drew62266

Not sure if this is the proper place to post, but here it goes. After a few weeks of knee pain, my DR. sent me in for an MRI, result show a torn meniscus. There's also a slight build up of fluid and signs of arthritis. They strongly suggest a knee scope to clean it up, my down time would be 6 weeks or so.

Anyone out there deal with this issue or had the procedure done?

spdntrxi

that and a lot more... 6 weeks sounds about right. Cycling will actually be rehab for that (lower the seat at first..stationary bike/trainer if you have one) good luck

rumrunn6

yup, had that done in 1997. everyone's meniscus tear is different, so everyone's surgery is different. also everyone's surgeon is different. I had a flap that was folding over. the surgery was only 17 minutes and I got it on tape. 2 holes, 1 for the tools and 1 for the camera. tools showed snipping, scraping and sucking. I was standing on it that day. I don't recall the rehab. Doc told me losing weight would be helpful. I remember the doc said I should NOT run a 5K too soon. I was not a runner at that time. I was active but probably over protective and it wasn't until about 11 yrs later that I took up weight training, running, cycling and swimming hard core. ever since the surgery I make sure to stay aligned in whatever I do. I'm still very conscious about my foot placement going up and down stairs. I do use the StairMaster at the gym. the doc said the worst thing for a knee is a deep knee bend with a twist. some tempting gym machines are actually bad for your knees. my doc used surgery as the last resort, but when it's called for ... it's called for. I got a 2nd opinion and #2 concurred. it was the right thing to do. the knee was never the same as before my injury but it is waaaay better than if I didn't have surgery. basically I could bear use that knee to climb stairs. I has to always use the good leg and that was too big an affect on my life style so there was really no question about the surgery. I remember the 2nd doc trying to force me to go stairs using both legs. I tried as hard as I could but something was wicked messed up inside. they fixed it. :-)

Carbonfiberboy 

I had a meniscus snip about 10 years ago. It went well. I rehabbed it on my rollers - was doing 1/2 hour roller rides in 3 days. Went out for my first group ride about a month later. It took most of a year to get all the way back to where I'd been. My biggest problem was scar tissue that formed as a result of the surgery. Took a while to break that down. Knee isn't quite perfect today, but it's 99%. I can do everything I used to do and more.

dvdslw

I had a torn meniscus in my left knee about 3 years ago and the Dr recommended surgery. At the time I was self employed and we had Health Insurance through my wife's work but the co-pay was almost $4,000 and at the time we simply didn't have it, we probably could have borrowed it but I chose to wait it out. I searched the web to hear other peoples stories of how they dealt with the pain, surgery, rehab, etc... and surprisingly found a vast number of people who elected not to have surgery and ended up being fine. With this information and the lack of funds I decided to not have anything done and see what happens. It was several months before I could feel confident about resuming everyday routines without pain but it subsided and I chose to get back on a bike which was the best thing I ever did for my health. Now I feel as though I can do just about anything (within reason) and cycling is the one exercise that keeps my now 43 year old knees feeling young. I'm not saying don't get the surgery because if you have the means it will possibly get you on the road to recovery sooner and you should always take the advice of a trained physician before a guy you don't know but keep in mind that doing nothing but using the R.I.C.E. therapy (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.) might yield the same result?

Gyrine

Just had it last Fall. Exploded my meniscus while doing heavy leg lifts in the gym. Like other posters I was walking right after the sugery. I was riding the next week although the doc said I could ride as soon as I was comfortable. He also said that I had fairly severe arthritis and showed me the pics he took during the surgery. I had never had knee pain before my accident nor knee pain after the surgery. My GP doc told me not to worry about the arthritis until if or when it causes pain. I'm 100%.

Fly2High

I tore my left medial meniscus spinning around to fly discus launched gliders. I was very competitive and spun around hard. I had developed pain and went to the doc who told me I had a lateral tear. Also lucky for me was that the tear was lateral and had not torn in to the vertical direction which he said would require surgery. The doctor indicated that when a vertical tear exists then surgery can be used to alleviate the pain. He cautioned me away from surgery until it tears vertically. In my situation, he felt that surgery wasn't a guarantee of relief. He also said to stop doing what caused the injury which I wasn't willing to do so he said to do leg extensions using leg weights to build up the quads to help stabilize the knee. I stopped flying for over a year and did the exercises. So far no surgery but not completely pain free either. Once in a while I get a twinge reminding me that everything is not perfect. The doc did indicate that as long as I do not rotate the knee the vascular section of the meniscus might heal somewhat. The avascular may never. I opted for not getting the surgery and worked on strengthening the knee instead and it has helped a lot.

I will say that biking has caused me no pain and might actually be the best thing for my situation. Ev eryone's is different I m sure.

AS a final note, none of these problems occurred until I hit 40. Everyone I spoke to says that you tend to start getting 'issues' and pains when you turn 40 and boy was it true. Now 43, and being a little more cautious than in my 30's, I have begun thinking and doing more to lose weight and exercise more to keep what little fitness I have and hopefully gains some too to stave off future injury.


best of luck to you. Keep us informed of your progress. I am sure it will go well.

Frank

drew62266

My knee scope is set for March 24th. Just ready to get this over with. I soon as I'm able, I'll start riding my cruiser bike first, low seat, balloon tires....easy ride. Then hopefully, back to my new hybrid, I've only logged a 10 miles or so on it due to the weather. Mid spring, I hope to be back in good form, fingers crossed.

Thanks for all the help and advice.

Cheers!

FrenchFit 

In my case it wasn't a complete recovery for 5 years or so. Cycling shortly after the surgery was fine, but playing tennis or running was not - really long recovery for those activites. Eventually, good as new.

chaadster

It's interesting to hear this, as I'm two years past a arthroscopic OATS procedure, which is a cartilage repair procedure that involves drilling bone core plugs, so pretty heavy duty stuff. Things had been pretty good, but it was a year before things were really right again, despite great PT and being able to ride stationary within a few weeks. I forget how long after it was exactly, but my recovery included a non-weight bearing while flexed period, meaning I had to wear a brace which kept the knee extended while walking.

Anyway, two weeks ago, after 4 days of all-day walking around and dancing (South Beach play time!), it swelled up and has remained swollen (albeit less than initially), so I'm really hoping I can address the problem without surgery, perhaps just physical therapy. I dunno yet (doc appointment is on Monday), but given it's not really painful and hearing that some unattended healing is possible in some cases, I'm encouraged to avoid surgery (and attendant risks), so thanks for sharing your story.

Shepp30 

Are knee scopes typically done with a general or local anesthetic? If my knee makes it through the season, it will probably be the last.

Gyrine

Mine (torn meniscus) was general.

RonH

I've had both knees done (2007/2011 I believe). Torn meniscus in both. Typical arthroscopic surgery. I went to a sports med doc. My physical therapy was to ride my bike on the trainer. Started about 6 hours after the surgery. Rode for 5 minutes. Added 5 minutes every day until I was up to 45 minutes. He let me back out onto the road after 4 weeks for the first knee and 3 weeks for the second knee. No real loss of fitness.

rumrunn6

my surgeon said he can do it either way, but because he would be moving my knee in ways I normally would see it move he'd rather I was not awake. there's really nothing to gain. my sister had wrist surgery awake, she's a control freak, she wound up talking so much it was a distraction for the surgeon and my sister gained nothing and would not do it again that way.

RISKDR1

yes. several years ago. had torn meniscus that made riding impossible. lots of knee pain and fluid buildup. They went in and cleaned it up and also had to take care of some scar tissue that had build up. My recovery seemed long but i have had not issues since. that was around 15 years ago and I am 70 now and have no pain or fluid build. for recovery I did very light spinning on a trainer and resistance training to strength the whole musculature of the knee. I did SHORT ARC leg extensions leg curls. Light weights for couple of months.

drew62266

2 weeks ago, had the knee scope done. Actually feeling pretty good. 2 rounds of physical therapy done, finally got on a stationary bike, no issues. Hoping within a few weeks I can take my hybrid out for a ride....its only 6 weeks old with 20 miles on it......this knee scope came at the wrong time.

Thanks to all the info, help and encouragement from the board!!

More updates to come.

lennyk

What did the doc find/do ?
Did he gve you back any loose bits taken out ?

drew62266

Basically the DR went in and smoothed everything out.......the before pic looked like crab meat, kind of feathery.....the after looked smooth, no jagged edges.

Knee pain is gone, but my knee cap still sore from the surgery. My knee now has 3 little holes, amazing what they can do.

PT Dr gave me my last session yesterday and released me. Told me to keep up with stretching and let pain be my guide.

rumrunn6

congrats, hang in there, don't rush it, walk straight :-)