General Fitness & Nutrition: Anyone had Meniscus surgery?

Hi all So I appear to have torn my meniscus and its just getting worse. Think surgery is my route (or never running again). Was wondering what experience people have had with meniscus tears and surgery for them etc. Thanks Amanda(was the runner, now the hobbler)

Hi Amanda,

Sorry to hear abour the damged knee.  I had artohscopic surgery on my left knee last October and have had major reconstuction on my right knee as well.  I still run just fine in fact my knees feel better when I am running regularly.

It took about six weeks to get to a point that where I could run with out problems from the last surgery.  I had some ligiment damage as well though so it just depends on the amount of damage you have.  I was able to walk out of the hospital after my surgery which is not uncommon.

If you have a chank of cartilige floating around it is important to get it out.  The surgery was no big deal for me at all. 

In the mean time try swithch to an activity that does not bother your knee like biking or swimming to keep your areobic fitness level up.  That way you will recover more quickly and be back running in no time.  Dont forget to add miles back slowly since the hiatus will mean your body is not used to the stress of running.

Best wishes.

Randy

Amanda - Thanks for the post. It is good to hear what others have been through. Maybe it will help me get off my duff and get in and get my knee fixed.

I damaged mine somehow...not sure how, but I got it scoped, did rehab and was back running in 1 month. That was 2 years ago and I haven't had any problems since

My Dr. said the stronger I was before surgery the easier rehab would be, so I did leg extension, leg curls and biked until I had it fixed (had a bakers cyst along with the torn meniscus)

Are you saying it is going to take 3 months to get ab MRI and a year to get into surgery?

 

So to confirm for you....Yep....about 3 months for an MRI and then ATLEAST a yr to get surgery after seeing the surgeon, after he has reviewed the MRI. A Meniscus tear is not considered 'serious' so there is no urgency on it (which is a huge pain, not literally, but I understand that as there are people NEEDING MRI's urgently) and then it is low down on the priority list when it comes to the surgery. I start Physio on Oct 2nd (due to my schedule can't get in before...in the meantime I am joining Golds and gonna be doing non-impact workouts....I'm hoping to do some 'spinning' classes as Dr said I can still bike and that. There isn't too much choice to go elsewhere for an MRI or surgery, unless I want to pay out of my own pocket..which I don't/can't so I have to go with the system..........and....wait! The Dr reckons that I might be able to strengthen the muscles enough that maybe they will protect the meniscus and I won't need the surgery, I guess I'll see what the Physio guy says. Will keep you updated when I know so that anyone else who is in/gets into this position will have a better knowledge.

Any Canadian who has hurt his/her knee will have a story similar to Amanda's.  For me, it was a 16-month wait for ACL reconstruction after a several -week long wait for an MRI. 

 You always hear about the marvels of Canadian health care - and it is good for some things - but for things like this it's awful.

 Recently, some provinces have allowed private (for profit) MRI clinics to open so that one doesn't have to wait for months to get a diagnosis.  We still haven't done much to ease the wait times for surgery, though.

 

Hi! i had an issue with my right knee about 7 months back. Hurt like heck, couldn't raise it above a foot or so high. Opted out of surgery and hit the chondroitin/glucosamine pills daily. Within 4 weeks, running came back pretty painlessly. The tear was minor with no cartiledge floating around, so that helped but those horse pills of chondroitin are amazing!

Amanda, all I can say is WOW. 

I guess there is good and bad with every system.  I was really lucky, the first to major surgeries were taken care of at tax payer expense since I was in the Coast Guard.  Insurance took care of the last one OK but at $1,700.00 a month I guess they should have.

Another thing you may want to try is water running.  My wife twisted her ankle while preparing for a triathlon and ran in the pool with a belt to maintain her running legs to some degree.

 

Best of luck to you

P.S.  I know this is a knee-injury thread, but I figure that it may benefit those of you who are using deep water running to recover from these kinds of injuries as well

Hi Kymie,

 

My wife used pool running for about 4 weeks due to an injured ankle.  She said the same thing that you did about the feeling while doing the water running.  She said that it just didn’t feel like she was working hard enough while doing it.  After she got back on the road she said she felt it was well worth the effort and thought she lost very little of her stamina due to the injury because of the water running.  She said she thought it was well worth it the effort.  Something else to keep in mind, running in the pool does not impact the structure so when you get back to the road be mindful of the miles you are adding to your weekly numbers you may have to reset them a bit to avoid stress related problems and since you will have the endurance to run through your old weekly milage it can be tricky. 

 

Best of luck to you

 

Randy

damaged it during boxing training.

swells up from time to time but surgery seemed suspect with unknown results. 

Took about 3-4 months off training and do lots of support / rehab work at the gym to keep it at bay and also have never had a problem with it again. 

If you can afford to take time off, give it a shot. 

I have had the surgery and worked as a surgical tech at the time. After working in the field, I tend to side with the conservative approach. In some cases surgery can be a road to more issues. There are several meniscus in the knee and they serve many functions (Cushioning, Support, stc.) My insurance did not cover an MRI, so I ended up with an unnecessary surgery as a result of primitive manipulation, as the diagonostic procedure. There were no tears found (suspected Medial/cushioning meniscus), only synovial shelf (the remains of a developing knee) which was removed. I had no ill effects of the surgery, but to this day question if it were necessary. an MRI will light up a torn meniscus, like a light bulb. If a tear is confirmed, you are only delaying the inevitable and risking more severe damage in some cases, have the surgery.

Strengthing the muscles surrounding the knee can mean the difference in good surgical results and poor results. Low impact and low stress is best for the initial few months of rehab (range of motion stretching first then swimming, high cadence/low resistance cycling and no / or low weight resistance exercises of the legs.

I have worked with some real hack surgeons who have poor technique and rely on antibiotics to reduce potential infections. Not all stories turn out well....but most do!!!

Keep researching, ask the recovery room nurses at your local hospital about which Ortho docs to avoid.....they see all the post ops and hear about everything (little gossips). They can be helpful on getting the inside scoop.

If you do decide to run again, be sure your legs are strong first, buy correct shoes and take baby steps.....cycling is a great option!

 

Amanda, I had 60% of my left medial meniscus removed last summer. This year I have logged over 500 miles of running with no complaints. What my Doc told me was that long distance running would be my demise and that in 15 years (regardless of impact level) I will have arthritis in my knee. We shall see, Doc. I ran a few half marathons this year with no problem... well at least related to my knee!

 Edit - I second what everyone else said about rehab. I rehabed my knee with a great PT for about six weeks, then I was essentially recovered. My calves were significantly different sizes though. The surgery-leg-side calf was TINY, and still has not caught up.