split/broken patella? advise needed

[Tap]

OK, amigos. So i guess i fell on my right knee (don't ask how it happened - i kinda of lost conciousness and fell down ) and didn't notice that my knee hurt until the next day when i tried to kneel on it. When i run my fingers over both patella's to compare, there is a significant horizontal crease / divot running through the right one, where the pain is, kind of like it is split. There isn't really any swelling and I can walk on it, but even a casual bump causes pain. It's been 3 days now and it's getting a bit more sore to walk on.

Did i break my patella? Fracture? Bruise?

I would think that if I broke it, it would be totally swollen. Wha' happened? What is the typical healing procedure? Will this impact my boarding/mt. biking?

thx in advance, mi bredren

[Vinman]

Tap, from the sounds of it your should go for an x-ray. Some of the symptoms you are describing don't really make sense, like the split you can feel, but no swelling and being able to walk on it but slight bumps casuing pain. For me if something is not making sesne that is a good time to go get a picture just to be sure.

If I had to make a gut feeling guess I'd say not fractured for the resons that you stated such as being able to walk on it and little to no swelling. But like I said something doesn't sound exactly right so error on the side of caution.

[Tap]

well, no swelling and i can walk on it, but it does ache a little at full flexion

we'll see when i can get back to biking on it

[truth]

go get an x-ray

[Tap]

i will when i get home

[Shepherd Wong]

I broke mine in two when I was a teen. Had no idea it had happened, it was really sore for about a month and went away. It's still split and looks pretty funny because you can see the 2 pieces and move them separatly but it doesn't hurt at all and never really hurt very bad.

[lph]

doubt it is fractured, but get an xray just to be sure.

[emi1234]

ok so i know this is a really old post... but i was wondering whether you figured out what was wrong as i am experiencing the same problem .
what was wrong in the end? did you get it x rayed ?

[vtdownhiller]

if your patella is cracked than it did it's job protecting your knee, mine has been in two pieces for years, it's no big deal

[wandering, not lost]

Squirrelmurphy shattered his patella several years ago (they found some of the pieces halfway up his quad) and his leg swelled to the size of a watermelon. They had to screw and wire it all back together, but he's fine now....

[firsumif]

I'd cut the plyos. Skiing should be high enough intensity. Adding high intensity plyos on top of high intensity skiing/hiking etc would not make a lot of sense to me.