First "big" injury...

[Aussie Joe 0]

After receiving a knock to my right knee in a recent Ice game I have grown fed up with the odd twangs of pain and decided to see a doctor. He's diagnosed a grade 1 medial ligament sprain. It means a week of anti-inflams (Ibuprofen 200mg) and then two weeks of topical anti inflams (Feldene Gel).

I've always been thankful for having healthy knees but, this injury has me kind of scared. I know knees can be very dodgy when it comes to how they react to treatment. Has anyone has any experience or failures with this sort of injury.

PS: As Im a hockey addict, Im not happy about being off of the skates for 3 weeks. Not happy at all!

[nizmo 0]

I personally don't have experience with knee injuries but I had one friend that thought he could overcome them on his own and had to eventually have surgery on his knee.

Knee injuries are nothing to joke about. Take plenty of time off, get ok'd by your doctor and take it easy for the first few months.

[HeatleyRules 0]

Had the same experience last November. Smacked my knee off of the boards and it swelled to the size of a grapefruit. Surprisingly the swelling was the only thing wrong with it after the doctor had a second look and guaranteed it wasn't broken. He called it a contusion. Anyways it kept me off of the ice for 3-4 weeks because there was so much fluid in my knee that it wouldn't bend fully. I started off the first two weeks with crutches but I was able to walk on it after that, but I imagine yours is somewhat different, so get plenty of rest before you return to the ice.

[joshy207 15]

Hey, a medial sprain isn't bad. I have torn both ACLs... THAT sucks. Major surgery. Missed about a year with each one.

I hope the rest works... it sucks being off skates, but 3 weeks (4 if you're not fully ready) is worth it to be healthy again... and it's much better than 3-6 months if you reinjure it and need surgery. Good luck!

[sabre09923 0]

I had a pinched nerve in my shoulder which kept me out for a month. It's not even a major injury (nothing broken or torn), but it still kept me from using my right arm for a month. I could barely lift it up for the better part of that month but luckily I didn't need physical therapy. Don't come back until your Doctor gives you the OK and it feels 100%, or else the risk of re-injuring it is significantly increased.

[saveourpens 0]

I broke my shoulder, not from hockey, (snowboarding fast, someone got in my way, and did a few flips on the slope).

I don't have any experience with knee injuries but be happy you can get back on skates in 3 weeks. I wasn't allowed to do any contact sports for 4-6 months. For the first 3 weeks back home I had to sleep in a tilted hospital bed. It sucked.

[LkptTiger 1]

Tore my ACL and MCL in my right knee last summer (about a week before camp opened)...and I'm still unsure if it'll be able to withstand competitive (Junior A) hockey this season.

[fatwabbit 93]

Diagnosed with a 'sprained knee' in the army in '96, but had the classic signs of ligament tear. A few months later, almost completely tore my ACL in my left knee. 6 months of rehab and two operations later, I was back to hockey and soccer.

Fast forward to '02, Grade 2 strain on the MCL in the same knee. No operation needed, but had to endure another 6 months of rehab on weekends. I asked for a knee brace to be fitted, went custom as the army would cover it due to insurance reasons.

So far, am on my 3rd knee brace...

[sc37 0]

I sprained my knee a while back playing soccer. I never had it looked at, good thing you did. I kept off it a few days and went on doing whatever I do. It never felt well and I had the aches and pains when the weather changed, never really thought it'd happen to me, but it did. I eventually went and saw a doctor and got accupuncture and electromagnetic therapy(I think that's what it was). Feels great now.

But recently I sprained my ankle severely...probably like 7 weeks now. And it reallly bothers me a lot still, can't run and jump very well and get a twinge whenever I make hard turns and stops. Kinda wish I just broke it, rather than have that severe sprain, mighta healed faster.

[nizmo 0]

I broke each collarbone in consecutive summers. Worst two summers of my life.

[habookus 1]

I had a grade 1 sprain of my mcl a couple months ago and thought i would only need about 2-3 weeks to heal, but it ended up taking me about 5-6 weeks until my knee didn't feel "loose" anymore. My advice is just wait it out until you know your knee feels strong enough to withstand a sudden jolt or whatever.

[sabre09923 0]

I had a grade 1 sprain of my mcl a couple months ago and thought i would only need about 2-3 weeks to heal, but it ended up taking me about 5-6 weeks until my knee didn't feel "loose" anymore. My advice is just wait it out until you know your knee feels strong enough to withstand a sudden jolt or whatever.

That makes me want to have a doc check my knee out. My right knee has felt loose ever since last October after a freak injury happened while I was playing football with my friends. I heard a loud popping sound (kind of like when you crack your back) after some kid fell on my leg , but I could get up and walk right after the initial shock. I didn't think I'd need it checked out, and it hasn't felt the same since then.

[Maka 0]

I snapped my collarbone last spring after being dumb and not preparing to take a hit. Given, I set up the game winning goal, but at the cost of not playing in the last 5 games of the season. Hopefully it should be all healed up before I start playing at the club level for Stanford in the fall.

[habookus 1]

I had a grade 1 sprain of my mcl a couple months ago and thought i would only need about 2-3 weeks to heal, but it ended up taking me about 5-6 weeks until my knee didn't feel "loose" anymore. My advice is just wait it out until you know your knee feels strong enough to withstand a sudden jolt or whatever.

That makes me want to have a doc check my knee out. My right knee has felt loose ever since last October after a freak injury happened while I was playing football with my friends. I heard a loud popping sound (kind of like when you crack your back) after some kid fell on my leg , but I could get up and walk right after the initial shock. I didn't think I'd need it checked out, and it hasn't felt the same since then.

When i sprained my knee, after about a week or so I was able to walk fairly well, but whenever I would forget about my knee or make a turn while walking, it felt as though my knee was going to dislocate. The best thing to do is the stationary bike, as well as body squats and lunges, to help activate the muscles above your knee which are attached to the MCL. Also if you can, try to massage the knee with your two fingers for a couple of minutes. All this stuff helped me out in my rehab.

[sabre09923 0]

It does still feel loose, but like I said, I could get up after I had the shock (I thought I dislocated my knee or broke my leg) I got up, which was around 30 seconds later. I have been doing quite a lot of squats, before and after the injury, but it hasn't helped the looseness at all, although it's not *that* loose, but it causes enough pain to make it noticeable. Looks like there's a lot of biking to do, though, if that will help my ligaments and muscles in and around my knee.

[All Torhs Team 0]

My knee has been acting up really bad lately just from running. A friend suggested tendonitus but Im not to sure about that. But reading this thread makes me want to go in and have it checked out by a doctor.

At the same time I dont want to go in cause he might tell me I cant play for a while.

[GoalieGirl 0]

I actually have a bad knee. My knee cap is tilted towards the inside which causes me not to be able to put too much pressure or weight on my right leg. I'm a goalie, so it's difficult, but I've learned to adjust to it. I can't even get up out of a butterfly on my right leg.

My advice is to listen to your doctor. Pushing your knee will only make it worse. Knees can be very iffy, and I know how much it kills the players/goalies to be off the ice for an injury, but if you go back on early, it could just prolong the injury and make it worse.

After your 3 weeks are up make sure you go back to your doctor before you hit the ice again, just to be safe. You gotta take care of your knees :)

[Aussie Joe 0]

I played some light Inhouse inline with the knee tonight and it held up good. Its been an hr since I played and it still feels fine. In saying that I will put some Feldene on it for good measure and see how it feels 1st thing tomorrow morning.

The last two days its felt slightly better. I only played tonight because if I didn't we would have forfeit. We won as well, 7-6, I managed 5 assists.