return from microfracture - WHEN???

**lizardqueen** · 01-14-2008, 10:22 PM

OK, I knew my performance in the [w]nba would be subpar this year, but my surgeon and PTs told me December would be the month I could ski! I stepped up rehab a smidge as prep, which managed to set me way back.

didn’t seem like too much of a departure from my pt routine, felt fine as I was doing it - kickboxing [kicking air, not objects or people], an exercise class which turned out to have minimal running+jumping, which I did very carefully and it was in a studio, not a big track! then the yoga-light I’ve been doing, which doesn’t at all involve the contortions I used to enjoy so much. when I got to least impactful activity known to man - water aerobics - I couldn’t even do the underwater jumping jacks, it felt like my knee bones were knocking each other. incredibly painful, and the sensitivity has stayed with me. So now I’m re-doing the slow road to impact + weight-bearing that I did over summer, hearing my friends tell about their heli-skiing in snowbird, and watching x-games snowboarders on tv, following that recipe for psychological meltdown.

please tell me about it if you’re back on the hill post-microfracture, I need to hear this from skiers, not basketball players!

fyi I hear little Greggy Oden’s microfracture site was the diameter of pencil eraser and my doc says mine was the size of a quarter…it’s been since April.

Liz

**Vinman** · 01-15-2008, 05:02 PM

a quarter sized articular cartilage defect is pretty big. sticky with things that don't cause pain, like pool therapy until you can progress. Have they asked about anything like suparts/synvisc (joint lube injections?)

**lizardqueen** · 01-15-2008, 11:35 PM

will ask about the knee lube when I find a new doc with a more realistic attitude about my future plans. the guy who did my surgery used to be the knicks doctor, but he sure doesn't treat me like a knick - his advice is always "never again"... no running, nothing plyometric ever, and worst of all no capoeira...not that I'm up to it now anyway. from a liability standpoint I think they tell me to do what preserves their surgical handiwork the most - no matter how many times I explain I didn't have the operation to be a display model

a friend told me the sinuvisc helps a little - and at this point I'm ready to suck down any flavor of shark cartilage I can get my hands on! have you tried it Vin?

**Vinman** · 01-16-2008, 07:58 AM

yeah I had the suparts injections about 6-7 months ago. I have grade 3-4 arthritic changes in my knee from 2 ACL reconstructions 15 and 11 years ago. It has helped my quite a bit. I could not bend my knee beyond about 125-130 deg for about a year and a half and now I have full motion.

I also have seen the lubes help other peeps like you other times not. The docs will tell you 50% of the time the lubes help.

The lubes are actullay made from rooster comb. chicken cartilage....

**JeffreyJim** · 01-16-2008, 09:59 AM

When I broke my ankle, I also had ripped up the cart. inside of it.

I went to Steadmen here in Denver, and the Doctor (Noonen) does a lot of ortho work of the various professional sports teams around here (Broncos/Rockies)

Anyway, my microfracture was done over a pretty large area as well. I can't lie, the recovery sucked. I believe it was 8 weeks before any weight bearing (keep in mind I had broken the ankle too)

After that, it was an additional 4 weeks of being in a walking boot followed by another 4-6 of limping/no running.

Thankfully, I'm big into cycling and it didn't bother me too much while riding after 12 weeks.

I'm happy to say that running 5-10K isn't a problem and skiing doesnt hurt at all.

Now I've got other issues...

**lizardqueen** · 01-17-2008, 10:43 PM

now I really want the knee lube - an action plan that doesn't mean more surgery makes chicken cartilage and rooster comb sound yummy! maybe I'll even stop removing all the non-meat chicken parts from my bar food.

J-J - I can tell your injury has healed faster than mine - I wonder if you mean skiing bumps and the terrain park doesn't hurt?

my worst fear is that the microfracture didn't do the trick and I'll have to do a paste graft. but 1st things 1st, I'm shooting for taking a snowboard lesson on the bunny hill right now.

Liz

**Vinman** · 01-18-2008, 12:46 AM

to me the paste grafting that Dr. Stone does looks promising but there isn't much lit on those yet. Unfortunately for me that isn't an option as my problem is in the trochlear groove and not on the condyle

I've had some micro fx. in my ankle that healed well. I was doing really good after about 3-4 months.

**lizardqueen** · 01-21-2008, 11:21 PM

ooh, time to learn more knee parts! I’m not sure if the microfracture was on the condyle or not - it was on a weightbearing area on the top of my tibia. honestly I didn’t even know what I had done was relatively extensive until I found out what’ll keep you out of the NBA for a year, and from posting here. oh, and possibly because I was unable to honor Dr. King by skiing today…what a waste of a long weekend. but still 3 days closer to having knee-torquing back in my life! Vin, I hope you get your trochlear groove back very soon.