Knee pain--feedback appreciated

I've been dealing with debilitating knee pain for a bit over a month. It started on Feb 10 as low-grade pain in my left medial knee, and within a week, I was walking with a severe limp.

From then until now, I've had an x-ray (clear with no signs of fracture or arthritis) and an MRI (showed mild fraying on the underside of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus and mild intrasubstance degeneration). The ortho I went to said he thinks there might be a small tear where the radiologist noted the findings in parentheses.

I've been doing PT for 2-1/2 weeks and have made small progress. I can walk on my own about 40 yards until the pain is too much. The baseline pain (at rest) is a 1 or 2 out of 10. The pain spikes to a 6 or 7 with walking.

This pain is causing me great anxiety with some panic attacks--fear that the pain won't go away, fear of losing my job because I can't travel, fear of damaging my marriage since I can't be present for my wife. I'm 48 years old, active, and have never had knee problems before.

I have a history of TMS--back pain from 15 years ago that I eventually got rid of.

I'm continuing physical therapy because my MRI isn't clear, and I am seeing another ortho (recommended by a friend) for a 2nd opinion this week.

Any thoughts about my story so far or similar experiences would be helpful. I've searched the forum and read other similar stories already.

Thanks.

 

Hey Shamrock10,
What you're going through now is a tough ride. I experienced something similar last year, but on my achilles tendons. I couldn't stand/walk, so it put a lot of stress on me. Both for work and my relationship. One million things went through my mind and all of them were negative.

But you're doing everything you can already : doctor, X-ray, MRI, physical therapy, etc. Also you're getting a 2nd opinion, which I think is proof that you're doing your best to solve this knee problem.
I think one important thing to remember is to take a moment and consider the whole picture. Am I really going to lose my spouse because of this injury? Am I really going to get fired for this issue?

Thinking back, I realize my unconscious was thinking the worst of it. My boss told me laughingly "NO", you're not going to get fired over a physical injury. I then realized how much lighter I felt after he told me. This in turn gave me some air, so that I could focus on healing. My anxiety went down and it helped a ton.

For me, reading 'Healing Back Pain' by Dr Sarno, was the cure. The title says back pain, but the book includes other areas, limbs, headaches, even allergies, etc. Simply reading it and following the advice helped me go from barely able to stand/walk, to walking 2 hours a day. Then with the Structured Educational Program on this website I've been able to go back to work, less than a month after learning about TMS! I had been limping and unable to do anything for almost a year, so I just couldn't believe it.

How did you get rid of that pain? Did you use the TMS approach or did it leave with time?

 

Thanks, mister_burger.

I've read some Sarno books and they helped me get through the back pain. It was a gradual process for me, and it took months for the back pain to get under control. What convinced me that it was TMS was a journaling experience. One night, I was journaling one night with a TMS program, and the back pain suddenly vanished. It was like the pain was sucked out of me within 5 seconds. I went grocery shopping pain free and went to bed pain free. When I woke up pain free, I had a sudden bolt of fear hit me. "I need the pain!" I thought irrationally. The pain came back and lasted a few more months. That was proof for me that I wasn't ready to let it go.

With my knee, it seems structural since I have joint line swelling with walking and activity and it feels like joint tightness and swelling. I think I need to continue to explore the physical, but I didn't know if anyone had MRI results and symptoms like mine and it turned out to be TMS.