So what did you do when you started to notice pain?
When I had my first dislocation, I was actually at a Tae Kwon-Do tournament where I was judging for the day before partaking in the evening events. I had been sitting down for many hours already and my knee suddenly starting really hurting and I was twisting as I walked. I showed my mum who was very concerned as my knee looked like it had dropped and inch or so down my leg and twisted! It was a trip to A&E, where they told me it was a possible sporting injury brought on by my leg becoming stiff, that I shouldn't worry and in 2 weeks I will be fine again. Well within these 2 weeks It had only got slightly better and then it happened again! So we went to my doctor who suggested that I have some Physiotherapy at the clinic.
So there I started my first Physio session of many! I had many weeks of physio, they tried lots of different things and even taped my knee back up to where it should be, but nothing worked and when the tape was taken off, my knee would immediately drop again. Then all of a sudden I woke up one day and my knee was fine again! I was walking normally and my knee looked fine (slightly puffy) and when I went back to my physio, he said I needn't attend anymore and that I would be fine now (ignoring all my postural imperfections).
Sadly, this was not my cure, where once again the same thing happened with my knee and my hip started hurting a lot more than usual and it would 'pop' out of place. This was another trip to the doctors where I was referred for Physiotherapy at the hospital. This was another load of pointless sessions and in the end I was told to go back to my doctor as this was not suitable for me. From there I was referred to a specialist at the hospital, who dealt with dislocations and was also a specialist in Joint Hypermobility. She said from the moment I walked into the room she could tell exactly what was wrong with me and that I fitted all the criteria for Hypermobility. Although I had severe symptoms of it, the doctor was not concerned and suggested that I would be fine as I hit my 20's. She said that as my joints as so flexible, as I grew up and became more stiff this would solve my problems. I was then sent for... (you guessed it)... more Physio!
Once again this didn't work and I was told to just take it easy. It was at this point I decided to completely retire from martial arts as it was only putting me through more pain and stress on my joints. I started up horse riding again as this helped with the pain in my hips and knees and it was a great out-let for me. I loaned a horse and went down the stables every day. I was still keeping up a sport, just one with less physical contact, it was just a hobby for me and I loved it! I have always been into horses my whole life, with my first lesson at 5 years old!
With the Doctors advice in mind that I would get better with age I ignored the pain, even when I did take pain killers they didn't help. I have always had a high pain threshold so the joint pain was bare able.
When I was 19 and the pain became unbearable and dislocations were frequent, I went back to the doctors for a referral to a Rhuematologist at the hospital. When I saw them I also found out that 4 years ago I had been referred to Great Ormand Street Hospital for Children in London, however I had never been informed of this so I could never chase up my referral (and I am sure things would have never of got to this stage had I of gone there! Not so rapidly in any case!). Luckily I had an experienced and amazing Doctor who helped me to her full extent and has put me in the right direction for the correct hospital and specialists, where I will be receiving intensive treatment!
Here is a little bit of advice for you:
If you ever have to go to the doctors for anything at all and you are left waiting with no answers, or dismissed and you feel something is still not right, make sure you push, push, push. I hate to say it but if you don't keep getting on that phone and insisting to be taken seriously, you never will be. Never give up, it is your health after all and you should always push for the best care!
So there I started my first Physio session of many! I had many weeks of physio, they tried lots of different things and even taped my knee back up to where it should be, but nothing worked and when the tape was taken off, my knee would immediately drop again. Then all of a sudden I woke up one day and my knee was fine again! I was walking normally and my knee looked fine (slightly puffy) and when I went back to my physio, he said I needn't attend anymore and that I would be fine now (ignoring all my postural imperfections).
Sadly, this was not my cure, where once again the same thing happened with my knee and my hip started hurting a lot more than usual and it would 'pop' out of place. This was another trip to the doctors where I was referred for Physiotherapy at the hospital. This was another load of pointless sessions and in the end I was told to go back to my doctor as this was not suitable for me. From there I was referred to a specialist at the hospital, who dealt with dislocations and was also a specialist in Joint Hypermobility. She said from the moment I walked into the room she could tell exactly what was wrong with me and that I fitted all the criteria for Hypermobility. Although I had severe symptoms of it, the doctor was not concerned and suggested that I would be fine as I hit my 20's. She said that as my joints as so flexible, as I grew up and became more stiff this would solve my problems. I was then sent for... (you guessed it)... more Physio!
Once again this didn't work and I was told to just take it easy. It was at this point I decided to completely retire from martial arts as it was only putting me through more pain and stress on my joints. I started up horse riding again as this helped with the pain in my hips and knees and it was a great out-let for me. I loaned a horse and went down the stables every day. I was still keeping up a sport, just one with less physical contact, it was just a hobby for me and I loved it! I have always been into horses my whole life, with my first lesson at 5 years old!
With the Doctors advice in mind that I would get better with age I ignored the pain, even when I did take pain killers they didn't help. I have always had a high pain threshold so the joint pain was bare able.
When I was 19 and the pain became unbearable and dislocations were frequent, I went back to the doctors for a referral to a Rhuematologist at the hospital. When I saw them I also found out that 4 years ago I had been referred to Great Ormand Street Hospital for Children in London, however I had never been informed of this so I could never chase up my referral (and I am sure things would have never of got to this stage had I of gone there! Not so rapidly in any case!). Luckily I had an experienced and amazing Doctor who helped me to her full extent and has put me in the right direction for the correct hospital and specialists, where I will be receiving intensive treatment!
Here is a little bit of advice for you:
If you ever have to go to the doctors for anything at all and you are left waiting with no answers, or dismissed and you feel something is still not right, make sure you push, push, push. I hate to say it but if you don't keep getting on that phone and insisting to be taken seriously, you never will be. Never give up, it is your health after all and you should always push for the best care!
