My knee is giving me some trouble so I figure it’s better to check it out now before it gets worse. Do I go to my general doctor who then recommends me to an orthopedist or other type of doctor?
orthopedist.
hope you get better soon 
Thanks.
Definitely an orthopedist …
Good luck!
Orthopedist - and preferably one who focuses on / is certified in sports medicine. An added dividend would be one who participates in endurance sports - they understand where the head that drives the knee is coming from.
My opinion (I’m a physician for whatever it’s worth). - DON’T go to an orthopedist! Orthopedist = orthopedic surgeon, and I’m guessing that you have knee pain due to an overuse/chronic injury from training? They are surgeons because they specialize in surgery, and unless you had an acute injury you are likely not a surgical candidate and don’t need to see one of them. Many docs (surgeons or not) will give you the ol’ “take a break” line. You should look into seeing a primary care physician who specializes in sports medicine - either in family medicine or physical med & rehab. If they’re an endurance athlete themselves, better yet. They’ll likely be able to spend more time wih you, give you exercises, analyze your gait, and have follow-up care with you if necessary instead of just ship you off to PT. (Yes, somewhat of a generalization). Any primary care physician with a solid knowledge of sports med would treat you themselves and not refer you to ortho unless you needed sugery for whatever reason. You might also want to get a copy of “The Pain-Free Triathlete” book - it’s my personal favorite resource for aches & pains and there’s (almost) nothing that your average doc will tell you that’s not in the book. Happy Recovery!
Is there anywhere (i.e., a website) to search for a primary care physician with a sports med background? My current primary care physician does not have such a background.
My guess is also that the injury is from training. Not acute pain resulting from an injury (although I am sleep walker so who knows what I could have done to myself).
Go to http://amssm.org/ and click “find a doc.”
I searched for my area and all that I recognize on the list are great. Also you might want to try Windy City Sports, Silent Sports, Twin Cities Sports, or whatever the free publication is for your area - there are often docs advertised in there.
I am an orthopedist!!!I resent the implication that just because we are a surgeon means we will recommend surgery as the primary solution…In fact if you went to an ortho clinic you would realize that a minority of patients would ever see an orthopedist would ever need surgery… Obviously as you know there are definite surgical indications for knee pain (meniscus tear,loose body,acl insuff,…) but an orthopedist, esp. those with sports medicine fellowship, and if your lucky one who does endurance sports is the best. Most knee pain in an endurance athlete are NONsurgical but orthopedic SURGEON is problably still the best, unless the FP has special advanced training in sports medicine
What about a PM&R guy? We have different PM&R guys that specialize in elbows, hands, or knees, etc. Or Sports Med? They can request a surgical consult if needed.
I would say go to your primary care MD first and see if they will refer you to a specialist. Insurance wise that may work out the best.
Let’s not read between the lines. You’ll see that nobody else said that “just because we are a surgeon means we will recommend surgery as the primary solution” - you said that yourself. There is no need to “resent” as you will also see that I stated the same points as you - see a doc WITH SPORTS MED TRAINING (primary care is fine) and preferably someone who is an endurance athlete. You can’t honestly feel that every overtrained runner needs to see an orthopod for ITB syndrome … seriously … if that’s the case there’s a big glitch in abilities of PCPs.
First, go see your dentist!
Hope that helps!
Do they have ITB syndome? I guess I don’t know if this is the diagnosis. I did say a primary care with sports med training would be fine. In my area they don’t exist so an orthopedist is best here. Certainly IF this is ITB, then a PCP would be appropriate. I meant no offense…
I haven’t had any knee pain, but if I did I would go to my chiro 1st to make sure the pain is not the result of an alignment issue elsewhere.
He’s also pretty cool in that if he can’t help me, he’ll refer me somewhere else (Physio, osteo, ortho, MD, whatever). He’s responsible for sending me to physio to get an assessment done which turned out to be a huge step forward in making sure I remain injury free.
Start with chiropractor and/or sports therapist (deep tissue). If the problem is chronic, I’d look at orthotics as a possible solution along with muscle rebalancing.
Orthopedist is the LAST option, simply because what the orthopedist does is permanent. I’d rather spend a year rehabbing in PT than six-weeks recovering from surgery, because after surgery, some of the original parts are gone forever.
If we make the assumption that this is indeed ITB, and we don’t know this right now, then an orthopedic surgeon would NOT rec surgery…I agree that rehab, PT, insoles, mechanics, etc are the treatment of choice…
PM&R docs would be fine if they do sports medicine as part of their practice…alot specialize more in rehab from neuro issue, strokes, etc, so check with them on how much of their practice is sports before you go…
OK to check with chiro, but realize, not everything is from a “subluxation or something out of alignment”. If you don’t get better, get a referral and don’t just keep going on and on if your not improving
Rockchalk, you’ve got a PM
.
I know I’m going to take some heat for this one but I would seriously advise you to seek out a Chek certified personal trainer in your area.
I agree that the approach should be global, looking at alignment/biomechanical issues, however I think that Chiropractors are so hit and miss. There are some very good ones and some very bad ones. Some PT’s have a global perspective, some are “old school” and don’t look beyond the injury at hand.
OTOH, MOST orthopedists are very local and, in addition to only looking at the injury site, have a penchant for cutting before addressing causative factors.
I can confidently say that every trainer who passes the Chek certification will have the skills to accurately assess the body as a whole and give you recommendations for further diagnostics and treatment from there.
You can get more info at
Regards,
Alan