I will be scheduling to have arthroscopy of the left knee with medial menisectomy in Portland Maine end of April… I am a recreational runner, enjoy it for my overall health and focus. Been running for recreation, fun runs, marathon relays…5 and 10ks, for past 20 years. I am 55 and I do other exercises with light weights, Stairmaster, bike…etc I want to continue to run after surgery and beyond advise from my orthopedic surgeon who has successfully performed these surgery’s on hundreds of patients, I would like advise from those out there that have had this surgery and successfully completed rehab and returned to running. . My doc indicated that within 4-6 weeks, I could be playing golf, playing tennis, or basketball. I golf but not the other sports. He seems less supportive of me returning to running. Comments?
Every case is unique - but I had that done twice about 20 years ago on my left knee and was jogging in 10-14 days. Been running ever since.
Two days ago same doc operated on my right knee.
I am now 48. I expect my recovery to be similar, and so does my doc.
Walked out of surgery with no crutches. No pain meds after day of surgery.
Already had a one mile walk and can do stairs.
If your doc thinks you can play tennis, he should think you could run.
I’ve had both knees done. When I was in college and did rehab/PT everyday I ran 5k 2 weeks later. Recovery was not as quick the second time but I wasn’t going to PT. 16 after my first surgery and both knees are still going strong. Age may affect the recovery time but I think you will be surprised by how quick you can bounce back from this surgery. Good luck!
I’m 77, and had a partial lateral knee replacement performed last Sept.
I took no pain medication, and was diligent with my Physical Therapy which is a MUST!!
Due to my otherwise excellent physical condition my doctor said I could do anything I wanted to, except to run.
Well, running has been part of my life, so I decided to run again, as well as other competitive events.
So, in addition to the normal rehab, I did elliptical training, deep water running, then eventual treadmill and grass running.
I am also doing quite a bit of weight training, Pilates, indoor and outdoor cycling and swimming. In other words, normal
Triathlon and Duathlon training, but with due vigilance as to what is happening with my body.
I did my first 5K in late January, and a 5 miler yesterday. My time is just slightly slower than it was a year ago
before my surgery, with minimal pain during the run, and I feel confident that my time will still improve.
I am also selecting races where I know I can run on dirt along side of the normal paved running surface, so I can minimize impact.
I hope this helps, and I wish you well.
If I can be of further assistance, please let me know. If a 77 year old body can rehab, so can yours.
I had my ACL repaired & had over 1/2 of the meniscus removed from the same knee.14 yrs removed I am running with no related knee problems, sub 20 m 5k in a sprint distance…
I credit all the recovery to a strong bike background after the surgery. Build the quad strength up to support the knee. I do little to no “cutting” sports but could if I wanted to, just don’t want to risk it.
Thanks Ken. I appreciate the comments and your experience. Sounds like with your experience and those of others who responded, life after knee surgery can still go on…focusing on rehab protocols and judgment over type and nature of road running is the key. Running for me has been a big part of my life as well, a release and therapy to compliment my work and life for that matter. I run in 5 k’s all of the time and selected 10ks. I do not want to give it up. Thanks and your experiences provide strong hope.
An update from me, in case anyone wants it.
Now 10 days post surgery. I’ve done a 3.5 mile walk/hike at six days. Last night rode 18 miles. No standing and climbing was weak - but I rode. Today, walked/hiked 4.5 miles; planned on running some, but a little sore from last nights ride.
I hope everyone’s recovery goes as well.
I’ll probably run with my group on Wednesday.
August 7 I had a partial removal of my left meniscus. Surgeon told me not to do more than 20 miles a week since then. I haven’t done more than 22. Two weeks ago I did a 39:53 10k. It is still obviously less stable and I should probably do more stability PT on it, but I’m happy to be running and cycling again even if at a reduced level. Good luck. Do your PT!
Thanks and frankly impressive results there with your training and running experiences…congrats on that latest 10k you did.!..building off your experience and somewhat a general question, is age a factor in recovery? or focus on PT is the main thing regardless of age.?..the surgery you had on left knee sounds like the same I will have on my left knee. I will be talking further with my surgeon/orthopedic doc, but can someone remind me what actually occurs with the repair to the meniscus? Is it recreated, some injection of gel or tissue something to create that separation between bone? Again mine is inside tear , left knee .
Mine was an inside tear on the left, posterior horn. They clipped it like a torn fingernail he told me. I had no repair. Just a partial removal. I did about 2/3 of my PT but I am still less stable on it when i remember to do balance exercises. I notice it when I play basketball or soccer but only after long pavement runs does it bother me. I’m 43 if that helps. Good luck!
I’m 77, and had a partial lateral knee replacement performed last Sept.
I took no pain medication…
Good for you Ken, I had the same thing at a much younger age and it was the MOST painful surgery I had ever had. HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE pain. I was without pain medication for 5 minutes in the hospital and first time ever that I started to shake violently because of the pain. The previous gall stone attacks I had before where child’s play compared to the pain from this knee surgery. It was my 10th surgery (4th knee surgery) and first time I ever needed pain medication. No more Ironmans for me.
I think that is why when I filmed Kevin Ogar at a Crossfit competition when he severed his spine and he started to shake violently afterwards, it struck me pretty hard, because I knew how much pain he was in.
I have had my left knee scoped 3 times now in the last 8 years and each time a little more of the medial meniscus removed. The best advice I can give is:
1 - Cut down on the mileage. I know this is difficult for those of us that love to run but for me the switch from marathon training to triathlon really helped.
2 - Wear a sleeve to add some pressure and stability when you run.
3 - Try to run on roads with a left to right camber. This really helps to transfer your weight from the inside to the outside of your left knee. Also avoid hard cuts to the right.
Just wanted to provide some updates, concerning my knee, after a partial knee replacement last September.
I ran my first Intervals with my Running Club last Tuesday. Even though I run with the slowest group, I was able to
run at the same pace as I did last year, prior to when my knee finally gave out .Also, it was heartwarming that he group
seemed happy to see me back in action again.
Today I participated in a 10 Mile timed training run. Amazingly, I ran just 30 seconds slower than last year, on the same course.
I had only minor pain during the run, and I feel no pain now.
I did run on the dirt adjacent to the paved running trail, as I did last year, when I started having pain. I used dstu’s
advice, and when the ground was cambered, I ran with the high side of the camber on my good knee. I am also running on
Bondi-B’s.
Even though the season is still early, I hope you all have the same success as I am.
I have a pre-surgical briefing with my surgeon next week. I want to explore further my specific situation involving outcomes of the medial menisectomy of my left knee, as I have stated my doctor is not thinking I will be able to return to running. I am still not getting it…as all of you seem to have the same surgery I am having and are of various ages and levels of running, without problems. Are there pain thresholds I need to know about from your experiences.? I have never had surgery on either knees, and athletic- active all my life. Obviously ever situation is different, but my doc explained my surgery as routine and standard. While certainly will be discussing further with my doctor, will the repair result in providing a cushion between the knee joints or reconstruction of the meniscus to provide that cushion? From those experienced with this type of knee surgery, have you had pain after running, do you wear special brace, shoes, etc? Also, I do travel occasionally with my work, anyone know about impacts to flying in planes after surgery?
Mike,
I am 23 days postop from my medial menisectomy .
I’ve got a few posts in this and other threads about this.
This was my first on this knee, and I’ve had two on my other knee.
The other knee is down to ~10% on both lateral and medial meniscus and I have no issues running on it.
I walked out of surgery and used no pain meds after that day.
I’ve already been running, road riding and MTB riding. All OK by my doctor.
I’m 48 and BOP type Clydesdale. I was back at work after 5 days. 2 of those were a weekend. I could have returned in 2-3 days with little problem. At work I am onmy feet on concrete ~50% of the time .
In the typical surgery they just snip out the torn/damaged portion of the meniscus. The surgery is roughly half an hour. Half a day for the whole outpatient process.
You’ll be left with less meniscus and less cushioning. If the rest of your knee is healthy; you should have no restrictions.
If your Doc doesn’t think you’ll be running again, I’d suggest a new Doc or 2nd opinion. Barring other issues, you should be able to run.
I am 59 and had a total knee replacement in May 2019. In November 2019 I completed the FL Ironman. I would walk a half mile and jog two miles until I finished. My time was under 14 hours and about 1.5 hours below my normal time. My new knee still feels great.
On my 40th bday I tore my ACL and dented the head of my femur playing flag football. I had to rehab the femur prior to ACL surgery 5 months later. The atrophy of my quad was shocking; in a week it went from swollen to noticeably smaller than the other side. Once I had surgery, I did PT twice/week, biked, and did a lot of elliptical riding with a coworker. Swimming was sort of a no-no as pushing off the wall hurt.
3 months post-op I did Wildflower Olympic Tri much to the amazement of my Doctor (who also did the race). I had worked up to ~10 miles/week running. And in the race, I walked the gnarly down hill.
10 years later I raced ITU World’s Olympic @ Cozumel and finished 4th American/8th overall. The repaired knee actually feels better than the other knee though I have some neuropathy due to the scope nicking nerves.
In fact, I actually now have more range of motion on the “fixed” knee than the other.
Post-Op, I would suggest that you go to PT as much as possible, avoid pain meds, bike on the stationary trainer (Zwift) as well as an elliptical (might have better range of motion than cycling) and maybe some very light weight training.
It’s also interesting that the quad seems to be the most important muscle as it seems to support the knee.
I had a lateral tear and arthroscopic surgery back in April 2014. They took 15% of my meniscus. The rest of my knee looked fine. Prior to the surgery, I had done 15 marathons, 4 IMs and a lot of shorter distance racing for 15 years.
I was cautious in my return to running. I waited a month before I started a walk/run program (10xrun 1’/walk 1’) and did that for another month to build up. Did my first sprint triathlon at the end of June 2014. Since that time, I’ve done many short distance events, a marathon and an IM.
Key for me was rehab, massage to break up scar tissue around the port holes and a good strength training program to ensure other muscles were working to support my lack of stability in that knee. If it bugged me at all, I backed off. I had a few very minor setbacks, but other than that have been really good.