Knee Surgery

[BlueeyedJonesy]

I'm 23 and very active.. I just found out yesterday that I need surgery on my knee. I tore the maniscus (sp?) this is the same knee that I had ACL reconstruction on 9 years ago.

 

I workout 5 days a week well...I was..but haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks (since I injured it) just been walking at night with my H.

 

I'm starting to feel depressed about it all because with me being a very busy stay at home mom of 2, this was my outlet the one thing I had to myself. So I'm just wondering does anyone know of a high intensity workout I can do after my surgery that wont strain my knee. My Dr said that running and ellipticals are off limits..and walking is nice and all but I just don't get the same high..

[RobM]

You just have to let it heal, for most people it doesn't take that long. You'll be limping the first day, walking the second day, within a week you should be able to walk as far as you want without pain, within about a month you should be back to normal workouts. It's only a month, 4 weeks, take the time to relax a little and you'll be back before you know it.

 

If you really want to work hard while it's healing, use a hand bike and crank it up enough to get your heartrate up.

[tman666]

I think that you need to be doing exactly what your physical therapist tells you to do. As long as your diet is ok, you'll be back into the swing of things quickly once you heal up.

 

Unless you can convince one of your docs to give you human growth hormone, your recovery period will be best optimized through rest, low impact joint strengthening, ice, and anti-inflammatory meds.

 

Once you're recovered, you might want to start strength training. Building more supporting muscle around the joint will help stabilize it.

[cuppa]

I believe my friend has the same surgery and he's quite frustrated too (as he's an avid kickboxer). I believe you will see a physical therapist as part of the recovery program right? He was told to do swimming, like running in the water for his exercises. But as many said, you should check with the PT as he/she will have much better suggestion for your recovery.

 

maybe do some upper body strength that doesn't require knee jerk or lower body movement. It's not the same but hopefully it still provides the same outlet.

[BlueeyedJonesy]

Thanks for your replies.

I will be going to physical therapy for about 6 weeks after surgery. Its not so much how long am I going to be "down"..as it is what can I do once I'm good and ready to get back at it if I can't run or elliptical?

 

I will be down for 5 days after surgery for sure...I have to get gma's to take the kids and everything..then 2 weeks after I asked if I will be able to do my sons bday and the Dr said we will see how you are doing by then...I don't think this is a one day thing..

[laRubiaBonita]

think of it this way- the more(longer) you let your knee totally heal- without compromising the knee with undue strain- the faster you will be back to your old routine.

 

do NOT jump the gun because you get impatient... you may cause further damage and then you will out of commission longer.

[Star Gazer]

Did you just recently suffer this injury? I tore my lateral right miniscus in September 2009. When I first went to the doctor (nearly 3 weeks later), he said I *might* need surgery, but to see how I healed. I healed just fine. I went back a month later, and he said surgery would be pointless.

 

If anything, my right knee feels better and stronger now than it did before that injury. I had also had PCL and MCL problems too.

 

So... perhaps you should wait a bit?

[BlueeyedJonesy]

He said the part of the maniscus thats torn is in a spot thats supposed to be support and since its just "flapping around in there" the swelling isn't going down and its been a while..

[laRubiaBonita]

you could always get a second- or third- opinion

[RobM]

The problem is it doesn't show up on x-rays so they basically take an educated guess based on how stable the rest of the knee feels (so no ligament damage), the position of the bones in the x-ray, and where the pain is. I think you need an mri to show the meniscus and I'm not sure that will even show the tear. My doc said the only way to really know is to scope it and then just fix whatever they find while they're already in there.

 

Did your doctor say no running while you're recovering, or no running even after you recover. I was back playing competitive tennis a month after having mine done, there were no restrictions at all.

 

I'm not sure where yours is torn, maybe it's a worse tear in a thicker part, mine was on the really thin inside edge so it would never heal itself because there is no blood supply where it's really thin. Basically he just cut out the torn part so it would stop flapping around and irriating the joint.

 

I was snowboarding a couple weeks ago and took an awkward fall and most likely, according to my doctor, torn my medial meniscus in my other knee. It's fine once it's warmed up, I can bike or play tennis, but within 15-20 minutes after stopping it swollen and stiff. But the end of an hour car ride I can barely put enough weight on it to walk. He told me wait a month and see how much it heals then figure out if you want it fixed, so I might be going through the same surgery in another month.