[Carnage]

So it looks like I'm potentially facing the knife once again for a torn meniscus. I doubt its repairable in view of my age etc (and to be honest I don't want them as I don't fancy another 6 month recovery) so it'll prob be a meniscectomy. It appears to be pretty minor , thankfully.

Anybody had one? Experiences, recovery times, side effects etc?......I've done a few searches myself, but its always nice to get a climbers view.

Cheers.

[GCW]

Not had one personally, but most patients recover pretty quickly.  It deoends partly on whether or not there's other problems in the knee, like some degenerative change also.
But then, you'll be better than going around with a meniscal tear.

All the best.

[robertostallioni]

Freddy Flintoffs just had one, ECB say 3-4 weeks out.
Barcelona defender Marquez just had one, they say 8-10 weeks. I'd go with them as the ECB are a bunch of inept twunts.

[Johnny Brown]

Do you mean an arthroscopy to tidy up the tear or removal of the meniscus entirely?

I had an arthroscopy done five years ago, I ws climbing the same day but it was a couple of years before it was back to how it was before the problems. The knee locking problem that prompted the op also recurred after it a couple of times which was worrying, things did steadily improve though. Cycling and physio were helpful, as was avoiding deep rockovers for a good three months.

[reeve]

I also had a miniscus tear, which was snipped during an arthroscopy. I wasn't climbing at all until about three weeks after the operation, but within three months it was 95% normal, and another three months after that it was as good as it ever will be.
Now, fourteen months after the operation it's probably missing a couple of degrees of movement at the bottom, and clicks a little bit but never locks (locking was rare for me anyway). This goes for climbing, rock overs and deep egyptians, and running.
My understanding of the rehab side is that there are two sides to it: maintaining / rebuilding muscle, and getting the swelling down. My swelling went down surprisingly fast, of it's own accord, so I didn't really do any physio exercises. I got the impression a lot of these were aimed at the sedentry population really, but maybe that's just due to my good luck and not requiring them. I agree with JB that cycling worked to maintain the muscle without doing further damage.
Good luck man, if there's anything else specific just ask.

[Carnage]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I don't think mines thats bad as the knee doesn't lock-up. It just very tight when I do that quad stretch when you pull your leg up behind you and I can't go into a proper squat as when I try to weight something catches or kinda flicks just near where the medial ligament is. I just kick my leg and it un-catches and then hurts there for a few days before being fine again.

I've got an intial ultrasound to see whats going on before I shell out the cash for an MRI so I'll hopefully I get an idea of whats going on then.

Cheers.

[The Sausage]

Not sure if this is right - i'll ask around at work tomorrow, but I think that the only real way of knowng what's going on in your knee is to have an arthroscopy. Might be worth checking that an MRI will give you a definite answer before you fork out for one.

[Johnny Brown]

I had an MRI first, the consultant reckoned he could see a tear though once he did the arthroscopy he said he 'couldn't find it', and just 'did some tidying up instead'.

[GCW]

You're kinda right Joe.
MRI is pretty good but there is a small (less than 1%) false positive and false negative rate (ie scan says tear, none at scope or scan says no tear but tear at scope).

Personally, if you've got typical symptoms and history and clinical examination agrees I'd go straight to arthroscopy, rather than delating for MR.  But many orthopods are more defensive and so scan first.  No right or wrong answer there.

[Johnny Brown]

kinda flicks just near where the medial ligament is. I just kick my leg and it un-catches and then hurts there for a few days before being fine again.

Exactly what I had. Until the day I couldn't kick it straight, and it was locked up for hours in agony. I wouldn't mess about waiting for an MRI, just get it sorted.

[fatdoc]

You're kinda right Joe.
MRI is pretty good but there is a small (less than 1%) false positive and false negative rate (ie scan says tear, none at scope or scan says no tear but tear at scope).

Personally, if you've got typical symptoms and history and clinical examination agrees I'd go straight to arthroscopy, rather than delating for MR.  But many orthopods are more defensive and so scan first.  No right or wrong answer there.

This lad IMO knows his stuff

Reeve also raises points relevent to the fitness active section of society.

Good luck dude

[Falling Down]

At first glance I thought Torn Meniscus was another American boulder with a flash sounding name 

[Sloper]

As one who has had two knee ops (the first to remove a growth from the tib/fib plateau) the second to tidy up everything else that was fucked my experience is that you never can tell.  With the first op I was signed off work of six weeks and was climbing within two days and out on the raz with a mate who'd been promoted to Insp; the second op I was supposed to be out for 2 weeks but it turned into a month.

Anyway I hope it works out.

[reeve]

Another piece of advice I was given just occured to me. A physio recommended I try to get my knee into as good a condition as possible prior to the op. Anything that will maintain the muscle whilst you're not using your limb so much, so basically the same stuff as you might do for rehab. I did mostly cycling and walking, with some knee curls / extensions with a theraband. I also got the feeling that it was wise to keep the swelling down and to not irritate the joint whilst maintaining activity insofar as is possible. Obviously it's difficult to objectively determine how much of a difference this made, but I felt it was worth the time even if it just helped it get better a little quicker.

[Carnage]

JB - I'll take that as being warned!

Thanks for the replies. I did a lot of 'prehab' stuff before my shoulder op and it certainly helped so I've started doing it now for the knee. Mostly easy squats and leg extensions for my quads plus time on the bike. Got my scan tomorrow and if its inconclusive I'm off the to the surgeon.

Cheers.

[Sloper]

For rehab I found running in a swimming pool wearing baggie sweatpants was a good thing, apparently used by HM Royal Marines but I've not relaible source for the claim.

[Carnage]

So I had my ultrasound and the bad news was that there's nothing wrong with my knee (that the U S could find) so its on to the next stage. Hoping to avoid the cost of an MRI so heading straight to the surgeon. Ooooh, my poor wallet...

[route149]

Anybody had one? Experiences, recovery times, side effects etc?

Yup, I had successfully  meniscectomies on both knees  using artheroscopy.  I was pretty messed up before the procedure and couldn't believe the results.  I only needed my crutches for a day and after that, progress was very swift.  In terms of getting back into the climbing and deciding what's an appropriate level of progress, listen to feedback from the injury site very carefully.

This injury does give us the opportunity to rememberthat some knee positions in climbing are inherently stressful to the knee joint, so there's always the possibility of trying to avoid these in the future. 

Best of luck with it

[yorkshirewarcry]

Had a couple of meniscus ops.  First was a repair procedure done by Sheffield Orthopaedics (Mr Sutton If I recall correctly) and recovery was around 2-3 months.  6 weeks of that in a knee brace to restrict the range of motion.  Lots of pain for a couple of weeks and inability to recurit quad muscles etc etc. 

Second op was a partial medial menisectomy (i.e. removal of the torn bit of cartilage)...I walked out of hospital without crutches, needed no pain relief, and was climbing at my usual (albeit quite punterish level) after a couple of weeks.  Was able to get out on easy stuff after only a few days. 

[Carnage]

So to resurrect this, I had the op three weeks ago and it turned out to be a largish 'bucket handle' tear to the medial meniscus. I'm a littled pissed off because I think I was expecting to get the partial removal and be up and around quickly but the surgeon elected to repair the damage with stiches. He also did something I believe is called 'homogenisation' where the injury site is deliberately flooded with blood to assist in its recovery. Apparently this, whilst getting good results, is slighty experimental and not thoroughly researched yet 

So now I'm facing a much longer recovery time and am stuck with a swollen, fat knee that is taking forever to go down (ice has no effect anymore) and has minimal range of motion. Plus the front of that leg is all numb and I have zero quad 's firing, although I am working on this with the physio. I walked out of the hospital without crutches and can walk pretty well tho, which I guess is something.

Feeling a bit sorry for myself  - Not eactly what I was looking for straight after such a long recovery after the shoulder op. I know its better in the long run (reduced chance of arthritis etc) but I'm kinda peeved that I wasn't fully consulted as I would probably have gone for the removal and to hell the risks of athro when I'm and old bloke.

Do any of you smart medical folk or anyone who's experienced this have any pearls of wisdom they can throw my way on my treatment, rehab, recovery time etc. Unfrotunately my surgeon, whilst very skilled, is a little slack on the info....

Cheers!

[SA Chris]

'homogenisation'

Does this mean you now have a gay leg?

Good luck with recovery, hope the PS3 is getting good use.

[Blunk]

So to resurrect this, I had the op three weeks ago and it turned out to be a largish 'bucket handle' tear to the medial meniscus. I'm a littled pissed off because I think I was expecting to get the partial removal and be up and around quickly but the surgeon elected to repair the damage with stiches. He also did something I believe is called 'homogenisation' where the injury site is deliberately flooded with blood to assist in its recovery. Apparently this, whilst getting good results, is slighty experimental and not thoroughly researched yet 

So now I'm facing a much longer recovery time and am stuck with a swollen, fat knee that is taking forever to go down (ice has no effect anymore) and has minimal range of motion. Plus the front of that leg is all numb and I have zero quad 's firing, although I am working on this with the physio. I walked out of the hospital without crutches and can walk pretty well tho, which I guess is something.

Feeling a bit sorry for myself  - Not eactly what I was looking for straight after such a long recovery after the shoulder op. I know its better in the long run (reduced chance of arthritis etc) but I'm kinda peeved that I wasn't fully consulted as I would probably have gone for the removal and to hell the risks of athro when I'm and old bloke.

Do any of you smart medical folk or anyone who's experienced this have any pearls of wisdom they can throw my way on my treatment, rehab, recovery time etc. Unfrotunately my surgeon, whilst very skilled, is a little slack on the info....

Cheers!

I've been through 3 torn menisci, 2 repair surgeries and the most recent injury left untreated. Not had the stitches as my tears didn't warrant it.

I would strongly consider a few acupuncture treatments if the swelling and ROM are not improving. The practitioner should run electrical stimulation through the knee for 40 minutes per session. It really works a treat to take the inflammation down, then get on with the physical therapy.

Afraid I can't say much about your recovery time, best guess it'll be in the 8-12 week range before you'll feel comfortable climbing on it.

PM me if you want.