Has Anyone Ever...

[wildfan75 1]

...had fluid build up and extracted from their knee?

I had a really shitty landing two weeks ago Saturday, and to make a long story short, I landed in a frozen plowed corn field. My toes hit the first ridge, then it was pretty much all knees hitting the next ridge. I didn't break anything had have no joint or muscle pain, but I had some fluid build up.

The Dr. took over an ounce of fluid out of my knee today, counting the stuff that squirted out after he took the needle out before he got the cotton ball on there, and the stuff that squirted out when he took the cotton ball off to reach for the band aid. Before I went in, you could press on the outside of my knee and see the waves ripples from the fluid all the way to the inside of my knee.

My questions is...granted I can't see the waves ripple anymore, it looks like there is still a little bit of fluid still in there. Is this bad? Should he have gotten all the fluid?

[skycat 0]

I used to have it done when I was in gymnastics. Without seeing your knee I couldn't say for sure, but my knee would still have some fluid that was reabsorbed by the body. In my case the draining was to make me more comfortable.

What is sad is that in the last few weeks my knees have started filling with fluid and I'm not sure why other than I must be stressing the tendons when climbing.

Fly it like you stole it!

[ACMESkydiver 0]

I smacked my knee into a cement wall going top speed at a roller rink when I was about 10 years old, so here's the best I can give you from memory:

I didn't get the fluid drained, but I was told that they might...they never did. They just gave me crutches.

The fluid did subside over the next week or so.

I believe, and anyone please correct me if I'm wrong, that your body should naturally absorb some fluid. So the fact that he didn't get 'all' of it shouldn't be anything to worry about.
This is such an old memory that I hope it is accurate.

Good luck and heal fast.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[sartre 0]

Yup. Reabsorption. If nothing is too drastically screwed up in there, the fluid will be reabsorbed and the inflammation will stay gone. Might want to keep icing it and try and be gentle with it.

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[wildfan75 1]

Thanks everyone! Glad to know that I might not have to go back for more extraction. I stopped running while working out as to not make things too terribly bad. And I iced for the first week and a half, but I'll be sure to ice and wrap before bed. The doc did do x-rays and nothing was broken, and it hasn't stopped me from skydiving (I'm kind of hard core). I did three jumps the weekend after and my first heli jump on Saturday. My biggest problem is that I was a hockey goalie so PLF's don't come naturally. First instinct is to go to my knees, and unfortunately in skydiving your first instincts can really "f" you over. I've been prepared to do a proper PLF on every jump but winds have been great for landings lately. Only problems have been that I have to leave from the student seat (on 182's) and be on the strut for exit because I couldn't kneel.

I have learned soooo much from that jump. I've been over it in my head of what I did wrong and what I could have done differently. I've talked to people who were on that jump (total jump #'s on that four way was about 26,000) and people who saw it from the ground (two people, about 20,000 jumps). Thinking back to the jump itself, I know that I did everything almost right. Looking back on it, I have a ton of things that I would do differently now. I love this sport and I love learning something new every jump. I really hope that never changes.

[squirrel 0]

my wife had "water on the knees" from a bad landing...she got them x-rayed to ensure no bone breakage. Water went away after a few weeks. She swears by a homeopathic medicine called Arnica Montana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnica_montana

it comes in a tablet form, dissolved under the tounge. good luck

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

[sunshine 2]

I'm glad you didn't do much more damage to yourself on that bad landing.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[wildfan75 1]

You and me both!!!

First thought after I hit was, "Shit I just broke both my knees!" but then I got up so no one would call 911. I was super happy to realize that I didn't break both my knees. But the super happy was quickly erased when I saw everyone go into the club house. They thought I was completely okay because I hopped right up.

We now have rule (by my request), don't immediately call 911 if I don't hop right up. Make sure I actually need an ambulance before you grab the phone.

[efs4ever 3]

Back in the day when I was pounding in with my round I used to notice a knee or two all swollen. I assume that was fluid.

Never did anything about it, and after 28 years in the sport it's not a problem.

It just went away. Of course, I started wearing knee pads too.

Russell M. Webb D 7014
Attorney at Law
713 385 5676
https://www.tdcparole.com

[wildfan75 1]

So it's Thursday PM and I had the fluid taken out on Monday AM. The fluid seems to be coming back more and more each day.

Is that normal??????

It's not as bad as it was but I can now see little ripples go towards the inside when I press on the outside of my knee again.

I don't mind going back to the Dr. but when I paid my $25 co-pay on Monday my exact thought was as I was writing out the check was, "There goes one jump from 10k and one jump from 5k". I just don't want to give up two more jumps if I don't have to.

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

...as I was writing out the check was, "There goes one jump from 10k and one jump from 5k"..

Now THERE'S a dyed-in-the-wool skydiver!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Fallin4U 0]

It's great that you weren't seriously hurt. I landed off on my 16th jump and ended up with a spiral fibula break.

I'm curious, did you do a braked approach on final?

I was reading the SIM and I didn't recall being taught that in AFF.

[sartre 0]

Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that it won't come back once it's drained. The doc drained it mainly for your comfort, I would guess.

Have you been letting it rest, or have you continued with activities that exacerbate it?

NOONE likes to hear it, but you have to take it easy and give it time to heal.

Sorry it's still ouchy.

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[wildfan75 1]

I haven't worked out all week () (so it's been over a week and a half) and have pretty much stayed off it as much as I can.

Don't get me wrong...I'm so grateful that I didn't do anything majorily bad but I don't want to keep having to go to the Dr.

Ugh!

[sartre 0]

Give the doc's office a call and see what they say. He/She may tell you that it will most likely resolve itself and getting it drained again is optional.

Then again, it just might be worth it if it gets really uncomfortable again. Call your doc.

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[wildfan75 1]

Fallin4U...first...talk to your instructor about brake approaches. Don't take anything I have to write at face value. I'm just a pee-on in the world we call skydiving.

It wasn't so much as a braked approach as it was a "Oh, fuck, the spot is long", "Oh, fuck, taking it as low as you can and do the deepest brake turn you can", "Oh, fuck no wind turned into 3mph winds and I'm going with the wind", "Oh, fuck, I'm going to hit the frozen plowed corn field", "Oh, fuck, I'm seriously going to hit the plowed corn field" and the "Flare, oh fuck, toes, oh fuck, knees" jump.

I braked as long as I THOUGHT I could to avoid the field and come out of the pendilum effect and get a complete good flare.

There was no wind when we took off. The pre-arrangement was to follow the first landers down. There was one person above me and I didn't want to land "against the established way" as to screw the person above me. Also, at my dz, you face major rath if you don't land in the pre-established landing direction or against the wind. They landed (total over 26,000 jumps between the 2) to the north (even with the small winds that picked up while we were in the air), I landed to the north. I should have turned NE to avoid the plowed field and not totally confuse the jumper above me. It was a jump of a lot of things that didn't go "right", and I made stupid decisions but I made them based on my lack of experience. So I learn and move on. I just got lucky that I didn't mess myself up more than I did.