Knee surgery

[mikejdm]

I’m guessing some of you have been through this or seen fellow training partners go through it. The knee that has been giving me fits for years finally gave up. Honestly I’m glad so now they can go in and fix it. Nothing that bad but a nasty meniscus tear and some other cartalidge damage. Thank goodness no ACL or MCL issues.

The good news is that I’ve been training hard up until it finally went 2 weeks ago and got on crutches right away on the advice of my wife. I’m in the best shape I’ve been in for a long time as well.

For those of you familar with this what sort of recovery time were you looking at before you could go hard again with KM training? Any advice you can give based on your experience? People I work with have had this done and tell me they are back to doing everything they did before pretty quickly. However I work for a power company and their idea of intense exercise is walking a few miles. Not quite as intense as what we put ourselves through.

Thanks for any and all replies.

[carpecanis]

Re: Knee surgery

I had surgery for a snapped ACL a few years back… there was no other damage in my case.

Post surgery I had about 6 months of physical therapy before getting back into Krav Maga and even then I was wearing a brace while easing myself back in for another 6 months. Took about a year to feel fully confident in my kicking but now I don’t really have any issues.

For a pure meniscus tear I’m not quite sure what the repairs and recovery will entail. As will all such things I’d listen to what your doctor tells you and follow his PT protocol to the letter. The recovery will fly by quicker than you’d think.

I’d recommend that you try to track down a physical therapist that has some knowledge of sports recovery and martial arts in particular. When I hit the 3-4 month stage of PT it was time for “sport specific” training and the PTs I’d been seeing essentially washed their hands of the whole thing saying that they didn’t know anything about martial arts. Luckily I was able to track down a PT who’s also a TKD blackbelt so he was able to work w/ me on getting ready to round-house kick again.

One last thing: since you’ll probably have to ice your knee a lot post-surgery, see if you can get one of these Donjoy Iceman things:

http://www.donjoy.com/index.asp/fuseaction/products.detail/cat/12/id/101

It’s a little cooler that you fill with ice and water and it pumps the cool water around your knee constantly. The ice will last 6-8hrs and is a heck of a lot easer than dealing w/ icepacks.

[tzrider]

Re: Knee surgery

If the meniscal tear is on the outer third of the meniscus, it might heal. If it’s deeper in, the best you can expect is the surgeon can clean it up to remove flaps and debris and help prevent the tear from getting worse.

I have a tear that occurred about 15 years ago as I was bouldering. The move required me to press up with one leg from a position where the knee joint was folded as tight as it went. The pressure was too great for the meniscus and I heard a pop. The knee locked, and that’s been a persistent symptom ever since, despite two surgeries.

A year or so after the first surgery, I was ice climbing in Telluride and was about 300′ up Bridalveil Falls, turning a roof, when the thing locked again. It took a free hand to straighten my leg without injuring it further, so I found myself dangling by one ice tool with both feet off the ice and the other hand fiddling with my leg. As soon as I had my other tool back in hand, I resolved to make an appointment for another attempt at repair.

I was also roadracing motorcycles at the time and working as a coach for a riding school. I had a three week gap between a race weekend and the next school date. We booked an appointment for surgery the day after the race. The surgeon felt the procedure went well and was confident the knee would not lock again. The good news is I was ready to coach (ride) for the next school. The bad news was the knee locked again two months after the surgery.

In my case, there hasn’t been any pain associated with the injury. The issue has been that the joint locks. If I try to force it open, it will clearly hurt and probably injure something. There is little reason to think more surgeries will help, so I’ve learned to avoid the position that provokes the knee to lock. This is an issue with Krav training, especially ground work.

Be clear about the objective for the surgery and have the surgeon set your expectations about the probable outcome and what (if any) limitations he thinks you may have. If my experience is anything to go by, be prepared for him to be wrong.

My point isn’t to be Debbie Downer, but to suggest that you ask tough questions, encourage blunt answers and prepare yourself for aggressive but careful rehab. You may be able to do most of what you want to fairly quickly, but if the doctor or PT tells you to go easy on some movements for a while, heed them. If it’s an outer tear that has a chance of healing it will take time. If it’s an inner tear, it’s likely a life changing thing and you should be prepared to adapt a bit.

Chances are you’ll still be able to do what you do now with perhaps small changes to certain movements. I still climb, ski, ride motorcycles and train in Krav. I’ll be 50 in a month.

[mikejdm]

Re: Knee surgery

Thanks for the info. I’ll ask those questions.

[sicpuppy]

Re: Knee surgery

If I may add…

Tendons and ligaments heal slowly, if at all.

I ruptured my biceps tendon while lifting a 5 gallon water cooler jug. That was 13 years ago and I still wear an arm brace.

Be extremely suspect of what the doctor says. Get a 2nd opinion from a respected surgeon. Get a 3rd opinion, whatever- just do not accept whatever a doctor says. I did not know any better and I am hosed for life.

Good luck!

[mikejdm]

Re: Knee surgery

Thanks again for the replies. They are very helpful. One thing I did do was find the one guy in town that specilizes in orthepedic surgery for athletes. Not that I’m some stellar athlete but above average and I wanted someone that would hopefully understand what my goals are for recovery. Second opinions are never a bad thing though.

[ktflaur]

Re: Knee surgery

Hi Mike,

I am back training after a 3 yr layoff after acl reconstruction (my choice). so I’ve gone really slow and carefully. However just recently my knee popped again but it did not give out this time. I havent had an mri yet.. I took care of it, and am still in classes. I would advise to continue to wear your brace even when you come back to classes. I was wearing my acl brace when it happened and just decided I wasn’t going to let it stop me anymore.. Meniscus surgery is usually a very successfull surgery and I wouldn’t let it stop me after I had recovered.. Don’t get discouraged!

[garddawg]

Re: Knee surgery

I had most of the meniscus removed from my right knee 10 years ago and have had little trouble with it. I had no need of physical therapy and could fully open and close the joint within a few days. I went through phase training and all the way through my brown belt test with no problem. Last year at age 52 I squatted 350 and deadlifted 450 at a bodyweight of 165.

I suspect you will have little trouble, good luck.

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