Torn meniscus cartilage, again :(

Get a second surgeon's opinion before having another surgery. If at all possible, have your second opinion be with a dr in another town.

Good luck. Injuries suck. Since he told you swimming is fine, I'd spend as much time as possible swimming. The stronger you can keep your muscles, the better off you'll be.

/raises hand enthusiastically.

I had surgery three times on my LEFT knee more than 20 years ago. The third one removed the entire meniscus because it was completely destroyed. I was only 19.

A specialist I saw in 2006 was emphatic that I get my knee replaced, which I agreed with but I am still unwilling to do so for a variety of reasons. I have had persistent pain since 1981 and I have learned to live my life around it.

Where physical fitness is concerned, all impact sports and exercises are an absolute no-no for me. I don't jog, jump rope, or do aerobics. CrossFit, Jillian Michaels' library, Insanity and P90x are completely out of the question.

But I lift heavy--from a bench and an exercise ball. I squat and do deadlifts, too. I just do them VERY carefully and concentrate on my form instead of personal records. And I always have a compression brace around my knee during every workout.

I also ride my bike. I don't ride as much now because I am working on muscle gain so cardio is at the barest minimum (read: only when I feel like it).

I have a vague idea of what you are going through mentally and emotionally. Don't despair. Medical science has progressed way, way, WAY beyond what it used to be in the late 80s/early 90s. If you want to be able to enjoy running again, you can and you will.

All the very best to you. :flowerforyou:

if you don't get a lot of omega's in your diet you might consider taking a fish oil supplement, the surgeon I work for love's the stuff.

I have Grade 3 osteoarthritis both knee's, no meniscus left either knee, no cartilage left either knee and I shredded my ACL in my left knee 2 years ago... I have had multiple knee clean outs on both knee's, and have been getting knee injections for the past 10+ years. I have been putting of knee replacements for the last several years but now that I have gotten the weight off my ortho dr. is ready to proceed, I just haven't joined his frame of mind yet still fighting the inevitable.... I currently wear custom fitted DonJoy OA unloader braces on both legs while exercising.... I too spend plenty of time in the pool as well as using elliptical, AMT, Seated Elliptical, and am thinking of taking up cycling but I do still like to do treadmill and hit the metro park for walks and my ill failed attempts at jogging when my knee's will allow it... I am past the cartilage replacement stage, i have to much bone damage (arthritis) so if I was you I would do my do diligence and thoroughly look into this options. But most definitely explore all options while they are still available to you.... Best of Luck to you.....

I had a bucket tear in my RH lateral meniscus early this year and had to have it removed. Due to wait lists, it was approx 8 weeks between the injury and surgery. The healing from the surgery was relatively short, but rebuidling the atrophied muscles is ongoing.

I have had regular physio from the date of the injury, through the waiting period and post-op/ongoing. Initialy twice a week, backing off to once a week and now every fortnight.

I've been advised long term no running, jumping, or high-impact stress on my knee to stave off the onset of arthritis and the inevitable knee replacement for as long as possible. I still lift weights, do RPM classes, swim, use the eliiptical trainer (cautiously, as it can inflame my knee), but all under supervision of my physio and trainer, who have been amazing.

In the last 8 weeks, I started getting pain under the knee cap, which has been decided is due to the weakended quad muscles not keeping the knee cap in alignment, so I'm also doing additional work on those specific areas (and having more rest days)

good luck - it's not the end of fitness for you, it might just require some good management to make sure your can be physically active long-term!

I’m curious what happened? As this was awhile back now. I’m 39 I have RA tore my MCL PCL LCL And ACL playing softball when I was 25 right leg
Had major reconstructive surgery and a cadaver graft acl. Huge runner 6-9 Miles a day plus many races -1/2 marathons. Then boom tore it in October 2019 just running on my treadmill. Surgery for a repair dec 2019 /FAILED repair and a waste of 6 months and PT. (I was on crutches 12 weeks instead of 4) it sucked being a nurse and home with three kids & a police officer husband on 12° nights. Second surgery in June 2020 to remove the meniscus and save as much as he could. Good clean articular cartilage thank god after all that!
Ran out of PT and now I’m 5 mo post second surgery it’s catching painful I can barely walk 3 miles (all symptoms of when I had a tear) I’m at a loss for what to do. I’m depressed. I’ve gained 20lb from depression and lack of the normal activity I’m use to. Any tips? Should I have it all removed? I can’t live like this. It’s been a year and I have zero improvement and two surgeries & three mris (I’ll probably need a 4th to see what’s going on AGAIN) help 😞☺️

@klegalleyfitness

Not sure if my experience helps as knee injuries can have such different outcomes but here goes anyway.....

When I was 31 I was knocked off my motorbike and had a complete and irreparable tear of my PCL and a "bucket-handle" tear of the lateral meniscus. The majority of the cartilage was detached and blocked the knee joint.
Had surgery (eventually!) to remove nearly all the meniscus, just a tiny rim left.
Surgeon was very pessimistic - "you're disabled, get used to it, your capabilities will be restricted and expect a total knee replacement by age 50".

Rebuilt a huge amount of muscle that was lost waiting for surgery (strong quads are very important for stabilising injured knees). Spent quite a bit of money on a specialist articulated knee brace which stopped the knee slopping fore and aft during sport due to the missing PCL. Took up squash to recover my lost speed and agility and played for ten years at a decent standard.
Things I couldn't do were impact/contact sports, running on hard surfaces wasn't sensible. Uneven surfaces were difficult to run on but I did run further than I ever had before (for a challenge as I've never liked distance running). Balance was never as good compared to before the injuries.

Gave up running in my mid-fifties as even short distances caused too much soreness but by then was cycling seriously. Now I'm 60 and been missing that cartilage and ligament almost half my life. I cycle on average 100 miles a week and apart from not running (unless to catch a train or get away from zombies) and not being able to go very heavy on leg press or squat (my knee goes bone on bone and squeaks in protest!) it's really no great impact to my life. I exercise a lot and am very active without much soreness at all.

Tips would be keeping trying and experimenting with different exercises to see which give you a good return on investment without excessive soreness, keep your legs and quads in particular strong and lastly do not allow yourself to gain weight as that's only making your situation worse. Losing 30lbs made a big difference to my functional ability and also pain levels.