hapuka]

No problem. Lucky for you it wasn't serious. :)