Toanh wrote:
I've just been diagnosed with medial posterior meniscus root tear and femoral condyle fracture (probably due to the root tear). I won't get to see the ortho Dr. until August.
I was told that surgery is likely. Could you please give an update of your course of treatment (surgery, non surgery) and the outcome if any. Thank you!
i forgot about this post. sorry to hear about your injury, and happy to give an update on mine.
i consulted with three surgeons - two of whom are probably among the best knee surgeons in the country - and all basically said the same thing: if you're young and/or active, and if your knee is pretty healthy (aside from the injury), you really don't have a choice. a torn root is functionally equivalent to not having a meniscus at all, and if you don't fix it, the joint will deteriorate and there's a good chance you'll need a knee replacement.
i had surgery in the middle of february. surgeon said the procedure went well. my only complication was that a nerve running past the knee/across the shin was somehow irritated by the procedure (possibly by the suture anchor in the tibia), which made it very hard/painful to move my lower leg for a while, but that's not typical, and it's mostly gone now. expect lots of PT. at first, it was just getting range of motion back, and once that was close to normal, we started working on strength and stability. started run/walk progression about three weeks ago, but i haven't gotten too far with that; any amount of running/hopping/whatever is still pretty painful. i have a follow up with the surgeon on monday for a full evaluation, so i'll see what he thinks about that.
the basic timeline is 6 weeks on crutches and about 6 months to return to full activity. i was in the pool less than 4 weeks after surgery (as soon as the incisions healed completely). no kicking (pull buoy only), doing open turns, only pushing off the wall with my right foot (or doing a lot of 25s). a week later, i added a little pool walking to prep for returning to weight bearing. when i started to wean off crutches at the 6-week mark (a process that took another 1-2 weeks), they let me start spinning on a stationary bike, starting with no resistance and building very gradually. flip turns came back around the same time, but carefully, still just pushing off the good leg. treadmill walking started at 7 weeks. from there until 16 weeks, it's just a gradual progression of strength exercises, bike resistance, elliptical, stair climber, etc...surgeon and PT will guide you.
so...summary: tomorrow will have been 20 weeks since surgery. i can swim as much as i want, and my swimming has definitely improved. i still can't really run. i can start riding outside tomorrow (just been on the trainer so far), but no clipless pedals, standing, or big climbs for a couple more weeks. it's a slow process, but theoretically, i should eventually get back to almost 100%.
you said you got a diagnosis, but won't see ortho doc until august. who diagnosed you? you don't want to be stressing your knee much without a functional meniscus, so you should see someone - and, if necessary, schedule surgery - as soon as possible.
let me know if you have any other questions, and best of luck!