Really bad pain in left knee?

Question

im a girl 13 and i have had osgoodschlatters in my left knee for about 3 years. im really active and i play softball every spring. and i am currently doing cheerleading. just resently my knee started hurting really bad and earlier when i was sitting on the couch and tried to get up i couldnt stand on it and barley walk.my mom keeps telling me that i should quit cheerleading and i know i should and i kinda want to bc its not fun this year but i kinda dont want to but i probley will. i went to the orthopedic about a month ago and he took and x-ray and said that a piece of bone about 2 inches got pulled off bc of overuse or something.its always been swollen but it just got even more swollen today and its all bruised on and around it. he also said that if the pain got to the point where i couldnt take it anymore to come back in and he will talk about surgery. i would have to not do anything like sports for 6 months though and i would go crazy. but what do you think is wrong??? im prolly going back to the doctors in a while if it doesnt get any better. i have crutches from when i broke my ankle and should i use those if it hurts really bad to put pressure on tomorrow? and the other day i was practicing cheerleading jumps in my room and i did a toe touch and came down and i when i landed i like squatted bc my knee gave out and i heard a pop. it hurt but after a little i was okay and i stayed off of it so could that have something to do with it???

Answer 1

I'm also 13 years old, and I'm in cheerleading aswell! I would say quit cheer (It's hard but your health is more important), and relax your knee for a long time. If things dont go well, you should take your doctors advice. Also remember before you do something really active warm up your body. My knee once popped out of place, when i was doing a cradel. I couldnt move it at all!!!! I just shock my foot really fast..and I heard it pop right back in. Dont worry everything will be okay:D Although I would wait before doing anything serious like a surgery.

Youll be okay=))))

Answer 2

I thin that you should take a break from cheer-leading as there is no point injuring yourself further in something un-necessary. Knee injuries are no fun but if you work hard at physiotherapy and follow your surgeons advice your recovery time will be improved. I know people who did not try their best in physio and went on to have severe limitations not to scare you but one of the most important things to do is follow your doctors advice and get a good physiotherapist. They will give you many exercises to work on which will improve your strength and flex ability both before and after surgery. Get a good PT as soon as possible as they are a crucial part of your recovery. Use RICE rest your knee do not over exert it, ice the joint to reduce swelling and bruising, compression use a tensor bandage to help reduce swelling if PT allows it, and elevate to also reduce the swelling as that will severely limit your flex ability. If the knee becomes increasingly painful for walking  I would use crutches as it will help reduce the inflammation. Good luck.  

Answer 3

i unfortunatly know what u are going through. I am 24 and have been cheering(both competitivly and for football) since i was 11...

last June while playing beach volleyball i twisted my knee and was told that i had "sprained" my MCL(a major ligament in the knee), well after a week and a half when my knee didnt get any better i had an MRI done which showed a partial tear to the MCL.. i was told that following a few months of therapy that my knee should be "fine" as long as i wore a brace.. well to make a long story short my knee wasnt fine, and i pushed myself to cheer(cause i love it sooo much) last season.... and i continued with PT and had another MRI and 4 cortisone injections from september to february... then in March of this year(st pattys day) my knee gave out completely.... this resulted in another MRI, back on crutches, back in PT oh yeah and missing BOTH nationals and World Championships for cheerleading

from my knee giving out i had to have two more MRIs(5 total), and another cortisone injection... plus on June 5th i had to(finally) have surgery... where my ligaments were tightened, meniscus was shaved, patella was relocated(by cutting the lateral riticulem), and the underside of my kneecap shaved back to normal(this was caused from years and years of the abuse that cheering put on my body)...

in August when i asked the doc if he thought i could cheer come september he said that it wouldnt be wise for me to cheer anymore unless i wanted to look at a knee replacement before i was 30... this had me thinking IS CHEERING REALLY THAT IMPORTANT?

i had already decided to give it up this year so that i wouldnt tear anything back up and have another surgery within 6 months, but now i may be giving up my passion for good...

i cant tell u what to do but if ur ortho is saying that u should stop now at 14 just imagine how ur knees will be in 10 years....

best of luck with whatever u decide and remember(i need to take my own advise too) u are stuck with ur knees forever... maybe not give it up completely but give it a rest for a few years and let ur body tell u what it can and can not handle...CHEERLEADING IS A VERY DEMANDING SPORT AND VERY UNFORGIVING ON OUR BODIES....