Recovering from Knee Surgery

[daftandbarmy]

Any tips on how to get back into marathons following meniscus surgery? Or maybe I should take the hint and start swimming or biking instead...

 

[1feral1]

I go under in less than a week, so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. I know I will be doing heaps of physio, after some time off of course. These bloody knee injuries have plagued our Regiment, and we have many in the same boat as I.

I have something referred to as a 'relitively complex tear of the posterior horn and the lateral meniscus'. So let the fun begin, ha! A gift from Iraq from earlier this year.


Cheers,

Wes

 

[Keebler]

You should do activities based on what your doctor or physio recommends. Biking and Swimming are the normal recommendations after surgery to get flexibility and strength back. Eventually you should be able to run again on it with little to no problems.

 

[Haggis]

I've had 2 X medial meniscus surgeries.  A lot depends on whether you have a meniscus repair or removal.  A repair will get you back to running sooner.  A removal (I lost 1/3) will delay your return to running and you may experience considerable pain the first few times out.

I do a lot of elliptical training and spinning classes.  Both are low impact and really good for the cardio.  I also try to run at least 2-3 times a week in addition to the other cardio activities.  I also found that a key component of rehabilitation after my surgeries was strength training.

Good luck.

 

[smitty66]

Although I didn't have work done on the meniscus, I did have an ACL reconstruction a few years back. The thing I found really helpful was the prescribed physio before the surgery. I was going to physio 4-5 times a week, doing pool exercises etc. It seemed to stave off some of the atrophy that was beginning to occur and made the recovery process much quicker.
Good Luck with your surgery!
Cheers

 

[daftandbarmy]

I've had 2 X medial meniscus surgeries.  A lot depends on whether you have a meniscus repair or removal.  A repair will get you back to running sooner.  A removal (I lost 1/3) will delay your return to running and you may experience considerable pain the first few times out.

I do a lot of elliptical training and spinning classes.  Both are low impact and really good for the cardio.  I also try to run at least 2-3 times a week in addition to the other cardio activities.  I also found that a key component of rehabilitation after my surgeries was strength training.

Good luck.

Thanks for that reassurance. Just had a repair of one of them. I went for a hill session the day before last and the knee hurt a bit yesterday, and it seems Ok today. I'll probably try day on, day off running now that it's 6 months since the surgery (and I'm not rolling around in agony), mixed in with some gym work. Gawd, I hate the gym...

 

[BernDawg]

Speaking from personal experience the elliptical trainer has saved my career.  No impact training and a good cardio workout (not great but good).  I smashed the hell out of my legs in 93 and they still bother me but I try to stay active and go to the gym 3x / week.  Another thing I've learned is to push your physiotherapist as hard as you can to push you as hard as you can (make sense?)  Sometimes they don't understand how much soldiers can handle and need to be prompted a little to crank it up a notch or 2 for us.  Whatever you do don't give up on physio until they release you from therapy.  It works plain and simple.
Good luck with the recovery and remember to rest when you need it.
Bern

 

[3rd Herd]

daftandbarmy,
I ran the Ucluelet Tofino marathon in 04, eight months after my 5th round of "clean up" on the left one . Ran is actually a misnomer as it was more of an "airborne shuffle". After that the othro's suggested long walks instead. Agreeing with the others pre-physio is a must and if you can find a "sport med" type all the better. Mountain biking around the trails beats a stationary bike and you get the vitamin D benefit too. Also invest in some good shoes you may find that the ones you used prior to surgery need to be replaced.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Holy cr*p. If I tried to run a marathon now, I'd be in bits. I'll try another (walking) hill session tonight with about 20lbs on my back. Must get in shape for peak bagging this August!

 

[Savage]

i have had sevril meniscus surgerys, just take it easy. walk before you run. just start walking around a bit once u can too get the knee less stiff. it took me about 2 weeks before i could run again.

 

[1feral1]

Well, went in Tueday for my surgery, and now I am sore as hell. Got some crutches, and I am house-bound til Monday. Four small slits around my knee cap, and when I walk, it feels like its tearing, so I have spent most of the time in bed relaxing with my cats, ha!

Not much fun now, with the exception I am recovering at home, and not at work. I need the break in more ways than this, and I appreciate it.

I've been high as hell on the painkillers, but over it. If only it was summer, I would be more active outside in the yard or pool.

First physio date is 23 Jul.

Regards,

Wes

 

[daftandbarmy]

Well done that man!

I'm glad I don't feel your pain (anymore). Make sure you loaf around and heal up good before you start to 'go for it'. I started back in the gym lifting weights and doing general upper body stuff for a couple of months before going out for walks etc. Didn't need the crutches much past a week after though.

I've been doing a fair number of hill sessions, mostly walking with light weight, recently and it's been working out OK so far. Knee is holding up with a little pain the next day that Advil takes care of. The hardest part is going down steep hills. I've recently picked up a Nike tube-style knee brace from a local running store and it's helped alot. I don't know why, but it works, so I'll keep wearing it. I'll crank up the weight to 30-ish pounds this weekend and see what happens. I talked to a runner who's had a few injuries and he swears by 'water running' so I might give that a shot too.

I've booked myself onto a mountaineering course in the Rockies next month so I've got a target to shoot for. They have porters carry your scoff in for you and you don't have to carry a pack heavier than 40-ish pounds. Luxury. The old body won't know what hit it...

Pain is only the sensation of weakness leaving your body.

 

[1feral1]

Well, its just past 0530 here, and no painkillers in over 12 hrs. What a mistake that was. So back on them. I am feeling this deep arthritic throb, and I can barely bend it, almost as bad as it was on that first night home - shyte!

It does appear to have some of the swelling go down since yesterday, and thats good.

So, slept like shyte on teh sofa-bed, and it looks like another day of simply dozing off and on in front of the TV. It's a whopping 8C outside, and 13C in the house. No central heat, and I think that cold on my leg is making it worse, so cranked up a oil heater in one room. Acc ording to the Weather Channel locally, The Coral Sea temp is 21C, and those mental surfers will be out before the sun rises.

I report to the RMO on Monday for a quick look, and a trip back home for another week off.

Breakfast will be re-heated shark & chips from last night, ha! Oh, the fun of being single again.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Breakfast will be re-heated shark & chips from last night, ha! Oh, the fun of being single again.

Cheers,

Wes

Must be an Aussie thing  ;D Hope your feeling better soon Wes.

 

[1feral1]

Shark steaks & chips (floating in white vinegar) are common (meat known as flake), but having it at 0630 on a cold winter morning, reheated, thats a Wesley thing, ha!

No, I did not swill it down with a CC and ginger, just some old flat Sprite - right out of the two litre bottle. I am feeling a little feral today. Day 5 without a shave too.


Cheers,

Wes

 

[daftandbarmy]

I discovered a good way to have a shower (against all doctors' orders). Just get a big plastic garbage bag, cut a small slit in one corner, pull it over your leg up to mid-thigh, DUCT TAPE the top around your leg (for waterproofing). Hop in the shower with your leg looking like it has a large plastic dress haning down over it and shower as normal - OK, as normal as possible when you're in agony while standing on one foot.

Chuck the garbage bag away. use a new one next time around. It's worth the minor expense!

Keep taking the drugs. Drugs are GOOD for you right now.

 

[1feral1]

That knee in pics.....

Taken the evening of my surgery, a week ago today.

The fourth incision is still taped, and I did not know I even had it at the time, thought I only had the three slits, and not four, as I later discovered.

Notice my 'hopelessly gay' shaven leg, ha!

Cheers,

Wes

 

[daftandbarmy]

Shaved legs, eh? Must be thinking of a career in triathlon!

 

[niceasdrhuxtable]

I couple years ago, I had surgery to reconstruct my ACL and repair my meniscus. For the first six weeks after the surgery, I just stuck to the physio schedule that I had been prescribed with special attention to the flexibility exercises they had recommended (a colleague who underwent similar surgery beforehand cautioned me that recovering your range of motion can be difficult). After the first six weeks, I started running ago for short distance (3-5 miles) and eventually worked my way back up to longer ones. I found that running on even ground and not taking any sharp turns or anything that would require lateral motion of the knee pretty much left it feeling fine (my first soccer game post-surgery was a different experience). Anyway, I'd say it was about six months before I was back to normal again but the surgery really impeded running much less than other sports that require some degree of stop-start action or rapid changes of direction.

Good luck!