Numbness

jonr

Hello everyone, hoping to pick some collective brains please!

About 3 weeks ago I went to answer a call of nature in the middle of the night and in a first for me I had a fall, splitting my head open, busting my nose and causing some mild concussion.

Following my usual routine when I got up in the morning, I was applying my gels to my left knee and realised it was numb at the front and down towards the shin, a feeling a bit like having a dead leg or arm.

I'm wondering if anyone may have an explanation - both my knees are bone-on-bone OA and need a total replacement. The GP hasn't been helpful at all yet this numbness still persists. It's not causing any tingling, etc and my pain is a steady 1-2 as it has been for many months now.

TIA,

Jon

DODGYKNEES

Hi @jonr . I also have knee arthritis. I have had numbness in my legs, knees off and on for a few years. I got referred to neurology to try and find the cause. After all the tests they couldn't find the cause of my numbness, and I was told it could be due to arthritic changes. As your numbness came on after a fall it could be something else causing it. It might be a good idea to ask your GP to refer you to neurology. And you could ask to be seen by a physiotherapist. Hope this helps

frogmorton

Part of my knee is numb I think it's slightly to one side and I just ignore it, but in your case if it was after a fall it does need discussing with your GP. Might only be a damaged ligament or something, but safety first eh?

Toni x

jonr

Thanks @DODGYKNEES and @frogmorton,

There's quite a wait to speak with my GP so I'll ask my Acupuncturist when I go for treatment tomorrow as she is an ex-Nurse. It could be the numbness precipitated the fall and that may have been a contributing factor to my stumbling because I've not done that before, even when one of my knees has unexpectedly given way. Hope it's "just Arthritis" and not something more serious.

stickywicket

I think that's a good plan. You've waited three weeks and that's long enough. In my long experience of these forums, numbness seems to come from nerve damage and my guess would be you damaged one or more in falling. The only time I've had numbness is after my TKRs one side of the scar, which lasted about 12 months. It was explained as the surgeon having to cut the nerve and it having to re-establish itself.

I presume you just tripped over something or got unbalanced by something. Or, maybe a knee gave way. That would all make sense.

Good luck.

jonr

Interesting @stickywicket - nerve damage of some kind, or pinching is what my thoughts have led to as well.

My knees are always stiff after several hours of inactivity, sleep's obviously the major one and as it was 2.30am I reckon I was still half asleep, didn't want to wake my good lady by putting the light on to go to the bathroom and stumbled in the dark. It was my forehead and nose which took the brunt when I hit the wall but I may still have done something to my knee. I came off my bike a couple of months ago and went down knees and hands first on a kerb, that caused a lot of bruising, inflammation and grazing but no numbness which I wouldn't have minded to cut out the pain!