Knee Operations-rehab

tim White


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I'm booked for a knee arthroscopy in February to have a piece of cartilage removed, any idea how long before walking, running, driving. I seem to get a wide variation in answers every time I ask the question.
 

FlipFlop


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I had a similar op many years ago, and walked out of hospital (on crutches), and within 3 days was driving again. Can't remember how long to go running, but would suggest you speak to the consultant to ask. Also know of others who have had to wait longer - I would guess it's on a case by case nature, base don the actual severity of the op, and how quickly you heal.
 

Toby Warren


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Tim

Good luck with the op, I had a similar op 2 summers ago, I had some cartilage removed / tidied up and had some work done on my medial ligament.

In terms of rehab I was out of the hospital 2.5 hours after the op. I found that it was about 7-10 days before I was doing anything other than gentle exercises.

I was driving within 2-3 days (but the op was on my left knee and I changed my Company car to an automatic) driving manual about 10 -14 days later.

Walking (without crutches) took about 14 days - I found that the knee was weight bearing straight away so it was hard not to walk before then.

In terms of running as a second row it is still open to some debate as to whether I have actually run since!

It was about 4-6 weeks before I could run at full pace and another 4 weeks till I had confidence in turning and stopping on teh left knee.

Overall operation happened in July I was playing league rugby mid November (and could have ref'd earlier). - But had to work VERY hard to get there.

Good luck with your op
 

Simon Thomas


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Tim
It depends on exactly what the surgeon does, how bad the internal impact is, what bits of cart are being trimmed / removed, your age and general body recovery metabolism.
It could be anything from 4 to 12 weeks.
Hope all goes well.
 

OB..


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When I was living in the USA, one of my rugby friends had arthroscopy. He also had a flashy sports car and when we had a visit from an English touring side, his house guest was longing to drive it.

The opportunity came after one game when the host knew he had drunk too much, so the guest climbed in the front while the host spread himself out in the space behind the two seats.

As they bombed along the parkway at 70 mph (speed limit 50 mph), the host suddenly realised they were about to overshoot their exit. The driver responded very quickly, cutting across 2 lanes of traffic. Including a police car.

Naturally the policeman recognised the driver was English, and gave credence to the story that in England the speed limit on motorways was 70. As the owner struggled to get out, his knee surgery (he was wearing shorts) was obvious. The cop assumed this was why the Englishman was driving, but asked if the host was able to drive. "Yes, if I am careful" was the response.

So the drunk player was ordered by the police to drive the rest of the way home. "Have a nice day."

(Not of any help to you at all, I'm afraid.)
 

beckett50


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Tim, your consultant should give you all the answers.

However, it is also down to how good si your pysio and whether he/she has had any sports physio experience. If not probably best to try and get one that has. They may also recommend hydrotherapy. Basically it is walking/runing in a swimming pool.

Good because your body weight is supported by the water, so no great stress on the knee joint, and also because the joint is being exercised and under resistance too (against the force of the water)

Enjoy:biggrin:
 
C

CenTexRef

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huge considerations are your age, fitness level, natural healing ability and tolerance for pain (in the rehab process). the younger and fitter you are, normally - the quicker you can recover. i'm a "quick healer", but at my advanced age (41), i'm sure it'd take me quite a bit longer to recover from something major than it would have when i was 25 or 30. i had a MAJOR knee operation when i was barely in my teens and it took months and months (actually well over a year) even being that young. of course, surgical procedures have come a LONG way since then, meaning that recovery times have sped up a bit.

my rambling in no way answers your question!!
 

Agustin


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I had knee surgery (ACL reconstruction and a fair bit of meniscal repair) last January 30 and I was able to jog short distances (less than 50m) by June. I credit the fast recovery to a few things:

1. I worked hard on the stationary bike in the couple of months leading up to the surgery.

2. I had a very good surgeon who all but eliminated inflammation in my knee by leaving a drainage tube in the knee overnight.

3. I worked very hard on range of motion exercises in the first week following the surgery.

4. I had a very good physiotherapist.

So the best advice I can give to you is to be diligent in your rehab, and that you will be surprised by how much you will be helped by any work you do before the surgery.

Good luck to you!
 

tevisv


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Tim,
I had a left LCL release and cartilage shave when I was 16 (31 now). Walking w/o crutches in 7 days and back to football (gridiron) training exactly 21 days later. Therapy started 2 days post op and I had a very rigorous therapy program to get me back going. But when I broke my ankle in '01, recovery was damn near 10 mths and that was w/o ligament damage! Then again, I did break it in 3 spots. Good luck in your recovery and listen to the phsyio folks.
 
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