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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    6

    meniscus tear recovery

    got a bucket handle to my meniscus last season and been easing onto the slopes this year. it wasnt trimmed out but repaired with sutures so the recov was longer. anyone have a similar injury and what was the recov like?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Salida, CO
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    1,976
    buddy of mine had to go back in because the it didn't take/readhere

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Under the bridge
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    2,606
    Recovery took about 18 months. 6 months later it tore again, but not totally on the suture line. Dr. took it all out at that point.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    130
    I had a flap trimmed off and a miniscal cyst sucked out that had formed from the tear. I was riding my road bike in a week, generally against doctors orders. It was pretty darn solid in 6-8 weeks, only feeling pain in the extreme range of motion. Mine was a lateral tear, medial i've been told heels faster.
    I have more skis and bikes than Facebook friends.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Salida, CO
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    1,976
    five weeks out from a mediall tear skipped surgery luckily has healed and I'm back in the saddle. been eating glucosamine msm and babying it. will ski cautiously the rest of the season...no tele..hope for the best

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Ex-Taoseño
    Posts
    12
    I had two tears in mine one medial one lateral. Lateral was in the white zone so it got trimmed. Medial was in the red so it's been stitched.

    Injury was in February and surgery in July after 3 months of pt for strengthening (along with the fact that before I finally got my MRI in June that they changed their diagnosis from a tear in my patellar tendon).

    I've really been taking it easy this season. Like really easy. 1 day a week and only about 5-6 runs per day. For some reason, I get a lot more comfort from teleing than I do from sking alpine. Don't ask me why.

    I still wear a pretty sturdy brace when I ski (I did my acl, mcl, pcl and a meniscus tear a couple of years before this). Sometimes, though, I feel like the brace is limiting the ability of the muscles to strengthen themselves.

    Best of luck on your recovery. It ain't easy, but it's got to be worth it, right?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Aspen
    Posts
    1,492
    im just going to post this in here instead of starting a new thread...

    pretty sure i did my meniscus yesterday on aspen mountain. after the crash i would estimate i rode the gondola 6-7 more times and my knee felt fine, the only time i had any kind of pain whatsoever was when i would take of my skis and start walking. i still have almost no pain until i move or twist my knee in certain ways, when that happens i get a shooting sharp pain for a split second until i instinctively take my knee out of whatever position it was in that caused the pain.

    doc appt is tomorrow, hoping some of you guys who have done this can shed some light on my situation and symptoms... does this sound familiar? maybe i just strained/sprained it?

    normally i wouldn't be too concerned since i put over 20k of hard vertical on the knee after the crash, but living in a ski town i have heard many stories of people who had a torn meniscus and never realized it until they hurt something else in their knee like an acl or whatever

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    462
    Jaytae: sounds exactly like when I tore mine last season. Took an akward fall at the beginning of a pow day and felt good enough to ski hard for the next 6+ hours. Got home and the knee was a little sore but nothing major, but the next day when I tried to go skiing it started hurting like a motherfucker, so I went to the doctor and found a torn meniscus.

    My advice is to stay off it until you can get it looked at, I did a decent amount of damage that could have been avoided had I not gone skiing that next day.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Aspen
    Posts
    1,492
    Shit... I planned on taking 4-5 days off and seeing how it felt after that when skiing before making an appointment with the ortho but it sounds like that's not a good idea. Thanks for the insight.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Aspen
    Posts
    1,492
    went to the ortho today, got x-rays and an exam done and after the exam the doc told me all of my ligaments are "rock solid" and nothing major was hurt, just a sprain/strain. stoked

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Sandy
    Posts
    5,151
    Argh. Did a nice bucket handle tear in Chamonix a few weeks ago, got the MRI and surgery consult this week. Doc is pretty sure he'll trim it unless in the unlikely event the flap looks nice and fresh, which he says rarely happens. The torn flap is stopping me from extending my knee all the way, so something has to be done.

    Any other alternatives to look into? Surgery is scheduled for Monday, I've been hobbling with a cane for 3 weeks and It's getting tiresome...
    When life gives you haters, make haterade.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    panhandle locdog
    Posts
    7,836
    My knees have always been shit since I was young. Last season I had a really bad crash with a slow twisting fall in breakable crust. Skis crossed and I released out the heels with legs in full extension. I limped around for a week and then it got better other than the fact I've had dull pain in the medial area of my knee ever since, which online self help tells me is potentially a meniscus tear. It was really bad at first but got better. It seems to get worse if I do a lot of high impact movements, such as running or jumping. Sometime squatting or lunges can cause pain too.

    Should I go see a doctor? Or is this just part of becoming an old man? (I'm 27?) I'm trying to decide how severe this is and if it's worth getting looked at.

    Anybody have experience with knee braces? Good brand/model for skiing? I tried a simple elastic brace last season but it didn't seem to do shit. Was looking at the beefier exo-cage type braces but don't know good from bad on those.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Spokane/Schweitzer
    Posts
    6,741
    I had a similar injury with the same kind of feel about 10 years ago. It was a torn medial meniscus. I had it trimmed and walked out of the outpatient surgery, was on the stationary bike in 4 days, walked golfing, carrying my bag 8 days after surgery, and skiing 4 weeks after surgery. That could have been faster but skiing wasn't open yet. If it's a tear and trim (which I would guess, based on your description), it's a pretty easy procedure for recovery. I haven't had any issues since and am happy to have gotten it done when I did. My 10 year anniversary for the surgery is the 26th of this month. You may have wanted to do this a couple of months ago, just to take advantage in the break between summer and skiing but, better late than never.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    panhandle locdog
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    7,836
    Quote Originally Posted by GoldMember View Post
    I had a similar injury with the same kind of feel about 10 years ago. It was a torn medial meniscus. I had it trimmed and walked out of the outpatient surgery, was on the stationary bike in 4 days, walked golfing, carrying my bag 8 days after surgery, and skiing 4 weeks after surgery. That could have been faster but skiing wasn't open yet. If it's a tear and trim (which I would guess, based on your description), it's a pretty easy procedure for recovery. I haven't had any issues since and am happy to have gotten it done when I did. My 10 year anniversary for the surgery is the 26th of this month. You may have wanted to do this a couple of months ago, just to take advantage in the break between summer and skiing but, better late than never.
    Good to know. I might tough it out this season and go in for surgery in the spring but seems like seeing a specialist might be worthwhile.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    idaho panhandle!
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    9,949
    Pretty much what GM said. I thought I had a meniscus tear, MRI came back neg. If it was a tear doc said a quick trim and I would be 100% by the beginning of ski seas son. Mine turned out to be slight arthritis on the inside of knee, my meniscus is thinning though. If it is not clicking or hinging, you could probably wait till the end of ski season. If it is doing those things I would've had surgery yesterday to start the rehab process and be hundred percent by beginning of December. My doctor advised me to stop running too much direct impact on the knees. More bike riding and stair mill. Lunges, squats, etc. all those lifts are fine.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    panhandle locdog
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    7,836
    Quote Originally Posted by 2FUNKY View Post
    Pretty much what GM said. I thought I had a meniscus tear, MRI came back neg. If it was a tear doc said a quick trim and I would be 100% by the beginning of ski seas son. Mine turned out to be slight arthritis on the inside of knee, my meniscus is thinning though. If it is not clicking or hinging, you could probably wait till the end of ski season. If it is doing those things I would've had surgery yesterday to start the rehab process and be hundred percent by beginning of December. My doctor advised me to stop running too much direct impact on the knees. More bike riding and stair mill. Lunges, squats, etc. all those lifts are fine.
    Hmm. I probably go see somebody. My knees sound like a rachet strap getting adjusted sometimes. That's not normal?

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    idaho panhandle!
    Posts
    9,949
    Schedule an MRI ASAP.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Spokane/Schweitzer
    Posts
    6,741
    ^^ Yup. At least assess the problem. Then you can decided timing, if not right away but, yeah, crackling knees isn't per design specification.

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