My knee has been hurting for no apparent reason. Find out torn meniscus and bone edema/cartridge damage. I’ve also had torn rotator cuff both without injuries. My surgeon indicated my rotator cuff looked like that of an 80 year old. I was 37 at the time. Now I need knee surgery at 42 Anyone else have weakened tendons/injuries without injuries? Concerned this will continue.
Talk to your doctor about muscle conditioning- a lot of injuries occur with minor trauma due to our sedentary life styles. Maintenance of a proper body weight is also important Knee problems at 42 are not all that unusual either. My ortho did advise me that long term collagen vascular diseases like lupus do tend to have tears and trauma of the tendons etc more easily and one of the treatments is to maintain adequate muscle tone and strength so that injuries do not occur with minor stress
Thanks! I’ve been very fortunate with my weight (probably a little under weight) and I “run” a restaurant too. I totally agree with needing to ad muscle conditioning it’s just doing it that’s the hard part. I’ve been on prednisone for 30 years (although mostly low dose) and was also wondering if that can cause tendon weakness. Thanks for your input!
OMG I thought I was the only one! Im 34, it all started last March when my left rotator cuff tore for no reason and it was the first of many injuries to come… not even a month later the labrum in my left hip tore , the MRI showed the entire labrum was frayed internal and externally with extreme cartilage loss and bone marrow edema. A couple of months later the same thing happened to my right hip and by November my left knee had a large bone contusions , edema , frayed meniscus and a"high grade "cartilage defect and degeneration . So now the left knee and shoulder suffer from subluxation(partial dislocation) often 
all my drs say im too sick for replacement surgery or even sewing up torn tissues and ligaments… my connective tissues with just keep tearing , I’ve never been in remission. About 6 months ago was diagnosed with systemic relapsing polycondritus with severe SLE, it was attributed to my widespread cartilage loss and degeneration. Recently my orthopedic went back through my lengthy file and realized im positive for heterozygous A12 298C mutation (MTHFR gene) . That finding a long with my symptoms and other positive blood work led to my diagnosis of late onset of homocystinuria. My orthopedic explained in great detail how it can totally reek havoc on your ligaments and bones and causes the injuries im suffering from spontaneously. Unfortunately there’s no cure like as with lupus but folic acid, b vitamins and strict limitation of certain proteins into the body can maybe slowdown or possibly stall the progression. You should absolutely be tested for this gene and see where your homsistine levels are at asap!
Thank you so much for your response! I’m going to be see all my doctors again soon. I will be asking for that test! Please stay in touch
I have many "injuries without injuries!" Quick question for all of you - what do your Doctors prescribe you for pain???
For pain my rhuemy prescribes fentanyl 25 mcg
patch every 72 hours, morphine IR 15 mlg for breakthrough pain(I only use a few a week)and tramadol 50 mlg (8 times a day)...I found the fentanyl helped my hip pain tremendously when I hd it in my IV for my port placement surgery.. like I said I have severe deterioration in my hips and knee and I desperately want to walk so the fentanyl helps keep me outta my wheelchair but I still need it for distance. I was very resistant to being on narcotics .. I suffer for a long time trying to get along with just tramadol,ibuprofen, ice and heat but once I began to have the multiple labrual tears it was time for real pain meds! Im very fortunate my rhuemy prescribes me and I don't have to deal with a pain management dr, it would be just another drs appointment and I have enough of those lol..she knows truly suffering and all my orthopedic MRIs don't lie so all my injuries and degeneration are clear as day and just keep coming !I would have zero quality of life if I wasn't taking these pain meds but I don't feel narcotics are the answers unless you're suffering from something severe.
That is what I love about this site! When I am feeling very much alone and as if no one could possible understand what I am going through, I see a post like this. I have been dealing with pain in my should for three plus years and only recently found out that I have a torn tendon near the rotator cuff. My options are cortico-steroid injections to dull the pain or surgery. I don't recall ever having an injury. I can't take the steroids or risk making my Type 1 Diabetes go totally out of control. I hate to blame every ache and pain I have on my lupus, but it is usually the culprit. I was thinking so hard, trying to figure out what I did to my arm. I know it doesn't help your pain to know that you're not alone, but thank you so much for posting this. I can totally relate! I hope you find answers and are feeling better soon!
Steroids will absolutely cause tendon and ligament injuries if you are on them for long periods of time. I ended up breaking 4 vertebrae without really doing anything! It turns out the high dose steroids can cause osteoporosis too! You need to have them check for that too. Long term use of steroids can wreak havoc on our bodies but save our lives at the same time. Be careful. Walking is the best exercise if you can tolerate that. Take care!
Wow! I think this is the first time I have read something like this because this has happened to me! First my left rotator cuff, then the meniscus in my knee and then the right rotator cuff. I also have bone spurs in my big toe joints and have had 2 surgeries on them as well. I wonder how many other people have such occurances? What about the bone spurs?
Hey Sweetiepie…you replied to me too. I was just diagnosed right before I turned 59. I have had both shoulders done…and both elbows. I had PRP (plasma rich platelets) done in my elbows and it was a miracle. It was recommended I look into it before I had surgery again. I also had bone spurs which my doc took pulverized with the needle when he was in there. It was painless…the whole thing. Was reading about that surgery your supposed to have on your bone spur in August. You ought to look into PRP. AND recovery is nothing compared to surgery. I was just supposed to take it easy with my arm for 5 weeks. I was back swinging a golf club in 6 weeks and on the tennis court in 7! weeks.
Steen - I will look into PRP - I have bone spurs in my left hip, my right hip, and both shoulders. Do bone spurs occur a lot with people who have Lupus?
Sweetiepie, I wish I had an answer for you. I just don’t know. All I know is, I had one or 2 in one of my elbows. I also think they told me I had one in or around my toe joint. I guess we just don’t know what’s normal for “us” as opposed to what’s normal for the general population.
You mentioned you got sick after moving south. Do you cover up with hats, lotion and upf clothing? I was in FL several times last year…got very sick every time. I hadn’t been diagnosed yet. We were just there again for 3 mos…I did all of the above and felt good. I’ve heard also that you get get a form to fill out at the DMV to allow you to tint your car windows darker than the usual allowed. So I’m also going to look into that.
Steen, when I moved South I was outside playing tennis everyday and did not use sunblock! I do not know why I did that - I love the sun and it felt so good to be in the South and being warm. I got the nasty rash almost immediately and also had diahreah everyday. I thought I had worms!! I had my doctor at the time check to see if I had parasites! She did not put any of my symptoms together so I went another year I think before I really crashed. One person told me that the bone spurs are from inflammation. We certainly have inflammation!
Yes, I have a tendon tear around the right rotator cuff. Have an appointment with an ortho surgeon next month. I have had this pain for three years and assumed it was "just part of my lupus". My rhemy sent me to PT for a while and it just really has not gotten any better. I don't remember ever doing anything that could have lead to this "injury". My knees hurt too, so I'm afraid to have a MRI of them. Hope you get some answers and relief soon!