5 days til knee surgery..have questions

[kmagnuss]

To say the least, my knee is a train wreck.
On Thursday I'm having a new ACL put in, lateral miniscus repaired, medial miniscus repaired, and microfracture surgery to repair 2.5 cm of torn cartilidge.
I'm okay with the ACL and the minisci deals, but I'm a little wary of the microfracture surgery and how it might affect my weight lifting. Have any of you guys had it done? If so, are you back to normal on your squats, deads, etc...? I haven't been able to do them since I injured it back in May, but I'm excited to do them again and put some weight back on.

At the very least I'm going to be out of the weight room for 6-8 weeks (grrrrr) , as I can't put any weight on my knee for that time. And I'm pretty sure I can't do any weightlifting on that knee for 6-8 months.


Thanks guys...

[Mr_Banger]

good luck

hopefully u will still be able to do enough seated lifting to stop you losing too much muscle

[ZenMonkey]

Good luck man! Keepin my fingers crossed for a speedy recovery

[Brian Hopper]

Good Luck!!!

[twm]

best of luck in surgery and recovery... let us know

[kmagnuss]

Had the surgery today. Not much fun guys, I have to say.

When the Dr. gave me my results for the MRI a few weeks ago, he said he was surprised that I was able to walk. After the surgery today, he told my wife he was amazed I could walk. The reason being is that my femur had a spider web fracture that looked like a hard boiled egg after being dropped, and flattened. Also, I had much more than the thought 2.5 cm of torn cartilidge.

Well, here's the bad news...no more squatting or deadlifts. Ever. It really sucks, because I know for a fact that these two excercises are what made me put on my weight and strength so fast. So that sucks... but in the end it could be much much worse.

So I'll go more in depth with the doc on Saturday and figure out what I can and can't do for leg work. From what I understand, the more I use it, the sooner I'll have to have knee replacement surgery. At 32 years old, I really don't want to get that any time soon, as it's a temporary fix also. I really don't want to go back to being a curl jockey.

Oh well... thanks for the encouraging words guys. Be safe.

-Mag

[Mr_Banger]

sorry to hear that mate


how did you get the initial injury? did it happen while lifting or was it a progressive injury that got worse over time?

[kmagnuss]

Nah... I had torn my acl a couple years ago wakeboarding. Then I did the rest about 5 months ago while playing basketball... just cutting hard.

[Justin R]

Does your ortho have sports medicine experience, or a regular doc? Obviously your knee will be more prone to re-injury to a healthy knee, but telling you not to do basic leg exercises is a bit much imo. Tons of athletes have come back from major knee reconstructions, and are stronger/faster than ever afterward.

My buddy absolutely destroyed his knee 2 years ago this Oct, full PCL replacement and more. He went to one of the best sports medicine orthos in Florida(NFL ortho at one point) He was put in to brutal PT almost as soon as he had the brace off and is currently squatting 285 @ 180 lbs can do pistols, heavy 1 leg squats, or anything else he wants, and plays rugby again.

Obviously a doctor knows best, as every injury is different, but you may want to get a second opinion from a ortho with sports medicine experience if yours does not.(not that he is not fully capable, but might not have as much experience rehabing athletes)

Good luck with your recovery!

[Mr_Banger]

it cant hurt to get a second opinion

[kmagnuss]

The thing with microfracture surgery is this: They basically drill and chisel a bunch of fractures into the end of the femur to allow marrow to ooze out into the knee joint. After time this marrow hardens and becomes a sort of synthetic cartilidge. That's why I can't put any weight on it for 6-8 weeks...because if I did, it would all just get pushed out of the joint like some toothpaste.

Yes, the Doc is a sports medicine doctor. I will be doing some intense PT starting tomorrow, but no resistance until the 6-8 weeks is up. After that resistance will be added. Here's the deal though...I can squat and DL all I want eventually, but it WILL fail again...it's just a matter of time. The heavy squatting and DL's will make it fail much, much sooner than it would otherwise.

[Justin R]

That microfracture surgery sounds brutal. Hope they gave you some good drugs!

I see what you mean. It all comes down to personal preference, risk vs reward and such. I'm sure you will be able to find a solution that works for you with your lower body work.

[Mr_Banger]

i wouldnt risk it personally, sounds like a pretty intense few months you are in for with recovery

[primal21]

Good look with all of this man

[Kastro]

Had the bottom of my femur completely crushed and reconstructed. No ACL left either. Sounds similar. I still squat heavy, and without trouble.

[CrazyK]

Good luck and take heed to the doctor's advice on recovery. I had surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor that left 6 stiches on my upper pelvis and started lifting weights weeks before I was supposed to because "it felt ok". I ended up blowing out two of the stitches doing squats and was bleeding all over the place. Don't be a highly educated idiot like I was