I am having a bad day.

[Divernan]

11. Cortisone injections help; good to use phys. therapy to strengthen leg muscles before

knee surgery. I will eventually need knee replacements but am doing what I can to delay that. My problem is different from yours in that both my knees suffer from long term wear & tear/not an injury. However whether to delay surgery or to prepare for surgery (in the sense that you will have a quicker recovery if your leg muscles are in good shape), my orthopod advises exercises to strengthen the various muscles in the legs, i.e,. quads, hamstrings, glutes & calves(calfs?). Check out this link for those exercises which do not involve any weight going through the knee joint for your injured knee, as well as all of the exercises to strengthen your "better" knee. They really have helped me. In my state, one needs a prescription from a medical doctor to see a physical therapist. You'd need to work with one in your post-surgical stage, but every insurance I know approves pre-surgical physical therapy as well. a http://www.knee-pain-explained.com/knee-strengthening-exercises.html#quads

You have my sympathy and empathy, kiddo! As the big dog used to say, "I feel your pain."

One other suggestion: Askl the scheduler at the primary care doc's to give you a call if there is a cancellation which will get you into the office earlier. Let him/her know you are in a lot of pain. I expect the primary care doc will refer you to an orthopod for the surgery, but the primary doc can also give you a prescription for physical therapy and you can get started on that. Good luck to you and hope the coming year sees you on the mend!