# Dislocated knee - recovery time?



## Avishay (Jun 14, 2014)

A week ago today, I was working a company Christmas party with my paint mare, Rose. After the party, I was walking her back across the parking lot when she slipped on something slick (oil?) on the asphalt and her left front leg shot between mine. I tripped and twisted in trying to avoid hurting her, and .... dislocated my right knee and did something to mess up the tendons and ligaments. 

I'm a pretty tough "walk it off" type, and so I put my mare in the trailer, took her home, put everything away, and went home. By the next morning, I knew that I was really hurt, but it took me three days of walking around on a dislocated knee before I was fussing at it and it suddenly slid back into place. I still can't fully extend or bend my knee, though bending hurts worse than straightening and gives me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I try to bend my knee past a certain point.

Has anyone else here ever dislocated a knee before? What was your experience/recovery time? I *do not* have health insurance and while I've got an upcoming appointment at a low-cost clinic, I'm not able to see a doctor until after Christmas, and I may not be able to afford much in the way of treatment (seriously, I'm always so much more tempted to try and use my vet, she's so much more affordable than human doctors, and frankly, has a better track record of success in curing lameness >_< )


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## disastercupcake (Nov 24, 2012)

I'm right there with you! I don't have health insurance either =/

I have *almost dislocated a knee playing roller derby. Actually I may have but I'll never now because I didn't have it checked out. 

The bruising and soreness was there for at least 2 months, and I still cannot feel anything around my kneecap- probably severed some nerves. But, I am like you. I got up and finished the bout and actually went to practice for the rest of the week. It was only the next week I finally conceded to take some time off it. 

A word on low-cost treatments. Homeopathy is very effective and not expensive. It is used almost exclusively in India, Cuba, and other poor countries in stead of medical drugs. For your type of injury I would recommend Ruta Graveolens or Rus Toxidendron, and Arnica. It's at least something to look into, good luck!


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Best of luck with your injury. Medical assessment will be totally necessary. Damage to ligaments and maybe even cartilage are a real possibility, and if those go untended, your injury may get even worse. Tough or not, I really don't recommend trying to "walk off" that kind of injury - I'd get it assessed at the emergency department of the local hospital _immediately_ something major like that happens (here in Australia, standard procedure and it's covered by our taxes). Immobilising the injury immediately and applying ice, and then heading for early medical intervention can be the difference between having a smallish treatable problem and having a compounded, major problem that can plague you for life. You only have one body...

If you experiment with bending your knee and you in fact have ligament and/or cartilage damage, you can tear the ligaments / cartilage further. You really shouldn't even be putting weight on it until it's been assessed. :-( 

Best wishes. I know several people who needed knee reconstructions - some because of the severity of their initial injury and some because they refused to take their initial injury seriously and tried to tough it out, doing further damage. I know it's hard when money is short, but it could cost you multiple times the amount to treat late, than to treat appropriately and early, so beware of false economy.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

No matter what your financial situation is you need to get it evaluated.

My dad tore a ligament in his knee over two years ago. He refuses to see the doctor for it. I believe he needs surgery. He cannot walk very far without pain. We were unloading hay the other day and stepping up 6 inches was causing him pain.

Failing to get your knee treated can be crippling. If your horse had a ligament injury which may make him unrideable would you call the vet?


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## clumsychelsea (Jul 9, 2014)

I can't really empathize with the financial situation as I don't have to fuss with health insurance, but I do know a few things about knees, and one thing is for sure... It's not something you want to leave alone for very long. I damaged one of my knees in a skiing accident years ago and never saw a doctor. Years later it turns out I completely destroyed the cartilage and have nerve damage to the point of not being able to feel anything that touches the skin. I also have arthritis in both knees, but it is unbearable in the one that I hurt. It isn't rare for that knee to seize up and refuse to bend.

It'll save you a lot of pain in the future to get that looked at now. I'm currently waiting on surgery to fix/remove my damaged cartilage and the doctor told me it would have been much less pain and time on my part if I had just gone to someone right away. I regret it pretty badly on the bad days when I'm lying in bed wondering if I'll fall to the floor when I get up. Don't mess around with your knees.


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