knee injury

[HM Riverman]

okay back in sept. I twisted my knee alittle it didnt swell up or anything and nothing ripped but every now and then it will hurt alittle. Im just wondering about how long will it take to heal. im back to doing my normal work outs and all but will it be back to 100% by the time i leave for RTC in April? because this is something ive been waiting to do and something i want to do but i just dont want to hurt myself bad and miss out on this.

[Da-Chief]

Shipmate,
everyone heals at their own pace. Did you get it looked at by your family doc? Better to be safe then sorry.

Good luck!
D/C

[HM Riverman]

nah i didnt get it looked at by my family doc. because i have no insurance and my job right now only gives it to fulltime ppl and there cuting back hours so i cant get fulltime.

[8404]

So you didn't go to the doctor and have it looked at. It's been about 4 months and you have intermittent pain.

Here is what can happen. You go to MEPs, pass, ship to RTC and during the physical training portion of RTC, all of a sudden you experience this intermittent and recurring pain. This may hinder you from doing RTC physical training and it could become evident to your RDCs. Limping, favoring one leg over another etc... The RDCs will more in likely see this and send you to get checked out by medical. Should they find something serious enough, you could be medically discharged then and there.

So you have a choice to make. Continuing with Physical Training, on a potentially injured leg/knee, could cause 'more' avoidable damage to your knee, than if you had it check out beforehand.

[HM Riverman]

hmm the only problem i have right now is i cant afford to go see a doc. i have no money and i dont have insurance. crap because ive been waiting to go into the navy and i dont want anything to mess up my chances of doing something ive been waiting to do for years. ill see what i can do about going to see a doctor.

[8404]

You want to make sure you don't have a torn ACL!

[IFD Medic]

There is a free clinic in your city or near yoru city somewhere. You can call the local health department usually to find out where one might be. This will only get you in to see a doctor and you'll probably spend hours there waiting. The MRI and X-ray may/may not be free. You can arrange payment ahead of time and make monthly payments at most hospitals. On the upside, the physicians that I have met at the clinics here do alot with very little and as a result their physical exam and assessment skills are pretty top notch. THey may be able to get you diagnosed withotu an expensive imaging session.

Another option is to contact Blue Cross/Blue shield and tell them you want some insurance in the short term until you go to boot. You can get pretty good rates for young, healthy people. Something like $300per month with enough coverage. Just READ the packet before you sign it and make sure it covers what you need it to cover. Wait a couple of weeks, schedule a new patient visit and when the doc checks out your leg, don't mention it happened before the policy took effect.

Flip burgers for a couple months to get insurance if you have to. It sucks, but it is better than paying out thousands of dollars for the MRI.

[HM Riverman]

well i talked to my work since its the beginning of a new year about insurance. they said they will be able to do something about part time but i have to work at least 35hrs a week so i should be getting my insurance card in about a week or so as to what they said. plus i talked to my recruiter about it he had me do duck walks and all and it didnt hurt or anything plus he said i should be okay when i leave for RTC in april. it only hurts once in while plus it feels alot better then it was last month. so once i get my card ill go see a doc.

[makale_83]

Its best to be seen by a doctor for it, however medical discharge is the worst thing that could happen due to your current knee pain. (Well besides actually hurting it worse.) There are a lot of people that go through bootcamp with physical problems already, you just learn to suck it up.

When I went through bootcamp, I had a sore back and still got through it just fine!! Good luck!

[8404]

...you just learn to suck it up.

Sometimes, that "sucking it up" can cause more severe damage! There is a difference to having pain from not having done physical training for some time and that of a known injury with recurring pain!

Pay attention to your body!