Well, my years of horse wrecks and my osteoarthritis have finally caught up with me. The first of September I hyper-extended my knee. Thought it was getting better, but it has stayed about the same. X-rays show arthritic changes and Ortho doc things I have a meniscus and possible ACL tear. I’ll know more after the MRI today 
Hopefully it is just a meniscus and not the ACL also.
Be glad you can get the MRI! I did basically the same thing in August and avoided getting it looked at. I finally went last week and this doc said my insurance likely wouldn’t pay for the MRI so “do a conservative approach”. Okay then - what a waste of an appointment! It’s not super painful just walking or riding but at night, it’s like a poker on fire going into my knee - I need sleep and for almost a week, the conservative approach has made the pain at night worse (can’t take ibuprofen while using this Voltaren).
Good luck! Hopefully you can get surgery to repair yours and you’ll feel better soon!!
Reffy!, First request for MRI was turned down. Said to wait 6 weeks to see if it got better with rest and anti-inflammatories 
MRI went ok, but laying on a slab with no cushioning under a previously fractured pelvis was fun! It was all good for the first 30 minutes then the leg spasms started… 
Should hear something back in a couple days.
I use the Colder than Ice ice packs and they last for a couple hours at night, might give those a try?
I slipped on ice in February and hit both knees.
One is sure sore and keeps swelling and is hot.
Yearly checkup Dr in July said lets x-ray, then said is just osteoarthritis, just give it time.
Knee is still acting up, will give it a while longer, being careful not to go fast or twist on it.
With COVID no one wants to touch any but emergencies, so wait it is.
I use cold packs when is swollen, it goes down eventually, to again puff up days later.
Is sorest to touch on the inside front, where is most swollen and hot.
At night when turning in my sleep, ouch!, something is sure sore enough to wake me up.
We give our horses better care than ourselves, do we.
I hope everyone gets well soon, one way or another.
Bluey - I can’t imagine having this pain nightly for 8 months!! That’s ridiculous. Yes, we do better for our animals than for the humans.
TXPiaffe - 6 weeks, okay then. I will try for an MRI in 6 weeks (5 now!). I appreciate the ice pack recommendation! I need to do something. I need sleep!!!
reefy advocate for yourself. get a second opinion and request that the MRI be submitted to insurance to pre-clearance.
MDs are not experts on everything, including insurance policies. yours sounds very dismissive
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Agree with this!
I called my Ortho, and asked his office staff to tell him that I wanted to have an MRI on my right knee, and they got back to me and he had said “no”.
I told them that I would like an appointment with him, and I would discuss it with him, myself. When I got there, he could not have been more gracious in giving me that script!
I have a "bucket handle tear " in my right meniscus (he was so nice in telling me that “I had been right!”) :mad: I am doing PT, but I really need to make myself do the exercises at home, and I have no ability to make me do that! :lol: I am not happy about any thought of sugery.
Here’s the deal, for me. They are glorified mechanics. Find the best one that you can, be respectful, and make sure that you advocate for yourself, and PUSH to get them to address the issues. They are getting paid for what they are doing, and they simply need to DO it. Acting like they are special or some kind of magicians will get you nowhere.
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MRI results are in. No tears, but I do have an old, deep, bone bruise that didn’t heal that I re-aggravated. My options are PT or steroid shots in my knee. I am opting with PT first. I have osteoarthritis and would rather not have steroid shots at this point as I may need them later in life.
I guess that is the best possible outcome! I would be interested in what PT is going to do Was the hyperextension a consequence of the old injury? Did it contribute to joint laxity?
I have a tendency in both knees for a little bit of hyper-extension naturally, I stand a little back in the knees and would be a very poor choice for a performance horse
I stepped off a curb wrong and hyper-extended my knee teach me to try to walk and be healthier! But, I will go to PT, try to get my tendons and muscles stronger to support my knee joints and report what the PT people say. They are supposed to be really good and have some really cool programs at this clinic for people with POTS and head injuries.
Will report more tomorrow on the types of exercises we will be doing and what he says. Thanks for the great discussion and helping me to learn a little more!
Bolding is mine. Docs aren’t as well versed in insurance as, for example, the preauth department of their practice, but they’re correct in that many insurances won’t approve MRIs/CTs/etc. without having X number of weeks of conservative TX (usually 4-6 weeks, includes PT/chiro/injections/OTC or rx pain meds/HEP.) This is especially true for spine (Cspine, Tspine, Lspine) or anything W/WO contrast or an arthrogram. Docs KNOW that conservative TX won’t work, but patients have to fail on paper before they can get an MRI approved.
Docs are also not just going to order an MRI for anyone who calls in wanting one. Ordering diagnostics for patients they haven’t actually been seen recently for that particular issue puts their license and practice into hot water. Also, a lot of insurances won’t approve an MRI/CT without having documentation and plain xrays on file for the issue. If someone calls in and wants an MRI but hasn’t been seen in months, and the doc office submits the request anyway and it goes to pending, now what? What documentation should they submit? How can they justify to the insurance why an MRI should be approved?
“Because the patient says so” is not enough for insurance. So if anyone is going to throw shade at someone in this situation, be angry with insurance companies, not providers. I can submit identical requests with identical clinicals from the same provider, and one insurance will approve it and the other will deny. It all boils down to insurance and playing their games, and it’s a nightmare.
Source: I’m the authorizations manager for outpatient rehab and diagnostics in an orthopedic practice :yes:
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Glad you got an answer TXPiaffe! They gave me exercises to do and I do believe in PT but I’m not really doing them on my own. My knee is slightly better feeling but now riding is kind of aggravating it and it still hurts at night so I will continue w/the regimen I was given and see where it’s at in a few weeks. I’m so good at advocating for my parents (elderly) and pets but I’m so bad at doing it for myself (kind of messed up). I hate to be a bother but less sleep = more crab so hey, that could work in my favor!!
