last monday..had a little arthroscopic knee surgery to fix up a little issue i had. My meniscus was overlapping on my knee a little too far and when i ran it was getting inflamed which really hurt. basically, it wasn't a real bad issue as long as i didn't run..but i like running so i got it done. anyway....wow, it kind of sucks. can't really bend the knee too much because of the bandaging...doesn't hurt too much, but just hard getting around. i'm guessing a lot of you hae had this done. my doctor said i would be working out again in a couple weeks or so. that's what i'm concerned with. did any of y'all who have had this done experience any issues with working out a few weeks afterwards? i'm thinking just eliptical, maybe bike..no runing for a while. i'm also going to be doing a ton of upper body and abs..which is good since i don't do enough of that normally. but i really enjoy cardio a few times a week and i'm going to be bummed if i can't work out for a month. really, i'm just venting.
I've had a scope on each knee in the past two years. I was on crutches for two days each time, then walking. My doctor asked me not to lift for four weeks - he gave me a regime of rehab exercises to do each time. After the four weeks I was right back on my Bowflex with little loss. The one complication - my left knee has some bone-to-bone (after forty years as a jogger), so I've had to substitute the stationary bike for jogging. Don't know if our situations are parallel (after all, I'm in my sixties, and you'd expect my recovery to be a bit less than that for a younger man). Good luck on your recovery. HornHuskerDad
I have similar pain in my knee when I run only. I am dreading getting it looked at. What type of pain did you have?
Basically, the pain would come up after about a mile or two and would get really bad the next day. On the inner part of leg in the upper corner of the knee. So if you were looking at my leg, it would be the upper right corner of the left knee. It would go away after a day or two, but it would get pretty intense. If everything works out as planned, then the surgery was worth it and i'll probably have to get the right one done eventually as well.
that sound like the pain I have. It starts to hurt really bad after running a mile. It is kind of sore the next day. A little rest and there is no pain at all. It really sucks.
I had my right knee scoped four times for meniscus problems (chronic tears) in about a six-year period. The first one was fairly easy to come back from, but each succeeding one got more difficult. By the fourth one it was really no fun at all. The rehab was, let's just say, not very pleasant. In addition to the physical discomfort, I had other issues with my recovery. I've always been a very self-sufficient, active person. The physical limitations, particularly on my mobility and the chain-reaction effect it had on my overall feeling of well-being, really had me depressed at times. Staying as active as possible, and not giving into my limitations any more than I have to, has helped in that regard. In the meantime, after the fourth scope, my dr. said that nothing more could be gained from scoping, that the joint was basically bone-on-bone, and he referred me to a joint replacement specialist. I had the consultation with the joint guy. He explained the procedure, and he told me to call when I was ready to do it. I told him that my intention was to put it off until I could no longer stand it. That was two years ago. I have pretty good days, so-so days, and occasional days where, if I could have the replacement surgery right that minute, I would. Those days are usually followed by ok days, however, and I go back to wanting to make it last as long as possible. The good thing is, I was allowed to retire early on disability due to being in a knee-intensive profession, and I'm now able to enjoy life and my kids on a daily basis. I love this country. But seriously, good luck with your condition. Try to not let it get you down, either figuratively or otherwise.
The utility and post-operative course (pain and potential activity level) associated with knee arthroscopy vary widely depending on the patient, the condition (and hence exact procedure), and to a degree the surgeon. A simple diagnostic scope may result in only a few days discomfort with early return to pain-free participation in any sport, while meniscal repair may necessitate going non-weight-bearing on that knee for many weeks. Arthroscopy is the gold standard for determining what is actually wrong inside a knee. MRI often costs a large percentage of the cost of the surgery and can be non-helpful in distinguishing among possible causes of signal change. A scope lets one actually look at and probe the structures of interest (not to mention, take interventional action if indicated). Scoping is a great way to perform less invasive surgery inside the knee. For discreet, traumatically induced derangements, arthroscopic interventions tend to be quite successful. For degenerative problems, not so much. NEJM published a landmark study, I think in 2002 or 2003. It basically concluded that if one is only treating degenerative disease (arthritis or "wear and tear"), scoping is a waste of time and money. There are, of course, exceptions such as bad degenerative meniscal tears causing the knee to lock. For the active person with arthritis in the knee, it is generally good to start out with activity modification (e.g., swim more and run less), local and oral therapy (heat/ice, aspercream etc., aspirin/tylenol etc.), and even injections (anesthetic and steroid, hyalgan). In the end, joint replacement is very effective, but you don't want to get stuck dealing with a worn-out replacement from getting it too young (or worse, a worn out revision replacement).
You want to talk about suck... I had a knee reconstruction after blowing out my knee playing non-contact football. When I awoke from surgery, I immediately started throwing up. Assuming it was just a reaction to the anesthesia, we waited it out for a couple of days. I was still throwing up. Turns out, I was allergic to morphine. I had a pump and would throw up immediately after pushing the button on the pump. So, I threw up for another day. Oh, it gets better. I then obtained a bad case of bladder spasms. Unbeknownst to me, my bladder was empty but I felt like I had just had 10 beers. I'm literally to the point of crying after not being able to piss all day. So, I beg the nurse for a catheter. The first one she tried to use was too big - spare me the penis-size jokes. When she got the second one in, nothing happened. Though I was hunched over in pain from the need to piss, my bladder was empty. The only way to cure it was to drink massive amounts of water and cranberry juice. Several hours later, my urinary system kicked in. Then, I had the opposite problem of having to piss every 10 minutes. Mind you, I was connected to an IV and my knee was connected to a mobilty machine and an electronic ice machine. I'd have to disconnect the two later and drag the IV machine into the bathroom each time. To top it off. When I finally got out and headed back to Austin (from Dallas) about a week later, my car broke down in North Austin. Not having a cell phone at the time AND not having anyone's number handy, I decided to hike about a mile to the closest bus stop and ride the bus back to campus. Carrying as much stuff as I could lug, I made it home. But, not before my stitches has completely split open from the sweating and heat. They were a ***** to get out the next week as the scar tissue and blood had molted onto them. Great times. Good luck with your recovery.
Eh..can somebody post a "best experience ever" story real quick please. I'm just about three weeks out from the surgery and I'm pretty much alright. It still wont bend back all the way but the physical therapy is helping a ton. I also can't rotate it from side to side much, so I'm no good returning punts at the moment. The sad thing is that my entier quad is gone. It's really pathetic. the therapist says it's just normal that if it's not used it goes away (obivously) and that swelling doesn't help. So i have one hcicken leg and one normal leg...which is sad. I'm swimming a lot, so at least I can stay in shape until I can run again. We'll see..
Well, my second reconstruction went really well. No sickness; only minor bladders spasms. New how to treat it this time so I only had to endure a couple of hours of suck.
I had shoulder reconstruction a few months back. You knee ******* need to buck up. I'd do a knee surgery every year vs another shoulder surgery of the type I had anytime in my life. Do your rehab and it will be fine. Geez.
I've had both knees scoped due to torn meniscus and was back running within about 6 weeks each time. There was some initial pain at first but I was more nervous about tearing it up again. Once I got my confidence back, everything's been fine. That was 6 years ago and I ran the half-marathon last weekend. You'll be fine.
had both of them scoped for torn miniscus.. one problem i had in my left knee that i didn't in my right was i was unable to completely bend the knee back.... it would feel like something was stretching and going to pop if tried any more. and it hurt to do so. after a few years of this problem it has gone away. can't really explain it. i've also retorn the ******, but i'm opting out of surgery unless i feel it is necessary
