IamA 20 year old whos knees have dislocated at least 200 times (not quite as impressive as the 1000 guy) AMA

Oh wow! I am the 1000 dislocations guy! I salute you, my partner in pain! Let's start a club!

I want to ask you a billion questions! Let's start with this You said that your bones are shaped weird. My main problem is that the bones in my knee joint are shaped badly. The tibia and femur are supposed to form a grove where your kneecap rests, and that groove is really shallow. So since there's less to hold my kneecap in, a wrong step or something that twists my leg can pop it right out.

Is your knee joint similarly shaped? Or do your knees dislocate because your leg gets twisted?

aha sick i can only bow to the guy of a thousand dislocations.

But srs I don't think it was the grove where my knee was resting it was more of a muscle alignement issue that caused mine to dislocate I think. As for my bones being twisted I was never told any specifics of it. I just had an MRI or a CT scan and they told me my bones arent alligned right and stuff.

This feels like a stupid question, but are you bound to a wheelchair? Has your condition stopped you getting involved with sporting activities? I couldn't imagine dislocating my knees that many times.

I never really needed a wheelchair much, I'm not bound to one but there were times where I definently needed one. Sporting activites were a hit and miss for me. When I was 10-14 I was the most active I've ever been at sports. I was able to swim, ride a bike and play football but my knee would dislocate sometimes whilst playing or part taking in the activity. I tried to not let it bother me but it got to a point where it was dislocating too much for me to try.

cheers for the question :)!

When it dislocates what happens? Is that a show stopper and you have to go to the hospital? Sorry I have never broken or dislocated anything so I have no idea!

My left knee would go out and go back in and then swell really big and I'd be off it for about a week or 2 max. My right knee would dislocate and stay out and I'd have to get an ambulance driver to slap it back in and it'd be swollen for a week or 2. Was usually not as long to recover as my left one was.

Thanks for the question :D

edited some bad grammar lol

"Slap it back in" is an amazing mental image. I can imagine you just giving a bored shrug to the ambulance dude and being like "give it a good smack and we're done here".

i wish it was as easy as slapping it in really haha I had to be loaded on gas and air before i'd let them do it. It feels really good once it goes back in, although that could of been the gas and air >.>

So if you were playing little League sports and it happens you are done for two weeks? That sounds real crappy mate!

I think I'd use that to get out of school a lot growing up though!

yeahh, I kind of used it to blag my way out of Sports and stuff, although tbf it is a legit excuse. Our school also had this hydrotheraphy thing they'd take the disabled students to, that happened to be when my maths lessons were in year 7 (first year of secondary school for non ukers) so it wasn't too important lol.

I had my knee dislocate once on vacation and it was pretty much the most painful thing I have been through. Does it hurt you to that degree every time or have your knees kind of gotten used to it so it hurts less?

The more it happened the more I got used to it, it used to hurt so bad until I was like 17 and then it only hurt a little and the last few times it did it I just felt slightly uncomfortable. The fall after my knee dislocated was the worst part. Been knocked out for a few seconds at a time before because of it.

Knee injuries are just the worst. I'm still recovering 3 years later. I can only imagine what you go through each day. All these best to you and I hope the surgeries make it better for you!

Thanks :) GL with your recovery too!

Have you considered seeing Dr. Pepper? I heard he's great with knee problems.

ahhsdfhingfiomgfkiogmkgmkgmklgm that made me cringe so hard

Ever had one dislocate during sex?

http://i.imgur.com/9Tu5fPg.png

It's alright bro. You're still my favorite dislocated knees guy that 1000 person has nothing on you. <3

xox

xox

Have your knees dislocated since you've had surgery? Also, would you say that the surgery was the bee's knees?

No they haven't :D. My left knee was done in November last year and it hasn't dislocated since. My right knee was done in April this year and hasn't dislocated since. They also seem to be more secure in the joint. And yeah, the surgery was the bee's knees and my surgeon did an amazing job. If I remember correctly, I'm sure he said he came up with the procedure and has helped loads of people with it. I've seen quite a fair few surgeons before him and they all told me they couldn't do anything. He stepped up and did an awesome job :D

How much work do you put in with rehab every day? My sister has knee dislocations and I had a bum shoulder, and found that the more stabilizers, the better.

I do small physio workouts every day. Well, they probably would seem small to a person with a normal leg but since surgery I've had to rebuild muscles and stuff back up and my legs are pretty weak, I have trouble kicking my dog's stuffed toys atm lol. I just do stretches, bends, balance and stuff. Basically to get better control over the finer muscle movements.

also what do you mean by the more stabilizers? are they some specific type of excersise or something?

I have trouble kicking my dog

:/

's stuffed toys

Oh. Okay.

lmaoo as much as she can annoy me i don't think i could kick her...

yet...

Na i wouldnt kick her

First I'd like to throw you a reddit fist-bump because I feel a fraction of your pain. I have been dislocating/subluxating my kneecaps like crazy lately. Rugby and jiu-jitsu are killing me, and every time they pop out it gets easier for them to pop out again. Do you plan to try any physical activity or sporting hobbies now after your surgery? Also, could you recommend any rehab exercises I could do to help my kneecaps stay in their lane? Good luck with your recovery.

I'd like to start swimming again and I'm going to start going out for regular walks and stuff to try and get a bit fitter. As for the kneecaps staying in their lane, I never practiced any of those because what my doctor described as the lane for mine was all messed up so he never really bothered. I'd recommend asking your doctor and hopefully they could recommend you something that'll work or help.

Thanks and i hope your knees get better :)

Nothing to apologise for, thanks for doing the AMA.

Here are my questions: Have you ever dislocated your shoulders? If yes does that feel different then when it happens to your knees?

When such a dislocation happens can you correct it yourself or do you need help?

I've never dislocated my shoulders before but I have a friend who is prone to his shoulders going. I don't know him IRL but I've spoken to him for years online and if I remember correctly he did it playing basketball. Every now and then since his shoulders dislocate which sucks. Never happened to me though so I couldn't compare the two.

Also, when it happens, I was once able to put it back in by moving my hips a bit. I was stuck on stairs and holding on to the banisters and I was moving to get more comfy, whilst moving my hip it just went back in. Besides that, I've had to have the ambulance drivers come round, fill me up with laughing gas and put my knee back in. If it was my left one it'd probably just go back into position about a second after going out.

thanks for the question :>

So what was the surgery?

Left leg was a major quad reconstruction surgery + making some new muscle out of my hamstring and screwing it in my knee to keep it there. I can't find the file they gave me after my left one.

I found the file for the right one and it says: 1) open surigcal stabilization of platella 2) Release of right quadricept (theres another word but its in doctor font and i cant dechypher it) 3)Multiple something in doctor font procedures of right knee.

Hey OP, I thought I had it bad growing up. I dislocated my knee 3 times and ultimately just stopped skateboarding and then I had no more issues. Did the doctor's ever advise you on any strengthening exercises or braces that you found to be the most helpful in making sure your knee didn't pop out of place again?

I was given physio routines and stuff and at one point I was attending physio once a week every morning and doing the excersises at home. I was also given a few braces from doctors and bought some from pharmacys myself. Nothing ever worked unfortuantly.

Is that condition similar to the girls in anime? Sorry if that was rude and you don't have to answer. ^{Just ignore me.}

i-i-i don't watch anime nellek-kun

Have you ever had orthotics, like a knee brace to keep the knee in place?

After my operations I had to wear a brace around the knee to keep it from bending too much straight away. Other than that I've got a caliper on my right leg to keep my foot comfortable and as flat as possible whilst walking due to club foot.

Glad you were able to fix the condition that you had! How much was all the hospital expenses? How much did insurance pay and how much came out of your own pocket? Thanks for doing this AMA!

I live in the UK so all of it didn't cost me a thing. It's a shame the conservatives are going to privatise the NHS. There are people out there worse off than me who are going to have to start paying a lot of money and will probably end up suffering (mentally and physically) because of it. Also, in the UK the NHS can fund a private hospital. Mine was done in a private hospital but was funded by the tax payer.

Did you find that any braces or supports significantly changed the rate of dislocation during various activities? Custom or over-the-counter?

In my experience, no. If you're having problems with your knees I'd recommend trying them though, you never know. I just don't want to discourage someone from not trying lol.

Hey OP, I had a buddy I grew up with and went to highschool with that had this issue when he was playing Baseball, just one knee at the time. Popped the other one playing flag football in HS (inside the school gym during PE). I know he had some preventive surgery after the first knee began popping almost every other baseball game (I think he said it popped about 5 times before his parents and doctor realized there might be a problem, and I think after the HS incident he only had the issue twice more before both knees were taken care of [he was 17 at the time of the HS incident])

I got to witness the after affects of someone with a popped knee. He blacked out before me and a buddy could wheel him to the nurses office. He later told me that it was probably the worst pain he ever experienced.

My question for you is, on a scale from 1-10, how bad was the pain when you popped your knee? While waiting for the knee to be re-seated? While it was being re-seated?

when it pops out it's like being hit with a hammer really hard lol the pain is unreal and then the fall is bad. Especially if it happens on stairs. So 10/10 for that one. Whilst it's out, it's not really pain but an ache and a general feeling of uncomfortableness. So like 5/10 and when it comes back in it hurts too. When my right one does it and the doctors/nurses put it in it doesn't hurt too much, although I'd imagine it'd hurt just as bad as the dislocation if you're not loaded on laughing gas lol

I have a condition called Marfan Syndrome and I also sprain my knees a lot! I'm so happy that somebody else knows what this is like. I can't explain the cringe and that high-pitched bone crunch noise that happens to people that have never been there. It's awful.

My main question was: did a lot of people call it bullshit? Kids in school or adults who say you're lying for whatever reason?

I had a lot of teachers and peers that thought because I was running and playing football now and then (I had some good days but most were worse than others) that I was faking it. I had one teacher tell me how because I could get up the stairs I shouldn't have a key to the school lift lol. The only time people have called bullshit was when my left knee had some bone chipped off it and I had a small ball of bone floating around in my knee and I could get it half way down to my ankle and I could just play with it whenever lol. When my surgeon cut me open it apparently flew out and hit him on the foot lol

hey man i've disclocated my knee 6 times until now. my problem is that my bone structure beneath the knee cab is pretty much a flat surface thus they can pop out quite easily. my solution...avoid sports or fast movement with my legs. my question for you is how long where you unable to "walk" after your surgery? did you operate both knees on the same day or was some time between your operations?

Left leg was a bigger operation than my right one so that one was a day of rest and then I went home on crutches and a knee brace. My right one wasn't as major and I was walking and home the same day on crutches and in a knee brace.

Do you still have problems after your knees were fixed?

A few but they're down to being weak after surgery and should sort themselves out in a year or two

I dislocated my knee cap a couple of years ago and it was very, very painful. Is it the same for you or did you ever "get used to it"?

It most of the time felt like being hit with a heavy item like a hammer or something every time. Eventually my knee was able to dislocate without as much resistance and it made it hurt less. It was still uncomfortable though.

Thanks for putting up this AMA!

If getting bionic robot legs to replace yours was an option, would you get them?

Have you read a good book lately?

What is your favorite sandwich?

It deffo would of been a year ago after being told there was nothing they could of done. I would of deffo agreed to prosthetic knees/legs if it was my only option other than live with dislocating knees.

I haven't read any good books lately :( Not much of a book reader and my fav sandwich is ham and tomato sauce no butter

I've dislocated my right knee a few times and its ruined my body. Hips and shins and everything are all out of wack from weakness and favoring. Do you experience this as well? If so, how do you deal with it?

My bones from my hips downwards are out of line anyways so I don't know what I could advise you mate, I'd honestly just recommend talking to your doctor and if you disagree with them saying you're fine, find more doctors and you'll eventually get someone who is willing or knows how to help you.

So this isn't anywhere near as bad as you but, i have dislocated just my left knee about 5 times in the last 4 years its quite the pain in the ass. I only when to a doctor the first time the rest I didn't bother as I already knew how to put my knee brace on and the exercises to do. But now i'm starting to think its not going to stop popping out on me. Would you recommend surgery of some kind and how long after surgery and I immobile?

Thanks in Advance.

I would deffo go and see your doctor about it. I'd deffo recommend surgery though if no excersises/braces can help you out. After my left operation, recovery was rough and I struggled to move around in crutches for a few weeks. I was up and walking the day after surgery though.

After my right knee I was hope the same day because it was less of a procedure. My Physiotherapist said my left leg should be 100% in a year or so. Which is awesome.

Hope you're able to sort something out mate

Do you still remember your first time?

I have two very early memories about it. I'm not sure which one was first or not. Either way I think I was 4-6 when it happened. I was at the top of the stairs and my Dad was doing something with his car and he had the car radio out at the bottom of the stairs. My knee dislocated at the top of the stairs fell down and landed on the radio. My other memory was I was walking from the lower part of my primary school to the junior section and I was at the back of the line (about 30 kids long) and the teacher in the front heard it come out.

What's the most awkward/weird situation your fucky knees got you into?

Was coming down the stairs at school (my left knee was alrdy weak from going a fewdays prior to this) and some teacher asked me why I wasnt using the lift, I said I felt ok enough to use the stairs, she seemed really concerned but let me off anyways. Same day but about 4 hours later I'm coming down the stairs from science class and my other knee went half way down stairs and I was stuck on the stairs with loaddds of pupils looking at me whilst I was screaming like a bitch lol. Shit sucked. Ended up seeing the same teacher after the incident and all she was saying was "I TOLD U U SHOULD OF USED THE LIFT".

I've been feeling quite down about my knees and stuff

You're not alone /u/fuckykneesama, my knee problems bum me out quite often. I've never talked to anyone about it (the bummed out part), always wondering if other people with similar problems felt the same way...I know it's only been a few hours, but do you think talking about your knees will make you more confident about your situation? I get embarrassed a lot when people ask me to do something active for the 2nd-3rd time and I have to repeat how I'd love to but my knees just won't hold up or the pain just isn't worth it.

I deffo feel a lot better for talking about it and I'm quite overwhelemed with how many people are asking stuff lol. It's deffo making me feel better though so thanks a lot :D!

Hey, the same shit happens to me! Mine is from ligaments being way too long and stretched out or something. It has happened to me about 10 times a year since I was four, when it first happened. So I'm probably right at 200 just like you! I've been to a couple doctors who say it's the worst they've seen ever and that I need them fixed.. years ago. I've never had the money to get it done, which totally sucks. I was told at this rate I will have to have both knees replaced well before 40. So yeah, I'm just planning on an early death by nonfunctional legs. But in the hopes I can get them fixed one day, I suppose I should ask a few questions. Did you have surgery on both at the same time? What has your recovery been like? How has it affected your daily life, work, etc.?

Edit: Bonus gifs of how fucked up they are

Hey, If you're from the UK I can give you the name of the hospital I went too and maybe you could sort something out there, It's based in Darlington though.

I had surgery on them at first in year 4 because they said my tendons were weird so I had a tendon release, which did nothing and then I had multiple doctors tell me there was nothing I could do and that made me feel like absolute shit but you need to keep asking and asking and asking, keep getting more opinions and eventually/hopefully you'll find someone man. I was preparing myself for false legs and/or false knees by the time I was 30 and then I found someone.

I had them done 5/6 months apart and recovery has been better the second time around than the first. Most annoying thing is my quads sometimes just stop and my legs do some reflex like I've been hit in the back of the knee lol. That's gonna go with time though. I just have to work on building muscles and working on finer muscle control and I'm sorted. And the daily life, the surgery hasn't done much in terms of stopping me from doing much because I couldn't get a job or anything with knees that'd randomly play up. I've deffinantly became less active because of my knees over the past few years, something which I intend to change.

GL with your knees and if you're from the UK PM me and I'll give you the info to the hospital I was refered too.

Get lt Dan legs. Why don't you become a cyborg?

Used to joke around with my friends at school about just getting rid of them and becoming an andriod. It'd be sick being known as the IRL crippletron.

How far out do they go? I had a kneecap pop all the way 90degrees over to the side but it popped right back in place.

90 degrees sounds a bout right for me too, they'd pop back in themselves usually but sometimes I'd need a dr to put it in

My brother has this exact condition! I have it too, but it's far less severe. I miss being able to play sports without worrying that my knees would fail on me. How beneficial was your surgery?

my surgery has helped so much. Before I could move my knees with my hands and they'd have little resistance. Now they feel solid. Like they're not going to move from where they are without a good bit of force.

No question, here. Just popped in to say I absolutely feel your pain. I don't have that medical condition, but I do have degenerative chondromalacia (sp?), which may or may not have been a contributing factor. But the problem was so frequent that I had a lateral release on my right knee when I was 17 (I'm 50 now). It..kinda helped? Edit: the surgery I had was nothing compared to yours--arthroscopic and very minor, so there's no reason to think yours won't be successful.

Honestly cannot say how many times mine have dislocated, before the surgery and since. And in 50 years, brother, that's a metric shit-ton of dislocations. Average maybe 4x a month since I was about 15, best guess. That's 1,680 dislocations. I never thought about it. I certainly can't prove it. Heh.

My knees (particularly my right one) will dislocate any damn time they feel like (apologies for using the Pathetic Fallacy). Like once when playing paintball I was crouched in cover. Tried to stand and both were locked. Right patella was literally 45° out of place.

Most of the time I don't feel it happen until I try to straighten my leg and it doesn't move, because it usually happens when I'm not moving and keep my leg bent for too long and/or in a position where lateral stress is excessive. So I have to be aware of that. The patella just kind of eases out of position. It's not a sudden dislocation. It's insidious.

I've become very skilled at snapping it back into place. Of course, that's when it FUCKING HURTS. But it doesn't sideline me as it does you. It'll be tender and a little wobbly for maybe an hour, but that's it.

But that didn't stop me from achieving fairly high ranking in a few forms of martial arts: TKD, hapkido, BJJ, and I practice Krav Maga as well.

Don't let it slow you down!

Dammnnn that is a crazy amount of dislocations. I'm glad you're able to carry on though man, sometimes I feel like I could of tried a little harder a few years ago to do something but it really is scary not knowing when it'll happen. Once I'm fully recovered from surgery I'm going to be wayy more active. I got to make up for quite a bit of lost active time lol

As someone who had dislocated my knee once....OW. How do you deal with this happening so much? Do you ever worry when you're doing certain activities that it's going to happen? I've been very gun shy to do a lot of jumping since I did mine (It happened after jumping)

Used to worry all the time lol. Was able to play through until it happened, then i'd be out for a day - 2 weeks depending. It did make me quite shy overall and since my operation i'm deffinently a lot more confidant but I'm not exactly over the worrying.

How does it affect your daily life? Do you walk a lot like nothing ever happens or do you have to be more cautionous about your activities?

Do you have some kind of rehabilitation?

Mentally it kind of messed me up for a while. I'm not as bad as I was before because now my surgeon pretty much assured me it's not going to move lol. Before as a kid though it'd ALWAYS be on my mind. I also had some very strange phobias because of it. At playgrounds and stuff for kids the stuff on the floor, is like a bouncier tar-mac, I'm kind of nervous walking on that because that's where the majority of my dislocations happened and my 12 year old self put together the theory of "it must be making it do it cos it always happens there" and it's kind of stayed with me. I also dream about it and like sometimes if I think too hard I can sort of flash back and my muscles and stuff will tense and stuff. It's pretty weird but in time I'm hoping I can stop myself getting into those types of thought patterns. People have also said to me it was hard to maintain a conversation with me whilst I was walking because I was constantly looking around for things to hold on too if it was going to happen and stuff.

have you ever scared someone with your knees dislocating in public?

probably haven't scared them, I've probably freaked a lot of people out though. It's funny watching my mam look at my knee when it's out because she's really screamish lol.