Meniscus Tear

If any of you guys has joint surgery of any kind, LISTEN TO YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPIST AND OBEY the post-surgery therapy regime. Despite the short-term pain, it can make a dramatic difference between a short and complete recovery, and a long and possibly incomplete recovery.
 
Update 8-1-08

Surgery is complete. They did a repair and not a trim job. Doc said it was a completely torn through. Not a partial but a full tear. It's no wonder why I was in so much pain before. The good news is no ACL damage. The bad news is they upped my recoverey time due to the extent of the injury. I'm scheduled for 6 weeks in a brace, 6 weeks on crutches, 6 weeks no driving, etc. It's going to be a long couple of months....

Doug
 
Why is this subject on this thread. I personally don't care what happened to you on your pwc due to your reckless driving. I'm glad you're not on my lake!
 
tmhudson2 said:
I second those thoughts. Have you considered what you'll do with all that extra 'free' time?
Click to expand...

Thanks again on the kind thoughts.

I have an agreement with work that I will work from home rather than going out on short term disability. I put in all this time on a $17 million dollar project that I want to continue working on it if at all possible.

Currently I'm in this 'Chinese Torture Rig' that exercises my knee through a specified degree range. Day 1 after surgery is 0 - 30 degrees. I have to do this twice per day at 2 hours per time. Every day I increase 5 degrees up to a max of 70 degrees. Talk about painful. I found the trick is to just relax as much as you can otherwise if you resist, the pain is much worse. Right there this exercise bit basically sucks up half a day.

Other things I plan on doing during my free time include wiring up the boat with my new DTV converters, cleaning/waxing, etc.

At this point I'll just have to take one day at a time.

Doug
 
Update: 9-12-08

I went in for a follow-up with the surgeon on Tuesday 9-9-08. Today is exactly 6 weeks from surgery. The doc was very pleased with the progress that I made up to this point. I'm currently at ~95 degrees of flexion. For a guy my size they figure somewhere in the 130 - 140 degrees of flexion is full range. The doc finally took my brace off and I was able to apply weight for the first time. Wow, what a weird feeling.

I finished my second full week of physical therapy as well. They are really starting to load me up with a ton of exercises during my session. I'm approaching 1.5 hours of therapy now. Since I haven't had any weight up until this point, my calf muscle has severly shrunk in size (probably 3 inches in circumference). My calf is so tight from therapy and just from walking normally. I'm surmising that this pain should be similar to getting back to a lifting routine with the resultant sore muscles for the first week or so. I continue the home exercises daily so that full flexion will be achieved even faster.

I'll keep you all posted.

Doug
 
Best of luck Doug.

Are any of the therapists cute?
 
douglee25 said:
This past weekend I decided to ride the skis instead of taking out the boat. I warm up the ski, hop on, jump two boat wakes, and decide to do a nose stab. I prejump, braaaap, nose in, under water, and finally hang off the back into a tail stand. As I'm hanging off the back I feel an enormouse amount of pain in my left leg. I go to the shore and I had to be carried up to the chair. I iced my leg on and off for about 4 hours. Still no better. Every time I stood up I wanted to pass out from pain. Everyone loaded up my stuff, they carried me to the truck, and my buddy drove me home. Later on I went to the hospital... no broken bones. I scheduled an appointment with the Orthopedic doctor who ended up draining 1/2 cup of fluid from my knee and scheduling me for an MRI. Results came in last night..... I have a torn meniscus! :smt013:smt009:huh::smt089:smt089:smt021 Doc says if I don't have it fixed, I could have severe arthritis later on in life. If they can repair the tear, it's a minimum of 1 month of crutches. If they cut out the bad piece, I could recover quicker but then I would be more susceptible to arthritis because a portion of my meniscus is missing.

I'm pretty damn bummed to say the least. My riding season is over. I think I've only been on the skis maybe 4 - 5 times this whole season. Anyone have any uplifting thoughts? Anyone want to buy a kick ass ski with 5 hours on it?

I've done this trick 1000 times and never an issue. Here's a vid of exactly what a nose stab is. The camera angle is crappy with the sun, but you get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QsdEpL5vPw

Doug
Click to expand...

Welcome to my world, 2 bum knees, one surgery already, probably many more to come...wait til you get really old...I take Ibuprofens like they are candy.
 
Last edited:
douglee25 said:
Update: 9-12-08

I went in for a follow-up with the surgeon on Tuesday 9-9-08. Today is exactly 6 weeks from surgery. The doc was very pleased with the progress that I made up to this point. I'm currently at ~95 degrees of flexion. For a guy my size they figure somewhere in the 130 - 140 degrees of flexion is full range. The doc finally took my brace off and I was able to apply weight for the first time. Wow, what a weird feeling.

I finished my second full week of physical therapy as well. They are really starting to load me up with a ton of exercises during my session. I'm approaching 1.5 hours of therapy now. Since I haven't had any weight up until this point, my calf muscle has severly shrunk in size (probably 3 inches in circumference). My calf is so tight from therapy and just from walking normally. I'm surmising that this pain should be similar to getting back to a lifting routine with the resultant sore muscles for the first week or so. I continue the home exercises daily so that full flexion will be achieved even faster.

I'll keep you all posted.

Doug
Click to expand...

Wait until the PT lays you on your stomach, literally ties you in and takes your ankle/foot and tries to push it down towards your mid back. Ah the fond memories I have of that pain post op....
 
douglee25 said:
Update 8-1-08

Surgery is complete. They did a repair and not a trim job. Doc said it was a completely torn through. Not a partial but a full tear. It's no wonder why I was in so much pain before. The good news is no ACL damage. The bad news is they upped my recoverey time due to the extent of the injury. I'm scheduled for 6 weeks in a brace, 6 weeks on crutches, 6 weeks no driving, etc. It's going to be a long couple of months....

Doug
Click to expand...

And how do you expect to help me with my stereo with down time like this? Geesh
 
mrsrobinson said:
Welcome to my world, 2 bum knees, one surgery already, probably many more to come...wait til your get really old
Click to expand...

lol...too funny.

Last night at hockey, Pete, who is a 71 year old man who plays ice hockey with us almost every week, and I were chatting about this.

I am 39, almost 40, and I can feel the years of xtreme sports catching up with some of my bones and muscles. I had broken my kneecap a few years back, have had several bad sprains, breaks and generally my body has been abused.

Well, I get off the ice and I groan a bit as my back got twisted boarding a couple of days ago and it was hurting a bit last night after a shift. He called me a "name for female anatomy".

But we all say Pete is ornery, so it all evens out.
 
A lady friend of my in-laws has had multiple surgeries, and she still hurts, yet she goes ballroom dancing every week. She says she can stay home and hurt, or do what she loves and hurt, so she continues to dance. I love her spirit.
 
mrsrobinson said:
Wait until the PT lays you on your stomach, literally ties you in and takes your ankle/foot and tries to push it down towards your mid back. Ah the fond memories I have of that pain post op....
Click to expand...

They're already doing this one. This is by far the worst of all the exercises. I dread this exercise.

Doug
 
Well, I would normally tell you "It won't be long until you're tearin' it up again," but somehow I don't think that's appropriate.

Get well soon!

And just think -- soon the icy water will be therapeutic for you. Get back on the ski!
 
billandamy said:
lol...too funny.

Last night at hockey, Pete, who is a 71 year old man who plays ice hockey with us almost every week, and I were chatting about this.

I am 39, almost 40, and I can feel the years of xtreme sports catching up with some of my bones and muscles. I had broken my kneecap a few years back, have had several bad sprains, breaks and generally my body has been abused.

Well, I get off the ice and I groan a bit as my back got twisted boarding a couple of days ago and it was hurting a bit last night after a shift. He called me a "name for female anatomy".

But we all say Pete is ornery, so it all evens out.
Click to expand...

42 here, grew up playing baseball and basketball, switched to tennis about 15 years ago.

I ache after every match. I play guys 50+ who play every day pain free...unfortunately I think it's mostly about your genes...my brother is 52 and has a limp from his bad knees.

I was at the doctors this week fro foot pain, a new one...now I have Mortons Neuroma....Morton can keep the damn thing! More NSAIDs, yeah rah.
 
mrsrobinson said:
42 here, grew up playing baseball and basketball, switched to tennis about 15 years ago.

I ache after every match. I play guys 50+ who play every day pain free...unfortunately I think it's mostly about your genes...my brother is 52 and has a limp from his bad knees.

I was at the doctors this week fro foot pain, a new one...now I have Mortons Neuroma....Morton can keep the damn thing! More NSAIDs, yeah rah.
Click to expand...

Oh he's in pain...he told me just learn to live with it :smt001

I remember you mentioning something about tennis in a thread a while back. My wife and I play about once a week if we are lucky this summer. The kids use the court more than we do.

Ahhhh...Mortons. Never heard of it, but just read that link you provided. Ill just add it to the list of things Ill probably develop over time.
 
Had a meniscal tear repaired a couple of years ago, had a spinal and sat up and watched the surgery, no crutches, walked later that day and I was back running within two months.
 
I hope your recovery continues. Please....take all the advise about following the Doctor's suggestions, he knows what he is talking about. I know first hand!!!

I had a motorcycle accident that did serious damage to my knee (and a few other places) back in 1961, was hospitalized for 3 months. Everything seemed to heal okay and didn't have any problems until 1983. All of a sudden, while walking, my right knee would just buckle and I would end up on the ground. This kept happening so I visited a local Ortho Surgeon who scoped the knee and after a month of incredible pain, it was all okay again.

Five years later (1988), the knee started buckling again and I had to have my ACL replaced as it was nearly destroyed. Five days in the hospital, six weeks at home and then 8 weeks of physical therapy. I was again all okay.

Fast forward to 2004, right knee began buckling again, back to the OR for another scope job, then physical therapy. This time, the knee wouldn't come back to life....so in March of 2005, I had a total knee replacement (both my ACL and PCL were removed). Rehab took 3 months to complete.

The new knee is doing fine, I walk a mile or so every day at the park and other than a little pain, I am doing okay. I just can't run or carry more than 30 lbs more than a few feet, but going up and down stairs and long walks are fine.

Gary...do you want to compare scars?:grin:
 
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