Sports and Acute knee injuries can occur to anyone – they don’t just happen on the sports field! Knee injury could happen from simple activities such as jarring the knee whilst stepping off a gutter, twisting the knee whilst standing up from a desk chair or injuring the knee in motor vehicle accident. They could occur whilst out on a jog, playing social netball, touch rugby, tennis or similar.
The term “Sports knee Injury” applies to any situation where there has been injury that predominantly involves the soft tissue structures in and around the knee (ligaments, articular cartilage, meniscus cartilage, joint capsule, tendons). The onset of symptoms is often very dramatic and a knee that was functioning completely normally can suddenly become very painful and swollen to the point that weightbearing is not possible and crutches and splints are required.
Recognising that these conditions cause severe disability, significant pain, high anxiety and often require early intervention (surgery, further imaging, physiotherapy), Dr Doneley and his staff arrange urgent appointments for all people with acute knee injuries, no matter the cause.
In many instances, a diagnosis and treatment plan can be achieved at the time of the initial consultation based on interview, examination and simple investigations such as X-Rays. Specialised scans (CT/MRI) are also employed to confirm diagnosis and look for additional injuries. These can usually be obtained prior to the initial appointment – please discuss with our staff and appropriate arrangements can be made.
When making your appointment, please be sure to inform our staff that the condition is acute and urgent as our practice will always happily oblige and expedite your care and treatment.