Hi, my mum (67 yrs old, obese, no prior illness) since August of last year has had swelling on her left knee only. Hurts like hell when she stands up, when walking it's not too painful.



Timeline:

August: Consult GP: said just normal injury, kept saying no fluid in knees, put icepack, get painkillers, no effect

August: chinese medicine: said it's fluid in knees, did accupuncture + herbs, no effect

September: Consult klinik kesihatan: said it's rheumatoid arthritis, keep saying confirm no fluid in knees only prescribe painkillers and said must take glucosamine, no effect

November: pain didn't go away, end up consulting this physiotherapist, he tried adjusting back, helped a bit with the pain. he also said there's no fluid

Late November: consulted the same physio again, pain like shit, he decides to inject anesthesia (Xylocaine 2%) + medication (Triamcinolone Acetonide) into the knee, then find out actually got fluid inside when the syringe suddenly starts filling with yellow fluid.




throw syringe away, and injected with new batch of the medication.

Problem went away for 1.5 months, pain almost totally gone.

Early January, problem came back, hurts like shit again, and knee swollen. Mid january go back to physio, he injected empty syringe (said can't inject in medication as that is not the right practice) to drain the fluids, now it's one full syringe of fluids, much more than first extraction.






Background of my mum: not overly obese, but refuses to do exercises, always drink cold drinks, does not do heavy lifting or squatting or frequent stairs climb. All doctors consulted said no problem with the knees itself as it doesn't make any sound and can bend in full.


1 week after the above photo, the problem came back again, and it's back to day 1 of pain. I'm really tired of dealing with this already and had spent a lot of money with little results, need recommendation from fellow LYNers on any knee doctors to recommend


I think the proper next step now is to stop it with the extractions as i'm sure it's not healthy to be sticking needles into joints regularly. I should be finding a specialist on issues like this, anyone got someone to recommend? Any opinions to share would be very appreciated

I am not sure but can a physiotherapist administer injection or medication?

Have you gotten her to do MRI or Xray to check for abnormalities?

You can get your mom to do muscle strengthening exercises to reduce dependency of the knee joints.

suggest you visit an orthopedic specialist / surgeon at a reputable hospital

the ortho will suggest a suitable treatment and maybe need operation