Sudden Knee Pain with Bruising

[Mullenax]

I'm a camp counselor at a nature park this summer, and have been on my feet for 7 hrs + 1 hr of hiking pretty much every day this summer. Today about an hour after the hike I experienced swelling and a stinging sensation in my knee, promptly followed by a four-inch vertical blue bruise in a line running from the top of my knee to the bottom and an ordinary, large bruise on the side of the knee. What gives?

I have had a torn miniscus and corrective surgery on my other knee about six years ago, but no real complaints for either knee since. Relatively active but no longer lift weights. Thank you.

[Dr Steve]

I'm a camp counselor at a nature park this summer, and have been on my feet for 7 hrs + 1 hr of hiking pretty much every day this summer. Today about an hour after the hike I experienced swelling and a stinging sensation in my knee, promptly followed by a four-inch vertical blue bruise in a line running from the top of my knee to the bottom and an ordinary, large bruise on the side of the knee. What gives?

I have had a torn miniscus and corrective surgery on my other knee about six years ago, but no real complaints for either knee since. Relatively active but no longer lift weights. Thank you.

Wow, you really hit my weak spot, orthopedics. The good news is that my f-bomb dropping partner on Weird Medicine is an ortho specialist. I'll run this by him (he's too lazy to actually get an account and help me out here) and see what he says.

In the meantime, a bruise always means blood. Blood has leaked from somewhere, and with nowhere else to go, it migrates to the skin and you can see it as a blue discoloration. The fact that it spans the joint line leads me to believe the blood is coming from within the joint.

Therefore, my guess would be that you stressed a vessel inside the knee, perhaps in a ligament, and it bled causing the bruise. The main question is whether you have pain that persists to this day. If so, you may have a torn structure in the knee...if not, it may just have been a freak occurence. If your knee is painful, or unstable in any way, get a knee brace on it, and see your healthcare provider at your earliest convenience. A complete knee physical exam will usually indicate where the problem is, and they may order an MRI or other diagnostic test to confirm.

Let me know if you have any other details that might clear this up; I'll see if I can get PA John to look at this in the morning.


your friend,



steve

[Mullenax]

Hi Dr. Steve,
Thank you so much for responding! After I read your post this morning I mentioned the incident to my boss and (because it happened at work) she took me to a clinic. X-rays confirm the swelling and all ligaments seem to be attached, so I got a knee brace, topical medication, and 400 mg Ibuprofen. The Doc was concerned that the placement and shape of the bruising was unusual and wants to follow up in a week.
Thanks again, you're amazing. :wub: