[87] Self-Diagnosis: Knee Injury

Yesterday, I hurt my knee somehow, and it didn't feel right moving it around sometimes. So, I decided to stay in today to let it heal....AND DO A SPORTS MEDICINE SELF-DIAGNOSIS ON MYSELF!!!

My Self-Diagnosis Process

1. Soft-Tissue Damage or Muscular Damage?

       First thing with sports injuries is determining if it is soft tissue damage (such as ligament or tendon) or if it is muscle tissue damage. If it's soft tissue, any movement of the limbs will cause some sort of pain because it'll cause the tissue to stretch. If it's the muscle, any contraction or activation of the muscle will cause pain. 

If we move the limbs, won't we have to activate the muscle? 

Nope! I can create limb movement alternatively by using my arms to make my knee bend and straighten instead of using my leg muscles. And when I did this, there was no pain. However, when I use my leg muscles, there is pain. Ding ding ding! Muscular Damage.

2. Which Muscle Is Injured?

       For the knee, there are two main muscle groups that activate it: hamstring group and quadriceps group. The hamstring group (on the back of thigh) bends the knee, while the quadriceps (on the front of thigh) extends it. Since it hurt when extending it, the damage should be on the quadriceps and based on where it hurt, I've narrowed it down to damage on the vastus medialis which is on the inner side of the quadriceps. 

My personal diagnosis is that it is one of the quadriceps muscles--perhaps the vastus medialis--that has been damaged.

*DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional*