Hello Jonathan,

I am sorry you are having so much pain. It is exhausting to deal with severe pain and the frustration that comes with it. But I urge you to hold onto hope and keep searching for answers. Even if it is determined that you have CRPS, finding a potentially treatable cause for it can be a game changer as far as your outcome. And research indicates that 80% of CRPS patients improve over time. Ignore the doom and gloom out there and the bias found online and don't ever give up.

Some thoughts on CRPS vs. something else. It is true that CRPS is a diagnosis of exclusion. Nerve entrapment is the most likely mimicker of CRPS. Nerve entrapment can be difficult to find but a specialist trained in peripheral nerve surgery or a Physical Medicine doctor may be of help if you don't find other answers. The "scratch collapse" test can sometimes find entrapments as can a peripheral nerve ultrasound.

I am not sure how having a displaced patella wouldn't be extremely painful...
Is it just a little off or is it dislocated? That would show on x-ray. Either way it seems a nerve branch could be getting pinched in there, it doens't take much and one goes right under the patella. If you have a dislocation that can likely be treated with a manipulation. An orthopedist can reduce it or possibly a really good chiropractor. We had a member with longstanding pain have improvement when something wiggled loose during a foot manipulation. Just a thought, I'd ask your ortho. If you tripped during your hike it could've jostled it out of place (especially if you had prior injury). As for the mower...vibration, bouncing, bumps? Or having your knee bent for a while...

On the genital area pain. The nerve to the knee and the nerve to the genital area are not the same but they do communicate (meaning there is a connecting branch between them) When one nerve has damage or inflammation it can certainly "talk" to nearby nerves via chemical signaling that cause pain to be in a larger area. This happens with CPRS but also could be related to ongoing pain, a lot of inflammatory factors in the area or even possible centralization from your prior injury. You might also ask about whether pain could be originating from your spine.

Pain management may have some insight on how to proceed. They may also be willing to try local peripheral blocks to reduce pain and help identify if a single nerve branch is causing your pain.

I hope that your appointments go well and you find answers soon. Remember that if there is something causing this, it needs to get treated so you can get better. Don't accept having pain as an answer until options have been exhausted. You are your own best advocate, as you know from prior experience. Also, try not to overdo. Whether CRPS or injury, causing yourself more pain in an effort to get better can backfire. Keep your nervous system as calm as you can. Aqua therapy is indeed very helpful and will allow movement without so much load.

Sending thoughts of healing and recovery,