Anyone deal with knee issues?

[crazy_davey]

So after a three year wait to get in to see a knee specialist that knew what he was talking about and looking at, I now know that my knee issues over about the last five years are more serious than I had of course hoped. Lots of arthritis and my knee cap no longer fitting how it should has caused me some very serious pain. Also a Bakers cyst that I had on my knee burst a few years back and had me off of work for six weeks with a calf that was almost 19" around for about four of those weeks.

Many, many years of being very hard on my knees has finally caught up with me . Skiing, snowboarding, dirt bike and mountain bike racing, rock and ice climbing, mountaineering and of course backpacking and backpack hunting. So here I am wondering what the future holds for my outdoor adventures. I have the option of doing cortisone shots 2-3 times a year(got one the other day which has made a big difference). The specialist said to get one now, get one before hunting season and then get the knee scoped next winter. The one thing he did mention is that the knee scoping is about a 60/40 chance in favor of making it better, but there is that 40% chance it could get worse by disrupting things in the knee.

What would you guys do? Is there any of you out there dealing with knee issues of this type? Any suggestions would be appreciated...

I guess my horses are going to start getting a lot more use for the high country hunts and trips.

 

[shaun]

I have knee problems somethin fierce. Back in 2000 I got in a jet ski accident and mangled left leg...double compound femur broke tib n fib tore acl Pcl meniscus and lost inner part of quad. Finally 13 years later I had a custom brace made for my needs by cti. Best money I've ever spent spendy but well worth it

 

[Jager]

Get the knee repaired ASAP before anymore damage (meniscus) goes on in there.

 

[crazy_davey]

I have knee problems somethin fierce. Back in 2000 I got in a jet ski accident and mangled left leg...double compound femur broke tib n fib tore acl Pcl meniscus and lost inner part of quad. Finally 13 years later I had a custom brace made for my needs by cti. Best money I've ever spent spendy but well worth it

The specialist did mention something about a brace called and "FX" brace or something like that. I will have to look at my notes tomorrow, they are out in the truck right now...

I will say this, the cortisone shot did wonders so far. I got the shot Friday afternoon, went hiking that night and then again on Saturday. It hasn't felt this good in 5-6 years. Did some pretty serious hills with a pack on and most of the time before I would have barely been able to walk the next day, still feels great right now. I do understand that it is only a temporary solution but it sure felt nice to get out and go fairly hard and still be able to walk normally at the end.

This years shed pile got bulked up quite a bit over the past few days as well, here is a few from Saturday:

 

[Ross]

Being the same boat, if there is any surgery option I would go for it.....these other options created by science unfortunately only mask the pain for us and the real issues are not resolved by the shots.

Shaun, can you talk more about your brace and what it does for your knee, as I have had 2 braces, both after ACL surgeries to protect the new ligament until 100%, but I am advised they really did nothing more after the ACL was fully healed other than a piece of mind.

 

[rodney482]

On an elk hunt 2 yrs ago, I was packing out my bull and stepped in a hole.

I detached my ACL, tore inner and outer meniscus and dislocated my patella.

Had two knee surgeries and still have pain going down hill.

Trekking poles are a must for me.

My surgeon said to not use any type of brace after 1 year.

 

[jls]

Sorry to hear of your knee troubles.

Be careful with the cortisone shots. My doc wold only give me one and mentioned that overuse of cortisone can have a degenerative effect on the tissues in the joint.

Work hard when doing your post-op rehab and let us know how it works out. Good luck

 

[bandit1]

For me it's all about going down hill, the arthritis really creates problems. I'm fine going up. Trekking poles and slow, deliberate steps are mandatory. No more scrambling down the mountain.

 

[Vandal 44]

I have had ACL and PCL on my right knee and ACL and MCL on my left knee along with mulitipal scopes to clean up the meniscus from playing football. There are a few differnt shots you can get that will help with the knee pain, I am not sure what they are called. There suppose to be better for you than cortisone, They help with the pain from 3 to 6 month I will be going in to have the shot in both my knees sometime in August. The problem is insurance does not cover it and they are expensive.

Get the sugery as soon as you can so you will be ready for hunting season. If its just a scope you should be back in to training in a week or two. There is nothing that they can do for arthitis. Find a good physical therapist and get to work on the rehab.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Well, sorry to hear but you may have to make some changes in the way you hunt. I would for sure get a second opinion just so you know for sure and surgery is always an option. I won't give you any medical advice but I have also had knee issues and come out okay. I've done the ACL surgery with a couple of meniscus scopes and they have been great----I came back and ran 4 hundred miler ultras after these BUT age does catch up and I've learned to hunt smarter.
Good luck and get a hot tub!

Randy

 

[shaun]

Being the same boat, if there is any surgery option I would go for it.....these other options created by science unfortunately only mask the pain for us and the real issues are not resolved by the shots.

Shaun, can you talk more about your brace and what it does for your knee, as I have had 2 braces, both after ACL surgeries to protect the new ligament until 100%, but I am advised they really did nothing more after the ACL was fully healed other than a piece of mind.

https://www.ossur.com/?PageID=13230
Ross, attached the link to the brace. I have gone through multiple braces (over the counter) and have had nothing but issues with migrating of brace and just not enough support (not being rigid enough) a few years ago I came across this company in a motocross magazine and did some research on them but never pulled the trigger due to price (about $1500.00 when said and done) and my insurance would not cover it due to it being a previous injury. When I went to my orthopedic for the first time since 2003 they did X-rays Mri's etc etc. He told me from hy injury and missingthe inner muscle of my quadricept (the vastus medialus) I had a severe knee knock ant the outside portion of my joint was wearing down much more than the interior portion of the joint. The brace was able to straiten everything up the way it should be and gives my leg unbelieveable support I have not had for years. I have finally been able to hike run etc without blowing my knee out and ending up on the ground. Last year in Colorado alone I had it blow out over a dozen times it is awesome knowing this year I wont have any issues.

 

[jcodyc40]

Crazy Davey, recently I was faced with pretty much the same knee problem as you. The backside of my knee cap is pretty much wore out and there was a lot of pain and grinding whenever I would climb stares or hike. I had my knee scoped on Friday and can confidently say it was the right decision. My surgeon told me that he basicly did a clean and release, he cleaned out the cartlage and removed a piece of tissue that holds the knee cap down and alows it to "float" a little more. This procedure had already been done to my other knee due to ACL reconstruction and that knee cap is in much better shape. The one thing my surgeon told me to stay away from is leg extensions.
Good Luck,

Cody

 

[goodgrouper]

Davey, I tore up my knee fifteen years ago severed acl, torn meniscus. Many sports injuries since then. Last year I finally did something about it and had it scoped. They took out some bone fragments cleaned up the meniscus and I feel much better. I should have done it right away I waited so long I now have arthritis and the next step for me is a partial replacement.

 

[crazy_davey]

Wow, thanks guys! Some things to think about and a few more questions to ask. I will be back later when I get home.

Thanks again!

 

[Jager]

I have the right knee rebuilt after a torn acl, and getting ready to have the left rebuilt due to a completely snapped acl. Crazey Davey, the longer u leave it, the worse things get in there, I cannot state that enough. Part of my knuckle joint is actually gone after waiting so long to have the right knee done. The reconstruction was a great move. The brace Shaun mentioned are possibly the best out there. The issue with braces however is that the leg muscles become ever reliant on them, and are something that that someone may have to use for the rest of their life due to the body relying on them.

Good luck.

 

[crazy_davey]

So the knee brace the specialist talked about was a " FX Patella Stabilizer". A few things he didn't mention was whether to get one now or wait until the scoping was complete? I will go back and see him and ask him about this in the next while... I have tried some other knee braces in the past but the suggestions of those were from doctors who didn't understand what the problem was and obviously not the right braces for what I am dealing with. Thanks for the link Shaun! I will look into those further and ask the specialist exactly what ones he recommends.

Now, I fully understand that the cortisone shots are only temporary. jls mentioned above that "cortisone can have a degenerative effect on the tissues in the joint". That's a pretty big issue obviously, Are there other health risks above what he mentioned there? Are there any other more natural things a person should take that can help? Glucosamine was mentioned which I have been taking the last year or so.

Thanks again for all of the suggestions and encouragement! I know what needs to be done now and need to pick some dates to move forward with this.

Cheers!

 

[Jager]

The issue with cortisone is that it is a catabolic steroid, which basically is the opposite to an anabolic steroid, the steroid that builds muscle mass. Glucosamine with chondroitin is a good mix to take, probably easiest taken in a capsule.

 

[Longstride12]

I injured my knee three years ago coming down a hill that was way to steep and covered with shale rock with a heavy pack on. I heard a loud pop and my knee locked up and I hobbled off the mountain one tiny step at a time. Took it easy the next few days and then everything seemed to return to normal but when I hiked hard it would do the same thing, lock up and be very painful. I couldn't even walk up stairs, the leg was mostly useless. Finally after three years of pain I went to see a sports chiropractor. I hate going to the doc just to get a prescription for this or that or for them to say surgery is the only way. Turns out my knee cap was out of place and my meniscus had tons of scar tissue from multiply injuries along with some other things I didn't get explained to me all the way. It hurt like crazy as the chiropractor stripped out the scar tissue and put everything back into place. After three visits I'm running and hiking without any pain, although the joint still feels a little weak. See if a sports chiropractor can help out, if not I'd go for the replacement as that is better than treating the symptoms.

 

[NWHunter]

It's all hit or miss when it comes to surgery. I had 4 in a 7 year period. The first was a torn meniscus. After surgery things were good for two years. Then I tore it again. This time a chunk came off and got into the grove your knee cap runs in. Talk about painful. The third was another torn meniscus. At this point I was 20 and had the knees of a 50 year old. All three surgeries were preformed by the same doctor. Well he retire and I torn my meniscus and did damage to my ACL and PCL. The new Dr. that took over for him cleaned things up and I was fitted for a custom brace. Not one of these worthless ones but the high dollar stuff. I wear it when I race or snowboard now just for precautions. It's been 10 years since the surgery and I haven't had any trouble since. If I know I'll be abusing my legs I wear it. Can it be a pain yes. But it beats being laid up with another surgery. The brace give me peace of mind and allows me to use my legs how God intended.