Knee Injury

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Hi,
Just wanted to stop in and introduce myself. I'm Kat. I injured my knee last August during Sydney City2Surf. I tore my meniscus. I haven't had surgery (yet!) but am on the slow road to recovery. Thought I'd post and see if anyone else out there has had a similar experience and how you handled it all.

Replies

  • cardiffsurfer11
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    rehab ur knee with a therapist, probably dont need surgery if its just your meniscus,, cheers
  • CEHayes73
    CEHayes73 Posts: 221 Member
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    I've had meniscus tears before, it will usually heal on its own in a couple of weeks with rest, and ice. Good luck. Remember knees are not built to twist. When you go back to exercise, focus on keeping perfect form.
  • DianePK
    DianePK Posts: 122 Member
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    Hi dragonfly,

    'D recommend waiting to have the surgery, and seeing if your body can heal itself. I had a cartwheel down a ski slope and ruptured my acl, and had surgery almost straight away and the surgeon absolutely butchers my knee. Firstly he carried out the Lars reconstruction which I was convinced that this was the best option, then secondly let a screw floating around behind my knee cap. I was in excruciating pain for 6 months, being told i wasnt doing enough rehab, despite going twice a week to the physio. finallyhe ordered an x-ray, which revealed the screw sitting there. 2 days. Later I had my second surgery. Then, about 3 months after that my knee. Started swelling up like a balloon, so I decided to get a second opinion and I am so glad I did.

    The new surgeon found bits of cartilage and bone floating around and the new ligament had started to shred in the joint. I had my 3rd surgery clean it up and am now looking down the barrel or a. Surgery to remove the ruptured ligament and b. to plug up the holes drilled into the bones for the ligament. I will then have to. Wait another 12 months for this to heal before having a new acl reconstruction, using my own tissue from my hamstring.

    I gained 16 kg in this process, and am now balancing the pain and swelling with strengthening up the muscles around the knee so I can leave it as long as possible before having to under go more agony.

    If you can avoid surgery, do. Xxxx
  • TM2794
    TM2794 Posts: 51 Member
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    Hi Kat, I'm Tara.

    I tore both my ACLs and meniscus (both knees at separate times), and unfortunately I had no choice but to get reconstructive surgery. My last surgery was in september, so I should be nearing the end. My ACL is right on track, but my meniscus isn't healing correctly. It locks and pops and sends an intense shivering pain throughout my body. So I'm scheduled to go under again and get it snipped in a couple weeks.

    Surgery should always be a last resort. Since you're not there yet anyway you should definitely get into physical therapy, especially since it's been almost a year since your initial injury. Focus on strengthening your knee and the muscles around it. This is the most important thing you can do to help yourself heal. Most meniscus tears heal on their own and I'm a little bummed that I didn't have that option. So I would take advantage if I were you! Surgery typically comes with numb skin, sensitive scars, and other complications. Do what you can to avoid it.

    I've had my ups and downs, I was defeated for a long time. Gained a ton of weight and made recovering more challenging than it already is. I toughened up and added the elliptical and stationary bike to my regimen. I prefer the stationary bike because the elliptical tends to leave me crampy and limping.
    I take it easy in order to avoid further damage, but I make sure I do enough to help myself. (I know I still need surgery but my meniscus was severely torn and I was warned that the initial surgery to repair it may not work. which it didn't, so now it needs to be snipped.)

    I wasn't quite sure if you were looking for advice or personal experience, so I gave you a little bit of both haha. If by chance you have any questions feel free to message me.

    Good luck on your recovery!
  • DianePK
    DianePK Posts: 122 Member
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    If you can avoid surgery do. I have had 3 surgeries on my knee after a ski injury, because the surgeon stuffed up and left a screw in my knee behind the knee cap. A little bit of ice, elevation and compression is way better.
  • KathrynKennewell108
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    I'm just over a year past my injury. It's been slowly on the up and up, but after attempting City2Surf for a 2nd time this August, I found it performed better than expected. I set out not to have any expectations during the event but, most importantly, to listen to my body and if my knee didn't feel right, to stop. I finished the 14km. I stayed at Bondi for a decent cool down and keep moving around after finishing just to see how my knee held up and to watch for stiffness and limping setting in..... none to report. Very happy camper here.

    Some days my knee doesn't feel as right as it should, but I'm on my feet as much as I can, especially with lots of walking, to keep the muscle mass up in my legs as much as possible. That's the first thing my physio drummed into me as soon as my injury was diagnosed. She told me I'd lose muscle mass by the hour and to do as much as I could to preserve it (after the initial wait for the swelling to go down).
  • DianePK
    DianePK Posts: 122 Member
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    I've just found out that I need a replacement so I am on a very loooong waiting list so must take up swimming and cycling instead of cross trainer, which I loved to try to get in shape.