arthroscopic surgery Monday

[kfrost06]

I am getting this done on 16 April for cartilidge tear in my left knee behind the knee cap. I am not sure what to expect, I hear so many different things. My main concerns are, 1.) Pain, how bad and how long? I hate pain killers, will I need them to sleep? 2.) How long on crutches, I usually recover pretty fast and am hoping for about 2 weeks on crutches and another 2 weeks of taking it easy then slowly start working out my legs again. Is this practical?

Anyone with experience in this procedure please tell me what I want to hear or just tell me your story, thanks. Doc Sus your opinion would be greatly appreciated!

[PROTEINSHAKE]

hey bro...jan of 06 I had arthroscopic ACL replacement surgery on my rt knee..also had a torn meniscus & cartilidge damage..I would suspect that your pain mite not be as bad as mine being that I had my bones drilled etc...The pain is bad for a few days(3-4)...Vikes didnt do crap for my pain...being comfortable is the best way to get rest..Have they given you a protocol for rehab??? I was on my feet within 3days...I was in the leg machine the nite of surgery to promote range of motion. Like I said, yours will hopefully be less invasive than mine was & therefore less downtime & pain as well.... make sure you ask your doctor any & all questions you have & make sure you have PT lined up with a comprehensive & complete rehab protocol....thats just as important as the surgery... for reference...I couldnt do any real leg work for 6months....but I had my acl repalced.. thats totally different I would imagine...good luck man...

[kfrost06]

Thanks for the responce bro. I am glad I don't have to go through all that! I know from experience that ligaments take soo much longer to heal. Luckily, it's only my cartilidge. I think what I need to do is write these questions down and bring them in with me when I see my surgeon. I get flustered and forget my questions when I see him. I'll post my results after surgery, I am looking forward to getting this over with!

[PROTEINSHAKE]

I got me a new acl.....from a cadaver-yea..a dead person!!! messed up rite..
definitely ask questions man...write em down..whatever.. hopefully he can just go in there & clean it up a bit & in a few weeks you'll be getting around ok & in a few months you'll be ok....good luck

[kfrost06]

Going in for my surgery in a couple hours. I'm a little nervous, not soo much about the procedure but more about being idle for the next 2-4weeks. I get cabin fever quick. Wish me luck!

[Ginerik1]

I had the same thing done two weeks ago. I had two areas of cartilage damage in my left knee and my surgeon removed it and performed micro-fracture to the affected area.(Drilled small hole to promote re-growth) I was in and out in about two hours and I walked out of the surgery center with a cane. I went back to the gym four day after the surgery to do cardio. I had no pain only swelling and stiffness. I have two more weeks of physical therapy 3x per week to regain mobility. I hope this eases your mind a little. Good luck!

[Duck of Death]

.....You should be fine if it is a medial meniscus tear, which is what it sounds like from your description. I had the same thing done some years ago and I was up and walking on it within four hours after it was done. Pain was minimal, but it swelled up quite a bit.
Stay positive, drink LOTSA water afterwards, and rest up!!
Good Luck to you!!

[kfrost06]

Thanks bros. I am back from surgery and it's not to bad. My doc actually siad I can and should bear weight with the leg now. There's not much pain but he said it's full of novacain and will get painfull when that wears off. They got me wearing this "stocking" that goes from my toes to my hip for the swelling. I'll know better tomorrow about the pain and swelling. I sure hope I can go back to the gym in 4 days, maybe. I'll be happy if I could go next week to do upper body.

[orton4]

it shouldnt hurt to much it will be real stiff though i had that surgery on my knee in highschool and i wrestled 3 weeks after the surgery but it was still real stiff and very hard to do... i was a lot slower... only reason i did it was casue it was my senior year and i was ranked in the country. you should be fine

[KAEW44]

Meniscus only is usually easy to recover from after the surgery, sometimes when its a huge tear they try to save as much cartilage as they can so they stitch it or do the hole drilling, in that case they dont let u move for a while, but it seems like a small thing in your case in which they encourage you go back to physical activity ASAP so u can improve blood circulation and healing. This means u must train now in order to prevent stiffness and to improve the bloodflow.

I strongly recommend u start using Glucosamine/Chondrin/MSM supplement a good quality one even if your young, because on the long term pain could become a problem in that part if you slow down on activity. I know a guy who used to wrestle in college and tore his meniscus and they removed a piece, then he wussed out and stopped training and started workign an office job and the lack of activity caused him alot of pain there over some years.

[kfrost06]

Meniscus only is usually easy to recover from after the surgery, sometimes when its a huge tear they try to save as much cartilage as they can so they stitch it or do the hole drilling, in that case they dont let u move for a while, but it seems like a small thing in your case in which they encourage you go back to physical activity ASAP so u can improve blood circulation and healing. This means u must train now in order to prevent stiffness and to improve the bloodflow.

I strongly recommend u start using Glucosamine/Chondrin/MSM supplement a good quality one even if your young, because on the long term pain could become a problem in that part if you slow down on activity. I know a guy who used to wrestle in college and tore his meniscus and they removed a piece, then he wussed out and stopped training and started workign an office job and the lack of activity caused him alot of pain there over some years.

yes it was just a meniscus tear. It felt fine yesterday after the surgery but it hurt today, not to bad but I am still taking tomorrow off from work. I am walking on it but with the aid of crutches and will see the doc thursday. I think it will be fine and I plan on going to the gym no later than Monday, maybe this weekend. Thanks for all the knowledgable advise from everyone. It helps to hear from people who have been through it and the positive comments always help me get through injuries.

[PROTEINSHAKE]

keep in mind that there are 2 parts to the meniscus....D Epending on where your tear was.....it could heal more quickly or slower if it was in an area of the meniscus that has less blood flow....good luck w the recovery.... as far as glucosamine goes..I got this liquid at cosco made by SYMTEC that is said to work much more quickly than the pills....some say within 2-4 weeks it begins to help....fact or fiction-I dont know..

[Doc.Sust]

Meniscus only is usually easy to recover from after the surgery, sometimes when its a huge tear they try to save as much cartilage as they can so they stitch it or do the hole drilling, in that case they dont let u move for a while, but it seems like a small thing in your case in which they encourage you go back to physical activity ASAP so u can improve blood circulation and healing. This means u must train now in order to prevent stiffness and to improve the bloodflow.

I strongly recommend u start using Glucosamine/Chondrin/MSM supplement a good quality one even if your young, because on the long term pain could become a problem in that part if you slow down on activity. I know a guy who used to wrestle in college and tore his meniscus and they removed a piece, then he wussed out and stopped training and started workign an office job and the lack of activity caused him alot of pain there over some years.

i agree with the Glucosamine/Chondrin/MSM stack. it will help

[kfrost06]

what is MSM? Sorry if that sounds dumb just never heard of it. Anything that helps I want to get.

[KAEW44]

MSM is found in alot of joint supplements as part of the stack, its another element that will basically help with the pain and keeping cartilage hydrated and strong. Eventhough many joint supplements claim to rebuild or regenerate cartilage dont fall into that hype chances are it wont rebuild or regenerate anything significant, but it will help with pain and improve range of motion and strengthen cartilage.

Do searches on Flexease and Flexicose they are two liquid joint compounds, i experimented with my mom and she liked flexease more because it tastes better and it worked fast she claims. Just once a day dosage too!

I'm only 27 but i need to start taking that stuff also, i'm finally coming back from overseas next month so i will order me some bottles of the stuff and start taking it.

[oneshot]

Had four arthroscopic surgeries for cartilage tears in my knees in the past year and a half myself. i would say take it easy for two weeks as it will be stiff and swollen, after two weeks, try to work the range of motion a little and start to do low impact things like a bike or elipticle and maybe jog if you feel comfortable with the impact. after 3-4 weeks start working your way back into lower intensity leg workouts and increase intensity according to comfort. The gulcosomine is great stuff too. i never thought it worked until i ran out one day.

[PROTEINSHAKE]

this is the stuff I got at cosco... so far so good.. http://www.symteclab.com/prod_glucosamine.shtml