Knee Injury - Need Some Motivation

frodolives19
frodolives19 Posts: 96
edited 12:38AM in Motivation and Support
Hey all. Horses hate me. Last week while on vacation, I went horseback riding for two hours. Well, everything was hunky dory until it came time to get off. We got back to the stable, and as I went to swing my leg over, my horse (who was wild in the first place) bucked and I fell off - that is, with my leg still in the stirrup! I heard the most horrific pop in my knee, and ever since, I have been in excruciating pain. I think I made it worse, because when I came home I decided to go running....dumb idea, I suppose.

Fast forward to this week, I went to an Urgent Care center, and an x-ray revealed that my kneecap has moved, and I may have a tear in my meniscus. As I wait for my insurance company to approve an MRI, I am kind of depressed, because my exercising has been limited. I went from running and walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes, to using the elliptical for 10 minutes. It's not too bad in the big picture I guess, but it's frustrating and I am worried that I could have a slip and gain some weight back.

Any advice/ideas about low impact cardio? Just encouragement is welcomed. Thanks =)

Replies

  • JoolieW68
    JoolieW68 Posts: 1,879 Member
    I don't know if it will help, but you could try a recumbent bike. I injured my knee a couple years ago (thought I tore the meniscus, but turned out to be a bone bruise) and that's what the Orthopaedist recommended. It worked great. Didn't hurt my knee at all.
  • karylee44
    karylee44 Posts: 892
    had a double torn meniscus and finally had it repared this past september.

    i started back to work two days later and climbed up a mountain less than two weeks after that.. HOWEVER.
    i do not recommend that.. i would have most likely healed faster and better if i just stayed off of it for a few weeks. but im stubborn. i did unfortuatly eventually have to stop and let it heal. gained back 10 pounds. :(

    i recommend swimming if you have a pool nearby to use.. that would take off all the stress and still let you do some exercise.
  • jiggalude
    jiggalude Posts: 53
    Try low impact workouts. Or, maybe a row machine?
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Well I have grade 3 osteoarthritis both knee's, torn meniscus both knee's (that have been scraped out twice), and a torn ACL they can't fix because my arthritis is so advanced, I am facing knee replacements as soon as a finish this weight loss.. I have been fitted with DonJoy knee braces, get knee injections, and am on 3 different pain meds and workout 6 days a week.. I stick to the Elliptical and recumbent bike for low impact cardio... Running is a no no for me way to much impact on my joints... I would suggest waiting until after the MRI before you do any more damage but I know I could never sit still either so for me light bike would be my goto right now until I seen the ortho doctor... This last clean out I had.... he ground quite a bit off the back of my knee cap and ever since it isn't track correctly so my therapist have been doing Kinesio taping on my knee cap to cause it to track correctly and allow it to wear in a new groove..... If you have access to a gym, you could concentrate on upper body weight training for the short term. There is lots of seated exercises you can do to be totally off your knee... Best of Luck...
  • irockhound
    irockhound Posts: 1
    I have Rhumetoid Arthritis and Osteo Arthritios in my knees and have even had a meniscus tear. The long and short of it is that today my knees are fine and no surgery. A meniscus tear does not mean surgery and many times it will slowly mend as mine has. I was carrying 70lbs of rock down a slope that lead to a highway and had to lock my knees to keeps from going into the highway. There are herbals you can take to keep down swelling and the natural healing of the body can many times take care of it so be careful not to rush into surgery if it is offered. I currently don't run (unless being chased, lol) but do use an elliptical for low impact exercise and cardio.

    Take care and if they do suggest surgery get a 2nd opinion, it may be necessary but maybe not. I am proof that things can work out, even my RA is in check which is a blessing.
  • egiggy73
    egiggy73 Posts: 22 Member
    Thanks for the post. I am 3 months into a cartlidge tear, and have had to be very immobile, which is driving me crazy (and has also made me gain 20 lbs). The doctor may or may not recommend surgery, so it is good to see life an go on without surgery.
  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
    To bring it into perspective...

    ...I played rugby for 2 years with a torn ACL, a ruptured MCL, and damaged meniscus/cartilage.

    Came to a head on christmas day when I was sat on the sofa doing nothing, and my knee locked up.

    Went in for an op at the end of april, ended up putting on about 2 stone from lack of exercise and generally feeling low from having to undergo the op and feeling a bit like an invalid.

    Anyway, fast forward to now - after plenty of hydrotherapy/physio (I can't recommend it enough if an operation isn't an option) post-op... Which was an 8 suture repair to my cartilage, a repair to my mcl, and a replacement ACL... I'm well on the road to recovery, managed to lose most of the weight I put on, and the physio is pretty happy with my progress so far.

    Hydrotherapy sessions, and visiting a good physiotherapist would be a big recommendation, along with seeing your doctor to work out whether a visit to a specialist/surgeon is required.

    Whatever you do... Don't put it off for ages like I did. Learn from my mistakes! ;)
  • Jamdrgn
    Jamdrgn Posts: 15 Member
    I have reoccuring dislocation of both patellas. I had my first surgery at 3 1/2 and after 6 months in casts learned to walk again at 4. I have been going ever since. You can try ab work and upper body and water exercises.

    I used a lot of resistance bands during my physical therapy for 4 years in high school. I had legs like a track star without the running :) the goood 'ole days.

    You will do it just no runnning or climbing.
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