Not sure what you're really looking for, I've had 2 ACL and MCL replacements in my left knee, plus some cartilage repair. Luckily it wasn't a lot of cartilage repair. It's been just over 2 years since my second surgery but overall things are good. Because I've had two I was told I'll probably never feel the same but that the joint is strong. Now I have very minor pain some days and none most days. Without knowing more I can't give you any help but lift some weights stay with therapy and stretch and you'll improve bit by bit. It sucks and it feels like it takes forever to get better most likely it will be fine.

1 tip, leg drain. Don't just elevate, I had terrible swelling my first time through surgery and always had my legs propped up but they didn't really get any better until I started to really prop them up. Leg drain= lay on the ground butt against the wall and feet straight up 90 degrees to the floor, do this for a few minutes lower and repeat everyday. This worked wonders for me and I still do it when I get random knee pain.

2nd tip, bike and swim are your friends, hold off on running.

Coming back too quickly is only going to make things worse in the long run.

Had surgery for a Left knee Plica and fat pad impingement, but what was really wrong was a torn meniscus and some pfs. Surgeon noted the "previously" torn meniscus had started to heel on its own, so left it alone. Since I started to walk after surg on April 25th my knee has been much worse off and something "pops" with every revolution of the pedal or squat, right below where the VMO insertion is. Had a second opinion and the Specialist thinks it is a horizontal tear of meniscus that is not being picked up on MRI, or something left from the first surgery. But he has referred me to someone else and now I am left waiting for months. I can do some cycling, at a high level for that matter as I am a Cat 2) but it will hurt for a few days afterwards mostly in the region of the medial meniscus and the inner/medial bursa. If I tape the knee cap over to the right (on my left knee) then that popping/grabbing is not as bad at all which allows me to cycle but the minute I take the tape off or if the tape stretches then it comes back. Of note, I cannot run at all as my knee will really hurt in the kneecap on the lateral side.

I swim and do pool therapy 3 days a week and lift weights as well. Will try the leg drain.

Patellofemoral maltracking due to imbalance in quad muscle activation? Ask physical therapist to confirm and for home exercise program.

Been working on strengthening and firing the VMO muscle for months to help with knee cap tracking and it has helped somewhat.

Rehab is not all about strengthening medial quad, but also activation. Include 1-leg balance exercises with left knee flexed at roughly 20 degrees. Progress with various challenges to balance.

Yeah note I mentioned VMO firing I think that means activation. ;-) Thanks for your input - appreciated. I'm working with the athletic therapist from a NHL Team near to where I live and he is amazing. But there is only so much he can do for now.

I've had several knee surgeries to repair the patellar tendon and one for a torn meniscus.

My problem was jumping and quick cuts in basketball, I can't play anymore, which is really how I ended up doing triathlons.

I am fully capable of running and biking, but I play basketball I can't walk right for a week, really can't do anything that requires a lot of jumping or squats that put a lot of stress on the tendon in the front of your knee(patellar)

The first few surgeries I had really crappy physical therapists rehab me, which I think is what screwed me in the end, but after the last one I had a great girl and she really got me back to where I should have been. The right person makes all the difference.

Good to hear about working with AT. Well, 'activation' does include synchrony of firing. But was also thinking that proprioception in your knee joint may be somewhat impaired. Best wishes for total rehab!

Thanks, I really appreciate everyone's info here. Looking forward to hearing about more knee experiences here.

I had Plica removed from my left knee in March of 2010. At the time I was still running in college, logging up to 100 miles per week. I struggled with the knee injury for about three months before getting surgery. Recovery was very good. I was working out after a couple weeks I think and running 60 miles per week within a couple months. By August I know I got back up to 100's. You can read some of my blog posts about my injury, surgery and recovery here: http://www.runpd.com/tag/Plica/

There is certainly still some scar tissue in there. My range of motion is not quite as good on the left as it is on the right, but I don't think this has any impact on my running. In the two years post surgery, I would have these random flare ups where my knee would just swell and get really tight, severely limiting range of motion. That used to happen every month or two, and would last for a couple days, but I don't think it has happened now for almost a year.

Since surgery I have ran PR's in 5k, 10k, 8k XC, 10k XC. If I had focused on it, I think I still could have gone quicker in the shorter stuff -- 1500 and 3k. The only event I think it has negatively impacted me is in the steeplechase, but if I hadn't had the surgery maybe I wouldn't be running at all now? Needless to say, I am happy I got the surgery.

Best of luck to you.

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Jason Pedersen
RunPd.com - Running as fast I can since '93
@jasonpedersen

Dr. Bradley Fullerton Platelet Therapy. Austin, TX

Might be worth a call.

I've had 2 left knee ACL replacements and 3 meniscal repairs with the last (Feb 2013) resulting in a menisectomy of the medial meniscus. I have been OK for the past 6 months but over the past 3 weeks I've started to get a signigicant catch on the lateral side and general pain through the joint regardless of acitivity level. The Dr thinks I've now developed a lateral tear or have in issue with severely inflamed Plica. We tried steroid injections but that hasn't worked so my next step is another MRI to see what's going on.

If you think it is the meniscus I'd suggest you try and get it fixed. It won't heal on it's own and might get worse. If it tears bad enough that it needs removal you'll have serious long term issues. Some people have a repair and it's good for years.

I've been told that I'm on borrowed time until I can get a replacement (only 35yo) so I'm now looking at altermative treatment options including prp, stem cell and HGH.

I had an accident as a kid that resulted in a patellar dislocation, torn lateral meniscus and large osteochondral defect. They did a clip, and hoped that b/c i was young the lesion would repair on its own, or at least not be a problem.

That wasn't the case, and both the lesion and the AC continued to degrade. I've had numerous partials, culminating in a total menisectomy in 2009. Also debridemnets, chondroplasties, and a microfracture. My lesions eventually progressed to full-thickness (exposed done) covering most of the lateral femoral condyle and a substantial portion of the tibial plateau, letting the joint start to collapse in on itself.

Because the cartilage damage precluded a meniscal transplant, and the lack of meniscus (well, and size of the lesions) meant cartilage work was out, and I was too young for a PKR, I elected to have a distal femoral osteotomy in 2010 (surgical realignment of the leg done by cutting throu the femur and grafting in a wedge of donor bone). Aside from one rather major complication that delayed/doubled my recovery time, the procedure was a sucess, and my knee itself feels better than it has in years. OTOH, extensive scarring in the IT band coupled with the hardware made for a problem, and I went back in for more surgery last winter.

Now, I'm just about back to full speed, and am hoping to get another 5 years or so out of the DFO. I do have substantial nerve damage and proprioception issues in that leg, as well as decreased muscle function and a pretty scarred IT band that continues to be a problem, but I don't think after 25+ years of surgeries that's an unusual thing to have happen. I have a routine of strength and flexibility stuff that I do pretty much daily, and it keeps me active enough.

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mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

I had ACL reconstruction...luckily, my meniscus is torn, but in such a way that the surgeon elected not to remove any. You didn't state what you are having done but I think most of us that had ACL or similar surgery will tell you that your priority is to get your ROM back. If you do not get your knee straight shortly after surgery, you may never.

I read tons of blogs and stories about ACL surgery and my experience has been pretty much as most active people with ACL tears have said. Expect it to never be the same, expect a little pain and maybe some swelling but it will be pretty close to being normal after a year or two.

Best of luck.

What I can do...

- cycle at a fairly high level, fairly high watts but will suffer for a few days afterwards with pain in the medial joint and medial bursa area
- some moderate weights
- swim, except kicking will certainly irritate the crap out of my knee

What I can't do

- running, it hurts! Mostly on top of the knee cap area, feels dull and persistant as if there is a lot of pressure there or no cushion.
- anything with twisting like playing golf or squash when my foot is planted. Will re-tear medial meniscus and really hurt in the medial joint line.
- deep squats

Symptoms

- since surgery April 25th after EVERY pedal stroke or when I fullflex my knee, or squat every time a very noticeable, uncomfortable CATCH inside my medial knee right where the VMO inserts.
- after cycling, medial joint pain and pain in the medial bursa area just below the joint line. And some swelling of my Patella tendon below the knee
- after running or brisk walking, almost instant pain on top of knee cap from the pounding
- occassional pain on outside of left knee, probably IT Band
- since my first surgery April 25th a left hip problem that is grinding/catching in the front of the hip which I feel when straitening my leg after raising it, i.e., when I walk over something

I dunno. You ask your doctor about it? Maybe get another MRI

Mine was a full year before it began to feel normal and it still says hello when I am doing a lot of running and cycling. And sometimes it even hurts a bit swimming and pushing off the wall. I think cycling irritates it more than running. It's still pretty early for you and ice is your friend.

I've already seen two Dr's post surgery. The guy who did the surgery who has 'wiped his hands' and a second specialist who won't touch it and has referred me to a colleague. Whom I am on a waiting list for. Have had 3 MRI's. Last surgeon said to go to a different hospital for a better MRI as he called the one in my town a POS! True story.

Wishing I never had surgery in the first place, I was much better off. I could cycle but couldn't run. I could have have lived with that.

Where do you live? I'm sure some people on this forum might know of a good Dr or someone in the area. Did you have a dye contrast MRI at all? I had 3 MRI's before I finally had one with the contrast and that immediately showed my last issue.

Based upon my experience your symptoms and pain seem really severe given a possibly torn meniscus and the other surgery you had. The knee issues could be related to a different underlying issue or vice-versa. If I was in your shoes, I'd take 2-4 weeks off and see if things calm down at all. It's a very hard thing to do but you might find that some of your symptoms really ease with time off so they might not be the underlying issue.

I can empathize with you - this is a frustrating experience. Good luck.

It could be that you just aren't recovered from surgery yet, and that you need some time off. Off off. Way off, and restart with ROM/flexibility PT, and work yoru way back up to strength and finally functionality again.

It could also be (well, part and parcel with the not recovered) that you've got some pes anserine bursitis (mine responds very similar to some of the things you've said here--medial catching/popping, swelling and irritation extending in front of patella, difficulty/pain on flexion) and IT band irritation/scarring on the lateral side.

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mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

I live near Belleville Ontario and can see surgeons in Ottawa, Toronto and Kingston if need be. Didn't have a dye MRI.

Rocker,

Could very well be this and my AT has suggested such. He has provided me with 2 very specific stretches for the pes anserine to do before and after cycling which do help. Would that also affect the lateral side as well?

In April 2009 I tore my ACL and meniscus, plus got a grade 2 MCL strain. I did 4 weeks of prehab including lots of cycling, had surgery in May (the meniscal tear was reparable), took 6 weeks off the bike, then got back to it in mid-July. I swam during rehab with no pushing off the wall and very mild kicking, went to PT 18-20 times, got my ROM back as quickly as possible, and my first run was 0.75 miles 3 months after my surgery.

Since then, I've come back to 100%, played several years of soccer (how I was injured to begin with), set PRs at 5k, 10k, 1/2 & full Marathon, and the knee feels pretty much normal. Surgery for me was the best idea ever and I'm lucky enough to be able to do anything I could do before.

Good luck with your recovery process, it sucks that it's been so difficult!!

-Eric

I am 5 months out from surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Torn cartilage was removed (~10%), nothing new added. I am biking with no issue and gradually building the running back up. The knee hurts some after 2+ consecutive days running but responds well to icing. I have not made it past 20mi/week yet but I can definitely see improvement. I was actually about to post the same question asking for recovery experiences to get an idea of what the future holds when I saw this thread. I've avoided all things triathlon for a while but I'm hoping to return to racing at GCT next May, not sure if that's realistic or not at this point.

Bit of an up-date here - with some positive news. I had a consultation with one of Canada's best knee surgeons in Ottawa. He took a lot of time with me and peformed some tests, and gave me a cortisone injection not to fix my problems but to rule some things out. This guy was so professional, and takes his job very seriously - he didn't rely exclisively on MRI results and pictures but preferred to use his own methods and ideology.

I went to Brazil for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Years and did a lot of riding there, well 1100km is not a lot for me over 3 weeks but it was significant enough. The Dr told me to ride as much as I could as the chances of me making my condition worse were around 0. I was also told to keep a very detailed log of my training including what I was doing/for how long, when the pain started to hurt and also where it hurt. I came back to Canada and had another consult with him and he has made a determination that I have problems with a tendon rubbing on some scar tissue from my previous surgury as well as a hard to find tear in medial meniscus that is causing significant knee bursitis from friction.

On Jan 23rd I will be having arthroscopy to rectify these conditions and he expects a significant improvement. I will keep ya'all updated.

TT