Having mine done on Tues. Lateral release and chondroplasty under the patella. Diagnosis was Lateral Patella Compression Syndrome with loose cartililage under patella. Amazingly, I can still bike, but running is getting more and more painful every time I lace up my shoes.
Any stories out there on experience and recovery? How long before biking and running?
I’ve had two scopes. Both were 16 to 18 years ago and I have had very little issues.
My wife had a lateral release about 6 years ago and it basically ended her running. She is just now starting to run some and is using the double Cho-Pat strap device.
I’ll expand more a little later
sorry if a bit off topic. how do you get that type of injury? preventive measures? 1st time i`ve heard that type of injury
had the left one scoped about 18 months ago for a “complex” tear.
recovered fine…but i didn’t bike for 4 weeks and waited another 2-3 to begin running again. did hours of treading water…legs only.
docs are always spouting off Pollyana timeframes on recovery. take longer to allow it to heal than you think you will need. it is still an invasive procedure. treat it as such.
Six times. No biggie.
I had my left knee scoped in 1995 for what turned out to be a partially torn patella tendon. I could walk immediately after surgery, but it took a lot of rehab before it really worked well again. Before the surgery, I had never run a marathon or done a triathlon. Now, I’m up to 8 marathons and 10 triathlons, including two HIM/70.3/whatevers. I’m somewhat susceptible to tendinitis in the left knee and have to be careful with increasing mileage on either the bike or running because it can act up sometimes. Other than that, it functions fairly well. Make sure that you do your rehab thoroughly and carefully and don’t rush getting back to your old training regime. After all, it’s not like your a professional athlete that needs to compete because that’s how you earn your living.
DennisM, here’s the short answer as explained by my doc (and revealed in an xray and MRI). Basically, I have a structural flaw in my knee due to very tight tissues (the lateral retinaculum) on one side. This has caused my knee cap to be tilted and and off-center. So instead of tracking correctly in the groove of my femur, the underside of the kneecap rubs against the head of the femur, wearing the cartilage underneath. This wear is causing some fluid to be released, inflammation and pain.
The procedure is to surgically loosen (cut) the lateral retinaculum to allow the kneecap to sit correctly. They will also smooth off the worn cartilage. This will be followed by PT to strengthen the knee and preserve the corrected alignment.
I’d be interested in other MD/orthos opinions on my analysis. I trust my doc, but curious about other’s opinions as well.
To answer your question. If I wasn’t a runner (or didn’t want to continue running), I probably would not need this procedure as the overuse exacerbated the problem.
JP,
I would get a second opinion on the lateral release. My wife wishes that she had. The dr. who did the lateral release on her left knee also said that she should have it done on her right knee. After the first surgery, her pain was worse and she was basically unable to run. She rehabbed hard for 8 months with no improvement. When she tore some cartlidge in her other knee and the doc recommended a lateral release we we went to two other orthepedic surgeons and both of them did not hink that a lateral release was needed.
Good luck
I have 4 months ago. Rehab has been hell. Huge amounts of time and slow progress. I had similar symptoms to you. But I had a loose body which turned out to be a cartilage fracture on the femur. Had microfracture to repair. Also damage to underside of patella. Biomechanics have changed. I may never return to Hawaii ironman level capability. Lateral release is no longer in vogue as I understand. I suggest you study up. This is a great site:
i had a complex tear scoped last may. my doc challenged me the day after to be on a stationary bike with 72 hours of surgery. he was very aggressive and confident. recovery went pretty quick. i was jogging in 2 weeks. you’re going to lose your run fitness, they poke holes in your quad, so be ready to get back to full speed next season.
everyone is different, listen to what YOUR dr says. he knows more about your knee than anyone else, especially a forum “diagnosis.” 6 months from tuesday will come fast enough, dont do anything stupid.
Thanks. I have a lot of confidence in my doc, he’s a triathlete (been to Kona) as well and understands the needs of athletes. Also got a 2nd opinion so I’m comfortable with the choice.
My biggest priority to be diligent with the PT. From everything I’ve read/heard, that’s the make/break for how successful the procedure will be.
LOL, that is something I may be facing in the next few weeks. Glad to see positive result stories.
I had a lateral release and the back of the patella scaped/shaved in 2000. The first two weeks were grueling pain. I couldn’t walk for those two weeks - had to be carried everywhere. However, I scheduled some time with a PT and within 4 weeks of the surgery I was doing light weights and walking. After 3 months of PT, I was back to the roads running again. The PT was scheduled 3x a week 3 hrs each time with exercises that I couldn’t even do before the surgery. Every person is different in how they recover, but the docs always told me ‘no more running or high impact exercise EVER’, and I told the PT to get me where I can run again and he did. Here I am today signing up for my first Ironman next year. Good luck with the surgery~
The most difficult part of the recovery is sitting and lying down all the time.
Jim and digdug -
You both mention complex tears - tears of what? I have a horizontal tear of my right medial meniscus, and my sports doctor says that these are difficult to scope - perhaps not even possible, depending. However, I ran into a guy at a race (I’m relegated to aquabikes this season…) a few weeks ago who had his horizontal meniscus tear successfully scoped, so I’m optimistic. Up here in the land of socialized medicine, however, waiting for post-MRI consults and the subsequent surgery can be a loonnngggg process; I’m close to coming down to the States and paying out-of-pocket for it. If either of you had a meniscus problem and got it scoped, please provide any relevant advice. Thanks!
left knee, medial meniscus. i dont know if its hard or not, but i got a narrated video of my surgery. he cruised around the damaged area and then went to the other side and showed what a “good” meniscus should look like. then sucked out the damaged parts.
there are two types of surgery. (i am not a dr., but learned the basics)
remove the damaged tissue. this is done when the tear is located on the inner parts of the meniscus, because there is no blood flow to help the healing process. much faster recovery, but you lose some, or all, of the natural cushioning in your knee joint.
“stitch” up the tear. this is done on tears located on the outer parts of the meniscus where blood flow can heal the repair. this has a longer recovery period, but you’re good as new again when its all over. this is also the prefered option for long term health.
you might search around for OATS or O.A.T.S. it is a new thing where they transplant some synthetic stuff that spurs regrowth of cartilege. i understand that it is already available.
Walk it off. I had a problem a few years ago with my right knee. The ortho said I had a small meniscus tear and wanted to scope it. The doc described it as a small tear at the edge. I waited and even though it hurt kept doing what I had been doing as far as biking and running. I eventually wore down the torn area and polished it down. No pain now and hasn’t been for five years. So my question is, are you sure that you have exhausted all other options before resorting to surgery?
OATS stands for osteoarticular transfer system and is not a meniscus repair. The lastest in meniscus surgery is called collagen meniscus implant (CMI).
http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_14_1_4.htm
http://www.regenbio.com/insideus/background.mspx
Coming from a sports and rehab PT world, my advice would be to rethink that lateral release. They typically have a poor outcome. As the saying goes, you can’t unscramble scrambled eggs. Once it’s done it’s forever. Years ago when I was having patellar/femoral syndrome from too much running, the ortho doc mentioned that he could do a lateral release, but that it probably would not fix the problem (mistracking). I thanked him kindly and quit running! I started cycling and then weight lifting. Over the years I developed some very nice VMO’s which do the job that a lateral release attempts to do - improve patellar tracking. 20 years after that I had to have a meniscal tear cleaned up by scope. Excellent procedure and I was riding hard in 3 weeks. Also, it allowed me to start running again.
BTW, this doc was no hack. Him and his partner are the docs that kept Bobby Bowden’s horses in the game. Because of that early relationship they built an orthopedic empire to rival BB’s football empire.