Knee surgery: meniscus, ACL, PCL

[greyghostnw]

Read the original

He came out of surgery a few hours ago….too late.

hmm.. my bad, for whatever reason read the original post how it popped up.

 

[Marbles]

Prehab before the surgery. Insurance doesn't always cover PT for that, but my understanding is it improves recovery time.

If your insurance will not pay for it, look at the [P]rehab app, buy The Prehab Guys. They have a podcast on the topic of knee surgeries to.

Good luck.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Prehab before the surgery. Insurance doesn't always cover PT for that, but my understanding is it improves recovery time.

If your insurance will not pay for it, look at the [P]rehab app, buy The Prehab Guys. They have a podcast on the topic of knee surgeries to.

Good luck.

Yeah that’s what my doc said too. They pushed me hard with BFR (blood flow restriction) the weeks leading up.

My good friend is a PT and said BFR is the way and what the student athletes use here to max effort recover. It really sucks (almost feels like it forces a leg cramp and then you have to fight through it) but ask for it if recovery time is priority and suffering a bit is ok.

 

[Marbles]

Yeah that’s what my doc said too. They pushed me hard with BFR (blood flow restriction) the weeks leading up.

My good friend is a PT and said BFR is the way and what the student athletes use here to max effort recover. It really sucks (almost feels like it forces a leg cramp and then you have to fight through it) but ask for it if recovery time is priority and suffering a bit is ok.

^this

For muscle, BFR is pretty awesome from my limited understanding of it. You can get the strength benefits of heavy weight at 10-15% load. Makes it great for muscle strength when other structures are causing off loading and can't handle heavy training.

My (again limited) understanding is with the knee, many issues come from the off loading of prime movers and resulting atrophy and weaknesses.

To the OP, don't take a projected recovery time as gospel, returning to activity should be based on your performance, and if possible decided by the PT that sees you regularly. In athletics, ACL retear rates are high due to short rehab times.

Unfortunately, due to payment structures, most rehab ends before progressing to the point needed for high intensity activity. Insurance will pay to get you walking again, but unfortunately could care less if you are ready to push hard.

 

[missjordan]

My husband had a full knee reconstruction exactly a year ago. Which also included a bone graft. He tore his ACL three times and had one previous surgery. The surgeon also scoped his other knee and repaired the MCL at the same time on that side. He was non weight-bearing for six weeks on the side with the bone graft

I would definitely get the knee fixed in one surgery as opposed to two.

His recovery was as slotted for a year and a half timeline and it definitely is on track to be that. He was in PT twice a week until most recently now he trimmed that down to once a week.

It’s been a journey and my recommendation is fix it right do your rehab and hopefully you’ll be good as new a year down the road.


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[amassi]

Read the original

hmm.. my bad, for whatever reason read the original post how it popped up.

You read correctly
Surgery was originally towards end of march
I took an earlier date via cancellation


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[Tahoe1305]

2nd day after. Attempted without heavy narcs. Went ok but did hurt most of the day. Just a few Tylenol. Likely will regret it. Still icing every hour for a bit.

Attempting more weight bearing. Leg does fine, but the mental part of it is hard because the sharp pains in the knee.

Going to attempt to work tomorrow for day three (why I attempted to come off the Oxy).

 

[amassi]

Only Tylenol today
Norco last night
Lots of ice and elevation
Can walk but mentally like having the crutch


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[Colorado Cowboy]

I have 5 replacement joints (both knees, both shoulders and an ankle) All were done after the age of 60 (83 now). All are great and still going strong. My first,, my rt knee was done 24 years ago. Get the best PT person you can get! PT is what makes the surgeons work successful. Work your butt off and recovery will be faster. I am a former college football player and I never worked as hard playing football as I did during PT. Pt is shorter timewise, but more intense!

 

[hskrhntr]

OP hope your recovery is going well.

I tore my PCL and LCL just over 20 years ago water skiing. Never got them fixed, had 20 very active years hunting the mountains, running half marathons, etc. Tore meniscus in same knee about 4 years ago. The first surgeon I went to is a doc for the US ski team and said if I was older he would recommend a knee replacement but not at my age. He said he could do the meniscus, but wouldn’t do the PCL. He said that is a very tough surgery to do and needs to be done by someone that does a lot of them. I appreciated and respected him for saying that. I went to Dr. Levy at Mayo’s in Rochester, he’s one of two that do a lot of PCLs. He said that since I was doing so well with the torn PCL before the meniscus issue that he recommended doing the meniscus only first to get me back to where I was prior to that injury and then we could always go back in and fix the PCL if needed. PCL recovery is very lengthy, no weight bearing for a number of months, 9-12 month recovery. I haven’t had to go back and have the PCL done.

If I’m understanding correctly, it looks like you just did the meniscus on this first one and you were getting along pretty well prior to that. Hopefully taking care of the meniscus will get you back close to where you were. If you do decide to get the PCL fixed I would HIGHLY recommend talking to Dr. Levy. I’d be happy to chat if you want more info. Just message me and I’ll give you my number.


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[Tahoe1305]

Day 5 update. A bit less pain, but still there (think I’m just getting used to it).

Removed the bandage at 72 hours or so. Was a tad different than I expected. Lots of sensitive big holes I found the hard way. Just wash cloth cleaned.

Had a buddy PT over last night (works with the surgeon and the athletes at my work). He wasn’t happy at all with the amount of swelling still. Asked me to flex my foot almost continuously with hope to remove some of the fluid build up. Also didn’t like the angle my knee was setting/fixed at. Maybe 15deg or so. Asked to try and tense up the quad to work on flattening it. That’s been super tough. Like my quad is non existent now.

I think they may have had a bit too tight and over wrapped bandages from the surgery. Removing them felt magical. I think they hindered the ice machine I was given and caused a bit of excess swelling. Feeling better today. PT for me starts at day 7.

 

[Ross]

Having had two acl replacements decades ago and tkr 18 months ago this is no fun. Stay positive and each day is a mental and physical journey. Good luck better days are to follow

 

[amassi]

~96 hours post
Bandage off, looks great 2 stern strips still on.
Can walk and stand without pain in my knee.
The only active pain I have is my Achilles/ calf is very tight and sore. Only knee soreness is if I let it hang off the bed.
Still icing and Motrin for swelling
Ace bandage feels good too
Going to lay low tomorrow, don’t want to overdo it.


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