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Clicking Knee

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44 minutes ago, DerbyTup said:

I was responding to the OP.

 

What he wrote was:

 

I am having discomfort with my right knee.

Both knees click when I bend, not everytime.  I have been taking ibruprofen for ten days, because if I go to see the doctor, I am sure that is what he will tell me to do.

So maybe I should go and see him/her next week. I am thinking its arthritis related. I believe they will actually see patients, in person.

I recall a work colleague had his kneecap scraped to be made smoother, not sure if it worked, or not.

I have been physically active in the past, but this certainly stops that, even the dog pulling on the lead can be uncomfortable. 

 

There's nothing here about him having had an x-ray already?   In any case, if you need an x-ray you'd need to be referred by a GP, unless you turned up at A&E (which is not a good idea) and they felt you needed one.

 

In this situation I would always suggest going to a GP first.  There are many causes of knee problems and an initial diagnosis from a GP is a sensible thing to do imo, if the cause is unknown.  I had some joint pain a while ago in my knee.  I went to my GP,  he referred me for an x-ray and the x-ray revealed minor wear and tear, possibly arthritic in nature.  Physiotherapy can do nothing about that - so I'd have been wasting time and money to have gone direct to a physio.  That's why my advice to the OP was to go to the GP first.  

 

I am not disputing that physios can be first contact practitioners. There are some situations where I've gone directly to a physio first.  Like muscle tears for example.  I've played a lot of sport in the past and also done a lot of cycling, so I have well developed calf-muscles, but I've also had 3 calf-muscle tears over the years and I know instantly what the problem is, I don't need a GP to diagnose me.  So on those occasions I've gone direct to a physio to start treatment.  Same with a back injury that I had some years ago by lifting in the gym.  I didn't need a GP to tell me what I'd done, it was obvious.  

 

When the cause of pain or injury is not so obvious and it could be multiple things, as in this case, I think the advice I gave for him to see his GP is the best advice.

 

I see also from the later threads that it looks like the GP diagnosed arthritis, which is what I suggested it may be, but it's good that he got it checked out.

 

 

Sorry, my response was a bit ambiguous - I was responding to both the OP and you in one post, and with other information from the thread!

Physios are able to diagnose knee problems, and refer on when appropriate.

Exercise is the recommendation for early states of arthritis (as I linked to earlier).

 

You can refer yourself to NHS physio as well - though to be fair, I'm not sure that's happening in Sheffield at the moment...

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On 29/07/2020 at 09:39, Becky B said:

Sorry, my response was a bit ambiguous - I was responding to both the OP and you in one post, and with other information from the thread!

Physios are able to diagnose knee problems, and refer on when appropriate.

Exercise is the recommendation for early states of arthritis (as I linked to earlier).

 

You can refer yourself to NHS physio as well - though to be fair, I'm not sure that's happening in Sheffield at the moment...

No problem.  I only saw the rest of the thread after I'd posted.  

 

I didn't realise you could refer yourself to an NHS physio - I thought you had to be referred by a GP?  It used to be that way before, but I do know that there have been lots of initiatives to reduce the burden on GP consultations so maybe this is to do with that?  The NHS website confirms what you are saying, but it says it depends on which part of the country you live in as to whether you can self-refer directly.  I can't see any further information specific to Sheffield on the CCG site - but if I need physio again I'll certainly look into it.  Thank you for the tip!  

 

 

 

 

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I had a problem with my elbow after injuring it. The GP referred me to an Orthpaedic surgeon who was quite unpleasant and dismissive (for example saying ‘I don’t know what she’s doing here’ within my earshot and barely speaking to me and just muttering into a dictaphone).  He dismissed my problem as ‘wear and tear’. However, he did refer me to a physiotherapist who resolved this completely (with me undertaking daily physio exercises at home) and 6 years on I have no issues with ‘wear and tear’. I wish I’d just paid to see a physio privately in hindsight rather going to the GP, so that is my thinking behind seeing a physio in the first instance.

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That’s poor form on the Consultant’s part but he’s probably expressing his frustration at the GP for what he considered an unnecessary referral.  
 

I’d always see my GP first if it was something that wasn’t obvious and may have multiple different causes.   That’s really what they are there for.  They know a little about a lot.  But they could, or should, be able to refer or suggest your next best possible point of contact.  
 

They may also discover something else that is more serious.  A mate of mine presented with aches and pains in his bones.  He thought it was probably arthritis of some sort.  I suppose he could have just gone straight to a physio?  The GP performed some tests and it turned out to be something more serious.

 


 

 

Edited by DerbyTup

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On 01/07/2020 at 05:44, redruby said:

If you can, it’s well worth paying to see a physiotherapist privately for a consultation as this is their specialism and they will have time to do a thorough examination and give detailed advice. If that isn’t an option see a GP but if it was me I would try to go down the road of getting a referral to a physiotherapist rather just taking painkillers.

My partner has been suffering with sciatica. She had a telephone call with the doctor who prescribed codeine and two other drugs. Wasn't getting any better so she paid to see a physio who said a rib had popped out in the back of her rib cage. He popped it back in and there has been an improvement. 

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9 hours ago, DerbyTup said:

That’s poor form on the Consultant’s part but he’s probably expressing his frustration at the GP for what he considered an unnecessary referral.  
 

I’d always see my GP first if it was something that wasn’t obvious and may have multiple different causes.   That’s really what they are there for.  They know a little about a lot.  But they could, or should, be able to refer or suggest your next best possible point of contact.  
 

They may also discover something else that is more serious.  A mate of mine presented with aches and pains in his bones.  He thought it was probably arthritis of some sort.  I suppose he could have just gone straight to a physio?  The GP performed some tests and it turned out to be something more serious.

 


 

 

It rather depends on the nature of the problem. Having general ‘pains in bones’ could be caused by any number of conditions, and yes, should be assessed by a GP. Having a more specific issue with say, a knee, is where a physio might be a better option.  

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17 minutes ago, redruby said:

It rather depends on the nature of the problem. Having general ‘pains in bones’ could be caused by any number of conditions, and yes, should be assessed by a GP. Having a more specific issue with say, a knee, is where a physio might be a better option.  

We are agreeing (I think)?  I gave some examples in a previous reply about situations where I would go directly to a physio and have done.  That's involved payment though as I wasn't aware that it is possible to refer oneself to a NHS physio directly so I paid to go privately. 

 

 If it is the case that you can refer yourself directly to an NHS physio, for something that appears pretty uncomplicated, then why not?  But it's not clear whether that is available in this area and it depends on which CCG you are under.  How would you find out?  Ring the relevant CCG I suppose and ask.  Or maybe ask at your local doctor's surgery?  

 

 If it's the case that you can't refer yourself directly for NHS physio, then your GP certainly can and that means your physio treatment would be free.  

Edited by DerbyTup

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On 01/07/2020 at 05:44, redruby said:

If you can, it’s well worth paying to see a physiotherapist privately for a consultation as this is their specialism and they will have time to do a thorough examination and give detailed advice. If that isn’t an option see a GP but if it was me I would try to go down the road of getting a referral to a physiotherapist rather just taking painkillers.

Whoever you see first, needs to be able to make an accurate diagnosis.  That's the key point.  And I agree that taking painkillers isn't the solution, although it makes sense to do that in the short term if you're suffering a lot of pain.

 

I've had a lot of exposure to physiotherapists, in fact my sister-in-law is one.  She specialises in neurological physio, which is to do with the head, neck and spine.  So a lot of her patients are people with neurological damage, like stroke patients for example.  Other physio's may specialise on different parts of the body.  They will all have had general training, but some may specialise on certain things, so it's worth looking into that before you select one I'd suggest.  

Edited by DerbyTup

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El Cid, I also had this problem and through neglect it grew into real knee pain! In the end I went to a NHS physiotherapist who prescribed daily exercises as shown on three sheets of paper. I tried these and they worked well.  I can't recommend it enough.

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On 31/07/2020 at 06:48, DerbyTup said:

Whoever you see first, needs to be able to make an accurate diagnosis.  That's the key point.  And I agree that taking painkillers isn't the solution, although it makes sense to do that in the short term if you're suffering a lot of pain.

 

I've had a lot of exposure to physiotherapists, in fact my sister-in-law is one.  She specialises in neurological physio, which is to do with the head, neck and spine.  So a lot of her patients are people with neurological damage, like stroke patients for example.  Other physio's may specialise on different parts of the body.  They will all have had general training, but some may specialise on certain things, so it's worth looking into that before you select one I'd suggest.  

Yes, physios do tend to specialise, so if it is the result of a particular sport/activity then you need one who specialises in that particular area.  If you go via your NHS GP, they will give you a number to ring where they take details are try mto match physio/speciality/availablity to your problem/history.

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On 17/07/2020 at 15:40, banjodeano said:

well, there are plenty of words like "minor" "marginal" and "mild"...so i guess it doesnt look too serious to me

I had a flare up last weekend, maybe I overdosed on exercise?

It was painfull when I crouched down, but its a little better now. I am taking things easy.

I was meant to have an email from the physio last year, but never received one. Both knees seem to be clicking more, there may even have been a swelling.

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Can only generalise but a lot of knee issues are caused by weakness further up.

 

I had medial (inner) knee pain for years and saw a physio who said I had weak glutes and gave me strengthening exercises which in time have made a huge improvement.

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