I have it seems injured my knee by crouching down - when I went to get back up it locked then became very painful inhibiting my walking.  Since then if I do any long walks it becomes very painful at the back of the knee into the top of the calf and will lock up in bed; rest from walking seems to ease the symptoms; I am able to cycle without any detrimental effects. 

 I was referred to physio who thought it was a bakers cyst.  Xrays showed nothing amiss however and I was referred to a specialist who said that his feeling was it is a torn cartilage and that an arthroscopy would confirm this.  I have asked for an MRI, however, although he has put me on the list for one, his opinion is that if the mri shows nothing then he will still have to do an arthroscopy to see whats wrong.  I did ask him the recovery time after an arthroscopy and he stated 2 weeks however I have since seen statements on the internet that recovery can be 8 weeks...as a self employed therapist who also loves walking and cycling that would be pretty nightmarish for me!! 

Has anyone out there had an arthroscopy of the knee and can you tell me the implications with regards to being able to exercise and work afterwards - how affective is it for a torn cartilage, how long is recovery, is there any alternative...for example if I cycle more and do exercise to build up my knee muscles would that enable me to avoid an operation.

Any experiences or advice would be really appreciated.

I don't know if you have the same I had but I'll tell you of my experience.  I'm not sure what I did to my knee but (I found out later) I had apparently got some loose cartilage floating around and it caused my knee to become very stiff.  I'd have to physically straighten it after sitting before I could get up and walk.  I had no freedom of movement in it and had to shuffle.  Also my leg ached right up to my hip.  I couldn't lie on it at night as the ache was dreadful and slept with a pillow between my knees.  The more I exercised the worse it got.  I ended up taking the quickest routes and didn't take one extra step I didn't have to.  Living in London I had a problem with the tubes and up and down the steps, so started bus travel - couldn't drive.  

Somehow I knew it would right itself in its own time.  This went on for about 7 months.

 One day I was climbing the stairs (luckily at home) and something in my knee snapped.  The pain was eye watering and I couldn't put any weight on it for about 4 days.  However, this was the beginning of the healing process as I got complete movement back.  It was a very gradual process over a few months getting the strength back.  The final step was to have shiatsu done - within a few sessions the resulting weakness in my knee went.  I have absolutely no problem with my knee now - the whole experience is a distant memory.  I can't remember exactly how long the whole process took but it was somewhere between a year and 18 months to get completely better. 

Oh, I forgot to mention.  I didn't take pain killers for most of this time as I don't like pill popping.  However, I was favouring my other leg and my whole body was out of alignment and my hips were starting to ache.  I decided to take pain killers and I think the fact that I was walking normally was what caused the "snapping" in my knee and the beginning of the healing.

Good luck and I certainly hope that you have a quicker result than I did.

Sue 

Hi

An Arthroscopy of the knee is a minor procedure although, of course, it does require an anaesthetic. Can be used to just have a look, do a washout, remove pieces of torn cartilage of repair ligament damage. Usually done as a day case and recovery is very quick. If you are fit well and healthy it should give minimal problems. You should be able to be back in work very quickly and back doing your hobbies, especially the cycling, within a couple of weeks if not sooner, as this in itself is a good partial weight-bearing exercise. Yes the sites on the internet state a 6 week rehab period, but this is until full recovery and you should be able to increase your activities during this period and, depending on the Therapy that you give, should be back in work after a week. The tissues that have been damaged in order to insert the arthroscopic instruments will take 6 weeks to heal, all healing takes this length of time, but the damage is mimimal as the insruments are so small.

If you watch Strictly Come Dancing, BBC in UK, Phil Tuffnell had an arthroscopic procedure to remove torn cartilage, on a Tues I think, and was back on the dance floor in a couple of days. Maybe not totally ideal but obviously doable.

I would cut out the MRI and just go for it. If the cartilage is torn it is unlikely to heal itself. It can sometimes be repaired, but this option lessens the older we get and the rehab period would be longer. It will probably worsen if left. 

I have not had this myself but as a Physio have treated them, but these days we actually see very few Menisectomies, only those where there has been a problem. 99.9% of people are able to get on with it themselves after having been given advise before discharge. Before the days of arthroscopies this was a major procedure, very painful and needing loads of rehab over 8 to 12 weeks.

Do not be too concerned but good luck anyway.

Gill

I had what sounds like a similar injury to the knee and was about to have the arthroscopy when I decided to visit an osteopath instead.  After the first session, my knee was back to normal.  I don't know what she did but I suspect the torn bit of cartilege was manipulated back into the knee and I have had no problems since, after being in quite a lot of pain for over a year. Quite miraculous really.  I'd give an osteopath a go first.

All the best,

Lili

as a chiropractor in the U.S. we work on this type of knee condition all the time with good results. If you do opt for surgery we use micro current electrical therapy by means of the alpha-stim 100 unit daily 4 weeks before surgery and daily immediately after surgery. This can cut recovery time by 50%. check them out at www.alpha-stim.com

I had this over 9 years ago where my right knee would lock up unexpectedly and discovered a flap of torn cartilage was the cause. Was advised that I would have a long wait for an MRI and had key hole surgery. Two weeks off work from my desk job and kept up with the physio. Had the other knee done 6 months later with the same results. Running is painfull but swimming,walking and cycling along with other every day activities is fine. Still glad that I had it done but know your new limits and forget karate!

 All the best, Neil

I had a tear in my left lateral meniscus many years ago after trying to move a 7' sideboard with my knees (don't say it!). I opted to see my orthopaedic surgeon privately, as he was a knee specialist doing trials in the healing of cartilage. I agreed to try his route, although I was aware the healing might be longer, as I didn't want surgery of any sort. It was a long-ish and (at times) painful process that mostly involved very specific physiotherapy exercises - cycling would NOT be encourage for that period of time, but any exercise that builds up the quads is. The end result after a few months, was that when comparing the X-ray of the original tear, with the X-ray after several months of physio, it showed very clearly that the tear had indeed 'knitted' up very well. I can honestly say I've NEVER had a problem with that knee since, and I've done a lot of sport, including squash and other knee-intensive activities.

The brilliant surgeon I saw was Mr. Charles Lightowler, who was based in the Shenfield area at the time, but I imagine he has retired now. When I saw a local orthopaedic surgeon recently (for a totally different problem), he hadn't heard of this approach, so I'm assuming that Mr. Lightowler didn't finish his trials for some reason. What I do know, is that I definitely HAD a torn cartilage, and it definitely HEALED itself over a period of a few months.

If I were in your position I would have absolutely no hesitation in doing what I did all those years ago, and just build up my quads without putting too much pressure on the knee ligaments themselves. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

Thank you everyone for your replies...a mixed bag however you've set my mind at ease a little, the thought of the op doesnt seem so daunting now!  Still pondering cancelling the MRI and just going for the op...the osteopaths treatment sounds miraculous I have to say :)

I had an arthroscopy for a torn cartilage in 1997. Recovery from the operation itself was impressively fast, around 2 weeks, but the pain for which the operation was done was worse afterwards! I was assured that it would ease, but it didn't appear to. So as a total accupunture sceptic I tried a course of accupuncture, I think around 6-8 sessions, and I've yet to have a problem with it so far. I've since run 2 marathons, and many, many other long races. I'm a very keen fell walker and cyclist. I no longer run but that's another story nothing to do with knees.

I'm an accupuncture convert.

 Good luck 

I work in sports medicine and physical therapy in the US.  I've seen loads of people who have had 'scopes for meniscus injuries.  First, we as a profession (doctors and therapists) aren't great at diagnosing meniscus tears.  I've seen several cases each in which a tear was ruled out then one was found upon 'scope or one was diagnosed then couldn't be found.  Many of our manual tests to identify meniscus tears are unreliable and the MRI could be equivocal--probably not worth the risk.  Regarding recovery, it could be short if the torn section of meniscus is removed.  Or, if it is repaired (sutured, tacked, or darted down) the recovery could be longer and you would probably be non-weight-bearing for several weeks to protect the repair.

Good luck,

Brian 

Individuals react and recover differently some people will recuperate within a few weeks others will take longer, I have always been fit through cycling and running. I tore my lateral minuscus whilst running and had  the repair done via arthroscopy, I had extensive physio but it was 6 months before I had fully recovered i.e. no swelling at all after exercise. If yuo can avoid surgery go for it.

also good hydration, good nutrition, especially lean white meat & fish with lots of greens, & keeping circulation optimised:

ginger or rosemary teas

ginger, black pepper & lavender essential oils in arnica & comfrey oil is beneficial applied topically:

http://www.tlcinabottle.co.uk/dem_bones.html

 good luck, warm wishes, Nicolle

have you tried homeopathic treatment? it can be quite successful in these types of cases - have you debris in there? (the anthroscopoy flushes the debris out)  this could lead to athritis in later life if you don't attend to it now. there are great  h'pathic remedies & tissue salts that are very useful. - check at you local health store - there are often adverts for h'paths there.

 

regards

S J Davies

One helpful treatment I have used for many years for myself and others,is to wrap a cold wet cloth (wrung out) around the joint, cover with a plastic bag (like a sandwich bag) cover this witha warm cover (like the cut off sleeve of an  old wool jumper, and let it sweat the joint overnight for several nights. Swelling and pain should reduce rapidly.This was taught to me by an old osteopath and has proved invaluable for damaged or swollen joints over the years.

Is it your meniscus you have damaged?  I've been told by a sports physio that I've worn a hole in my hyaline cartilage (through running) and that this doesn't repair itself.  Does anyone have any advice on this?