Last night I was wrestling with my son, and may have seriously hurt my knee. My foot stayed planted on the ground while I proceeded to body slam him on the bed. My lower leg & knee remained against the bed while our bodies went onto the bed. My knee bent on the side and made a crunching sound. It hurt, but not terribly, and I had no trouble sleeping. It feels very sore when my body weight shifts one way or the other, but does not hurt while sitting. I rode 30 miles this morning and it only felt slightly sore when climbing. I skipped my short run afterwards. Sorry for the long explanation, but I was hoping someone could tell me it will go away with a little rest.
If your knee did not swell up, you probably did not do any real damage. sounds like you grinded a bit of cartilage with your bed dive and possibly some minor sprain to the ligaments in your knee. An ACL tear is a pretty distinctive poppng sound and feel. Unlikely you would be riding so long today. Rest, ice , elevate, and mild antiinflammatories if they don’t upset your belly. Rehab with alot of one legged body wt. exercises when you are pain free. Good luck!!
I would agree with westielvr that it is not likely your ACL. An ACL tear usually hurts like hell for the first ten minutes, then the pain subsides quite a bit, only to come back with a vengeance. You would notice significant immediate swelling. Another thing to look for is if your knee gives out or buckles on you. Follow the basic RICE principle for a few days, if it doesn’t get better or you notice the swelling or giving way then get it checked out.
I tore my ACL in August of 1992. When it happened there was a loud snapping sound and there was considerable swelling. I could NOT have done a bike ride the next day.
if you did not hear the pop I would say no. My teammates heard it pop as well as me in the fiitbal game. swells real big too but then after a while not much pain
Doesn’t seem like ya did yer ACL, but, you could have torn a meniscus. Or not.
Maybe you got lucky and it was just a minor sprain/tweak. Let’s hope so.
IF it’s a torn meniscus of some sort, then depending on the severity, you can do nothing, and while it may not get better per se (there’s very little blood flow to the cartilage in your knees, so they don’t tend to heal very well), it won’t stop you from doing what you do. Or, it can get worse, and then you’ll know ya need to do something.
I’ve torn one in both my knees. Both times was a crunching sound, moreso than a pop. One I eventually had to get scoped due to increasing instability, the other I continue to “work around” to this day, 3 years later.
As suggested, try RICEing it for a coupla days, then if you are still having issues, it’s probably a good idea to get it checked out.
You generally have immediate swelling with an ACL, MCL, or medial meniscus injury. If you torn you ACL, you would have most likely felt a pop not a crunch. If a significant tear occurred, you would have swelling and loose of motion at this time. It is possible that you substained a mild or grade 1 sprain of the ligament. You generally have less swelling to injuries on the lateral or outside of the knee. The crunching sound possible came from patella rubbing around the femur and tibia notch or maybe slighlty subluxing or “coming out of place”.
If you do not have a lot pain; have full range of motion; and “no giving out” or weakness, you are probably okay. Use ice for twenty minutes several times a day and train as tolerated. If pain continues for more than a week or so, see the ortho.
I agree with what everyone is saying, I tore my ACL and severed my MCL, and I could bearly move, never mind ride. I have a suggestion, use some arnica gel on the entire area, including your hamstrings, and even your quads. Arnica heals bruised muscles and works really well. I use it in my office all the time, and everyone raves about how it helps pain and swelling.
It can’t hurt, and it may help. It’s definitely worth the time, effort and expense (about $11 for a toothpaste size tube). You can get it at any good health food store.
Wishing you well,
Julie Donnelly
YOU are your own best therapist! Visit www.aboutcts.com and www.julstro.com to learn logical answers to joint/muscle pains and numbness.
I got to agree with everybody else, it doesn’t sound like a ACL tear. When I tore mine there was loud pop, and it hurt like hell for about 10 minutes, then subsided. I was playing football when it happened and even thought I was going to go back in the game, but the coaches kept me on the bench.
having just had my ACL replaced 3 weeks ago… count me as one more opinion that it doesn’t sound like your ACL. mostly because it didn’t swell up. the ligament provides stability to your joint; when it breaks, your body compensates by swelling up the joint, which limits mobility. it’s the swelling that would have kept you from the bikeride.
i’d wait and see how long things hurt… usually, if the pain goes away i skip the doctor’s visit, but since there was a crunching sound it could be that something else happened worth looking into.
