Post Knee Surgery

tnkhart
tnkhart Posts: 72 Member
edited November 17 in Fitness and Exercise
February 2nd I went in for a meniscus repair on my right knee. It turns out there was NO tear. What was found was degenerative cartridge buildup and arthritis. Since the surgery I've had lots of frustration. If I do too much walking or standing at work my knee swells up. I'm still not able to do much on my elliptical which is making me think about switching to possibly a spin bike or an exercise bike. Okay, I'm keeping it short. Just venting. I wish my knee could handle a descent workout. Thanks for listening!!

Replies

  • enuttybird
    enuttybird Posts: 4 Member
    Hi. My husband had the same thing , both knees done. Once recovered ( six months ) he went back to his morning run and his racing bike.. He can't handle weights any more and knows when to stop. Good luck.
  • tnkhart
    tnkhart Posts: 72 Member
    I know I still need to give it time. It's just frustrating. Glad to hear your husband is doing better and thank you for your reply!!
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    From my experience the swelling will continue for several month. I think with my last one, it took 6 or so month for it to go away. Even then, it would still swell if I was stressing it a lot. Ice and elevation along with physio help a great deal.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    tnkhart wrote: »
    I know I still need to give it time. It's just frustrating. Glad to hear your husband is doing better and thank you for your reply!!

    Did you do any kind of Physical Therapy or anything? What did the surgeon or PT tell you? Usually with knee surgery they have you in PT doing some exercise just a couple days after the surgery now. My wife had ACL and Meniscus surgery and she was at the PT's exercising 2 days later, same with another friend of mine. Something doesn't sounds quite right with your situation.
  • adrianneridenhour
    adrianneridenhour Posts: 1 Member
    You will get there. I had acl and medial meniscus surgery back in October, then the night before thanks giving (6 weeks post-surgery) my patella broke into three pieces while walking due to the graft that they took for my acl. It's been a really frustrating 6 months for me. For three of those months I was stuck on crutches and I'm now finally back in the gym. Gained 1 cm on my left leg with pt and working out so far... But I'm still making up for the 10 cm that I lost after the break. Pre surgery I was in REALLY good shape. Super lean and was preparing for a figure competition. I can understand how frustrating it is and how much time it takes to recover. If my knee hurts, I try to push myself for a couple more reps and then switch to a different exercise. Anywho, you will get there, start from the bottom up. Stay positive!
  • rdfaye
    rdfaye Posts: 39 Member
    Total knee replacement, 2months out tomorrow. The PA told me to expect a lot of swelling for 3 months. Limited exercise, ice, and elevate. She also did there would be periodic swelling for 6 months, and occasional swelling for up to a year. Listen to your body--I overdid the walking yesterday and ended spending 2 hours with the knee iced and elevated.

    Also, you said they found arthritis. I don't know what kind they found, but that will probably continue. Learn to listen to your joints as they will tell you when to stop. Took me a long time to learn that lesson.
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