OK so I have been battling some knee pain that has gotten progressively worse until about a week ago (the last time I ran). I have self diagnosed myself with a possible tear of the lateral meniscus. I have two questions for the orthopedic community, both of them assuming my diagnosis is correct.
1: If my diagnosis is correct how much damage will I do to myself by doing IM MOO? Can it be repaired post race? I know I am probably looking at surgery, but I was curious if I am going to damage myself beyond repair.
2: If I go in next week (after the race) and have it looked at and get it all fixed in relatively short order, will I be able to race next year, or should I take a year off?
Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Get the diagnosis confirmed before the race if at all possible. If the torn piece breaks off your knee may lock, therefore no IM finish anyhow.
I’ve had part of the meniscus removed, was running again in about 10 weeks. That was a slower recovery than most folks. A repair although preferable (less chance of arthritis later) takes longer (I don’t know what recovery time is for that)
You only have one set of knees, don’t jeopardize your long term triathlon career for one race. Even if you got away with it, you might make the problem harder to fix - for example it might result in 1/4 being removed instead of say 1/8. Or a repair might be possible now, but not after.
If you can bike without hurting it worse, you could probably walk the marathon and finish. But again, you only have one set of knees for your whole life.
Do you have the classic symptoms of a torn meniscus>> clicking, locking, snapping etc.? Get it diagnosed if possible (tough for this weekend…) Assuming you can stand the pain…running on it “may” not make it worse. As someone previously said - the tear could however go from a 1/8th removal to 1/2 removal which would not be ideal. Heck - a Corto shot may be all that you need to get you through the race (please consult your ortho…I am not one!)
FWIW - I had 20% of my medial meniscus removed this Jan. and am looking to PR in a marathon in 4 weeks. I also set pr in a half ironman this year as well. You should be back to running (albeit with some pain) after 6-8 weeks. It took me almost 6 months to be 95% without pain. You should be able to really concentrate on swimming and biking in the early months after surgery.
I ran my IM with some seemingly serious damage to my knee (I know I cracked the kneecap 8 weeks out, but now suspect that I also tore my lateral meniscus a tad as well). 4:35 of pure pain (started hurting before mile 1). Afterwards I couldn’t bend my knee for a week and I still can’t run 10 weeks later.
but…
Totally worth it
Jodi
ps. Flame away, ST
pps. Meniscus surgery is pretty easy and you can usually run soon after with minimal PT. I was too afraid they would tell me I couldn’t do CdA, so I didn’t get an MRI. Still trying to avoid the inevitable…
Get the exam done as soon as possible. I had all the symptoms of a tear, it was like a textbook. About the same time I got into the ortho surgeon, after my MRI, the knee started to feel a bit better. Turns out I did not have a tear and was running slowly a few days after my visit. Don’t play hypothetical, you need to know the reality of the situation.
I don’t believe what i’m reading, my first ironman would have been moo, last Friday went to the doc and had to make the call. Do I go and risk long term or permanent damage? Doc said if it was him he wouldn’t risk it. So here I am on the couch with the ice pack on my knee instead of being in the car just arriving in Madison. Good thing i’m in for IMLP 08. Good Luck, and don’t take the chance if your not sure.
Self-diagnosis…bad idea. My bet is that this is iliotibial band (ITB) friction syndrome unless you tell me that you had a twisting injury or a previous menisus tear. Get an MRI if possible ASAP. Ice it, take some anti-inflammatories and do some ITB stretching/friction massage. See a sports medicine doctor. Then make a decision. You can always stop if it hurts. Just my 2 cents.
Or google it yourself. There is a point where seemingly benign injuries become permanent disabilities. Go find an ortho who is also a runner (probably any sports med doc as long as he/she is a runner) and get a real, true opinion. There! I feel much better. Back to studying. And good luck----at the doctor’s, not the race.
I wouldn’t trust your self diagnosis too much. I had two different knee surgeons diagnose a knee problem as a torn meniscus, but it turned out to be a partially torn patella tendon when I got cut.
A lot of triathlon training would probably be a good way to recover from knee surgery. Riding a bike is a good way to rehab a knee after surgery. If you are in reasonably good shape now and can get your knee fixed soon and don’t have too many problems during rehab, then you should be able to race next summer although you might not be ready to race an IM next summer.
Get an accurate diagnosis. There is no substitute for good information.
Torn…I would have it shaved or repaired, depending on the location of the lesion. (peripheral lesions have better blood supply and have a chance at healing, the more central ones have a poor prognosis in reference to healing. Skip the race…additional cartilage damage is possible ruining your opportunity for future racing if you have a torn meniscus.
Not torn, go at it!. As previously stated, many things cause lateral knee pain. If it is tendinous in nature and you really want to race, the worse that will happen is that you will have a painful day and take a while to recover.
if you only could…