Is bursitis a reasonable diagnosis?

Over a week ago I hurt my knee running. I was running up a hill when all of a sudden I felt a very sharp, almost tearing pain on the inside of my knee. At first I saw a dr. who said it was just a bone bruise. It didn't get any better in a week so I saw another dr. who said not to worry and that it was just Housemaid's Knee. The thing is, the pain isn't in front of my kneecap; it's extremely tender all along the inside of that knee. It's painful to walk and my kneecap kind of pops when I walk. When I run the pain is mostly medial but it also hurts on the outside when my foot hits the ground. Does this sound like bursitis? The dr. I saw told me to just take 2 Aleve a day and to call him in January.

Advil and Alieve are both anti-inflammatories, o they will both work. A second opinion was a good idea. When you go back to your general practicioner, ask to be referred to an orthopaedic. They are for more qualified to diagnose structural injuries. He will stress your knee in a variety of planes and will probably order an MRI if you test positive or show laxity. As far as bursitis goes, you have 11 bursae in the knee. Generally, they will become inflamed from direct trauma and in some cases overuse. The pain will be somewhat localized. By what you have described, I would think about ruing out bursitis. Are you point tender along the joint line of your knee? Can you apply direct pressure to any point on your knee and reproduce the pain? Hard to diagnose with limited info. Go see your Doc and get this thing figured out. Good luck to you.

Head Athletic Trainer

Good chance it is just a sprain. I would do what the Doctor said!

Sounds more like a ligament tear. You may need a knee arthroscopy to diagnose the tear. You should probably have a knee immobilizer. You can apply ice for 20 minutes at a time only. Be careful to take painkiller with food.

Aleve or Advil; Advil is best because it reduces inflammation. But don't stop there; use a MOIST heating pad (too late for ice) as hot as you can stand, 20 minutes at a time. No, it isn't bursitis; you get that in the shoulder. Any 'itis' is an inflammation; some become chronic such as arthritis, appendicitis, etc. It should feel better in a few days; it sounds as if you just wrenched the tendons or ligaments around the patella (knee cap). Common runners' injury.

You have injured the Pes Anserinus tendon or the inner hamstring, you did not take the time to properly stretch your legs before you began running did you? The best thing to do in order to alliviate this pain is to take a warm bath and stretch your knee out every day. if the pain keeps continuing I would seek a pediatrist and a chiropractor's advice. Alot of times people have let their bodies go and do not exercise enough...which means the muscles become relaxed and are not used to sudden strain again. I am an EMT and a Massage Therapist.

Kara

Housemaid's knee or infrapatellar bursitis occurs below the knee cap, where the infrapatellar tendon is. You won't get it through running. The reason for the term housemaid's knee is that this was originally seen in people who got down on their knees and did wiping or waxing, etc. of the floor. Through constant friction between the knee and the floor, an inflammation of the infrapatellar bursa occurred, hence the term bursitis. See an orthopedic surgeon-it could be infrapatellar tendinitis or something else. If the pain is really bothersome, an MRI might be in order.