Anyone have any experience with issues relating to the fat pad above the patella? My PT says that the fad pad and the patella were locked together and he released it, so it should be all good. While it is feeling better (one day later) my knee still hurts while running. If the fat pad is swollen/irritated (my knee is not visibly swollen), how long would it take to get back to normal?
I have already taken two weeks off from running and biking, and I am getting desperate. If it is not better by Monday, I am going to get an appt. for an MRI.
Find a specialist who treats athletes. The MRI is only as good as the dr who reads it. Someone who is familiar with the issues specific to biking and running will have a lot more to offer.
The standard doc-in-the-box “take 2 months off and call me if it isn’t better and I’ll refer you to a specialist” gets old fast. You’ll be doing yourself a favor if you get established with someone who specializes in sports/ortho. It’s a whole different world in their hands.
If what you’ve got now gets better on its own you should still get a qualified sanity check and then you’ll have someone to fall back on if needed.
And FWIW, I’ve banged my knee so hard that it swelled like a grapefruit, I couldn’t bend it at all for 1 day, couldn’t put weight on it for 2, but by day 6 it was completely back to normal. It’s a more durable joint than people give it credit for. If the PT released something (and I have no idea what the procedure you described is) it isn’t unreasonable to expect a 5+ day turnaround, I wouldn’t panic.