and how long before you were 100%? i’m 8 weeks out from the surgery and I still have some swelling in the knee and accompanying stiffness. is this normal? I’ve heard it’s different for most people, but should I be concered at this point?
Had arthroscopic surgery on my left knee in '90. It was a much longer road back than what people generally tell you. I was 27 at the time an extremely motivated to rehab. At 8 weeks I still had swelling, and lots of muscle atrophy that made my knee appear larger than it actually was. After 4 weeks post-op I started swimming, and doing deep water running. I was not able to ride a bike untill 10 weeks post-op. I started running at 12 weeks. I had my surgery in September and was fully functional by late winter early spring. I did my rehab 3-4 days a week. Ultimately it made be a better triathlete, as I developed the habits of stretching and lifting weights regularly. Also my chronic knee pain went away.
I had it last december. The pain is gone but when I am on my feet for long periods it notice a bit of swelling. it isn’t everyday just once in a while.
The Dr. gave me celebrex to control the swelling
Are you doing any other type of rehab?
I have done this 2x and the first time developed a (patella) tracking problem which until I addressed it yielded the same symptoms you are describing.
How long were you inactive before the repair? If you have any amount of asymmetrical atrophy then you will probably need to do some specific strength exercises.
I am sure someone else will be able to more eloquently address your concerns but I wanted you to know this is not at all uncommon.
2nd time for me was 6 weeks but I was much more in tune with my limitations and didn’t let pain and swelling guide my recovery because I knew that exceeding my limits would dig me into a hole and the recovery would take longer.
thanks for the reply. i’m doing PT 1-2 times/week which consists of exercises to balance out my left and right side. always seems to be helping, but occasionally i notice my that knee has randomly become as stiff as it was 2-3 weeks ago. given that the surgery was performed to remove the torn part of the meniscus (rather than something like an ACL replacement), i’m hoping that there’s less of a chance of actually repeating the same injury.
I should have asked how you originally injured it? Perhaps you are still feeling effects of the original injury. I also had some ligament strain when I tore the meniscus the first time but had to wait 7 months for surgery so the ligament was healed by the time I had surgery.
It took me 6 weeks of focussed rehab exercises 5 days/week to regain confidence in my knee. It was 25% when I started and after 6 weeks (12 weeks post op) it was at 90-95%. I had pain and minor swelling during that time and both were manageable with ice and ibuprofen.
Currently I am struggling with prepatellar bursitis due to a fall on the ice 7 weeks ago. Doctor drained it 3 weeks ago but came right back - 3 week wait til my next appointment??
I had a tear in early May of 2006 that needed to be surgically removed. I raced the Memphis in May mountain bike race and the Olympic distance the next day 10 days after sergury. I had to DNF the Olympic distance race half way through the run due to stiffness and a little pain.
In Dec 2007 after wiping out after too many brews, I tore cartilage in the other knee. This one ended up being a “Bucket Handle” tear. So full depth removal of cartilage in a portion of my knee. I was training like normal in 10 days.
I was refered to my doc by some local athletes. This Doctor only works with athletes (runners, Basketball…). He himself is a cyclists so understands how athletes think. Knee surgery is what he does and he knows it very well. I had a great experience with him.
I feel a little weak running down hills really fast on the knee that has much less cartilage but that is it.
I’ve had meniscus surgery done on both knees and although I do not remember the exact recovery times, I know it was less than 8 weeks. Both my tears (2004)were from none running injuries (damn trampoline) and were not major tears. I forget the term the doc used, but it was described as a bucket handle so he just went in and nipped off the torn piece. If I remember correctly he told me I should take it easy for a month and then I could start running again as I felt I could. I don’t remember much swelling. This is the same doc who did my ACL surgery (2000) a few years earlier. I had gone to one of those workers comp type docs and he was telling me I’d be out of work for 8 weeks and that I should give up running. Needless to say, I did not let that guy touch my knee and I waited to get in to the good doc.
Tore my left lateral meniscus in 1999 in a career ending football play. I did pre-op rehab religiously (e-stim, contrast baths, recumbent biking 20-30 minutes and isokinetic leg curl/extensions) for 6 weeks.
I think I could run a bit on the treadmill, my biggest problem was walking DOWN stairs and side to side motion (via partial MCL tear).
Surgery was a breeze and I was doing treadmill intervals within 3.5 weeks, my only negative experience was the GA (I was stoned for about a week). I also followed up with TONS of post-op rehab (same as above with wall squats, step mill, etc.)
No problems, lost alot of ROM for about 2 years and slowly got in back. I can kneel for hours upon end and dont have any flair ups during long runs. I wasnt doing endurance sports back then, so I cant say its too much too soon either.
pretty sure tore mine in 04 pushing too big a gear/bad bike fit; doc said it was pfs, took celebrex and did IMfla…then ran for another year and a half on bad knee. finally mri revealed meniscus tear and had surgery in april 06. 60% of posterior medial horn removed. took about 6 weeks of rehab (recumbent trainer) then started running. this at age 58. straightening knee fully took more time, but now at age 61 the knee is in pretty good shape…i just limit my miles per week to < 15 and go out of my way to find soft surfaces. crazy thing is because of running on bad knee for over year, developed patellar tendinitis in the good leg because it was trying to compensate i guess. be careful to do rehab on knee and core and progress gradually. i still don’t have any arthritis yet, but on cold days i can tell the knee is not what is used to be. only real big negative is i have chosen not to do long tris anymore. sprints and olys are my limits now, but i may try half year before i age up. i take glucosomine and antioxidants (free radicals) as supplements. good luck
Had medial meniscus removed in left in 2002 then right in late Jan 2008. The one in 2008 was 80% removal. The doc looked at me like I was crazy when I said, can I still run Boston in mid April. I figured I might never be physical in good enough running shape to do it again. I am somewhat fortunate in that I do not swell much and have good flexibility. Both times within 3 weeks I had the full range of motion back and was out on the roads doing about 4 per day and built up from there (though early on stability is always a concern). Boston was a blast, no PR (3:14) but better than expected. I thought the hills might be the end of my knees, but they were great but the quads - oh so sore (didn’t have any time to get the requisit hill work in). I think everyone has a different story. With time, you should get your stability back and be back to normal. Starting to do tris and allowed me to cut down on the mileage but still run well.
Run, ice, run, ice - it was not back to normal until a few months post op, but trainable sooner
I had surgery last June. MRI was contraindicated so I was PT and still swimming and biking on the injury for about 5 months.
Post surgery, I was off crutches that night. On a bike at PT on Monday; Swimming within about 10 days; spinning within the month; running at about 4 months. I was suprised how long it took me to run again. I am not running as well as I was or nearly as fast and swell (STILL) when I run anything greater than about 7 miles.
After reading the other posts, I would wonder if I was just a head case but my knee does still swell. I don’t take anything like a Celebrex, tho I have been thinking about asking for something. I do ice after long runs. I was also told not to expect to be able to go more than about nine miles on the knee, but I doubt that will be the case, I am already planning to go longer than that eventually.
I have been kind of thinking that one year is when things tend to get pretty close to being completely repaired so trying not to freak out til then.
In any case, I hope you can get back sooner than me.
Angelino-I’ve done thousands of menisectomies (removal of a torn portion of meniscus) and everybody’s different (I’m assuming you didn’t have a meniscus repair.) So many questions need answers like accompanying pathology, proximity to the injury, etc. We all hear about the guy (and I’ve seen them) where they’re nearly normal in a week…and we’re not! **And we’re triathletes, what gives? **On average, I’d see patients back at one week and four weeks after surgery, it’s what worked for me. But, if anybody had concerns 8 weeks (or more) out, I’d see them back, go over their arthroscopic photographs, see if I couldn’t address their concerns. Your surgeon will do the same for you if you ask, it only takes a phone call. Good luck!