Help! Possible knee injury

[April]

I moved nearly a month ago, and since then, my right knee has been sore. Most of the time it feels pretty stiff, and when I bend that knee more than 45°, I can really feel the pain. It feels as though the pain is behind the knee cap, at about the middle of the joint, and it feels like the pain is on a string that runs through the thigh, knee, and upper calf. Some of the time it just felt like there was a kink in it, like if I just gently twisted or stretched the right way, the discomfort would go away, but nothing like that has worked. Today when I was doing the seated hamstring curl at the gym, it really hit the part of my knee that's hurting.

So....I'm a student, and I have crappy health insurance. I doubt the school doc can help me, and after that, it'll cost me at least $75 to have it checked out somewhere.

I'm posting because I'm wondering if anyone has experienced symptoms like this, and if it's possibly just an inflamation issue. Should I just use some anti-inflamatories for a while? Or do I really need to see a doc?

[Cassiel]

I've definitely experienced something that sounds just like what you describe. It's sort of a feeling like that joint needs to pop, if it could, but it can't? I think this may be runner's knee, which is an inflammatory issue. When I've cut back on my running (the main thing I do to incur this injury), and taken ibuprofin or aspirin, it seems to go away. Try icing, too, if you can, and drink plenty of water. No doctor has been able to treat this problem in any other way, for me.

[nkace]

I have actually torn my acl in my knee & part of the cartiledge around it. Doing the ham leg curls are always most difficult for me. I don't run since it would cause more pain & probably damage. I know not to do certain poses in yoga too. I think if you took an anti inflammatory like Motrin it would help. Be careful not to over exert though. Just do some real stretching but gradually.

[MEM]

I've definitely experienced something that sounds just like what you describe. It's sort of a feeling like that joint needs to pop, if it could, but it can't? I think this may be runner's knee, which is an inflammatory issue. When I've cut back on my running (the main thing I do to incur this injury), and taken ibuprofin or aspirin, it seems to go away. Try icing, too, if you can, and drink plenty of water. No doctor has been able to treat this problem in any other way, for me.

I've experienced similiar problems (in fact, one of my knees is acting up as I type this) to the OP.

after talking with several doctors, the only thing they could come up with was taking aleve twice a day and icing it. It's frustrating, but it does help after a while. Just take care not to hurt it again.