Case Summary  |  Bad Knees For Life

I have had bad knees since the seventh grade. I was running a track meet and had just crossed the finish line when I felt a pop in my right knee. I went to the nurse and explained what happened and she looked at me with apathy. "Put some ice on it".

Glad she went to nursing school.

I went to the doctor and he immediately told me that the tendon or ligament (I don't recall which one) behind my kneecap had flipped over and was now on top of my kneecap. Not a fun situation especially for a 12 year-old.

He advised me to wear a neoprene rubber brace; one with a hole in the kneecap to heal the injury. Now these braces are worn by athletes of all walks, but in 1992 they weren't so hip. I showed up to school and was made fun of. I didn't care; my knee felt great!

The same thing happened to my left knee in high school. Luckily I hadn't grown too much and I used the same knee brace to correct the problem without the aid of a physician. I recommend consulting a doctor, but using a neoprene rubber knee brace has helped my knee injuries. While they'll never be healed, at least they don't have to cause pain all the time.