Torn cartildge and arthritis whatever next

Hi all

I have had a knee problem since the beginning of july.. Initially i sort of ignored it in the hope that RICE would make it go away.. it didn't

I then went to a sports injuries clinic where i was told that my pelvis was out of line and had some manipulation to supposedly cure it..no joy...just ended up with backache.

Then saw a different sportstherapist who said i had a strained ligament..after taking a history etc she said that i should expect it to still be hurting as 'if you go over on your ankle you are aware of it for a long time after'

You may wonder why i didn't see my GP at this point. Past experience had shown me that my GP knows nothing at all about sportdsinjuries so i had gone straight to a sports injury clinic and paid privatly.

Anyway as i thought i was being a wimp i went for a 4 mile run..knee was very   ermm tight..is the best word to describe it but i managed the run. The trouble came the next day when i woke up. I could hardly move my knee at all and couldn't put any weight through it. I subsequently went to A+E was referred to knee clinic, had an MRI scan and am now on the list for an arthroscopy.

The consultant was awful, he had no bedside manner and yes i am going to put a complaint. I had my appointment with him this monday. He sat the whole time typing on his pc, didn't make eye contact, simply looked at the results of the scan and said. 'it's as we thought, you need an operation and you ahve some arthritis too, it'll be under general anaesthetic, the waiting list is up to 14 weeks.' and with that a nurse tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to follow her.

I of course said 'wait a minute,' which interrupted the consultant who had already started talking into his dictaphone facing the other way. there were issued i wanted to talk to him about, I started to ask about painkillers and just got 'you'll have to speak to your GP' and ushered out of the room.

So here i am still in pain, waiting for an appointment for some kind of op on my knee, not sure what exactly but i know it'll be under general. It's an arthroscopy but i don't know exactly what the problem is. I haven't been given any information whatsoever regarding how long i will need off work, what they expect the recover to be like etc etc

So today i went to see my GP about some analgesia and there starts another horror story which i won't bore you with but suffice to say i didn't get to see a GP because they cocked up my appointment so now i have to wait for another appointment next monday.

I'm well confused!! and annoyed!! and in pain!!!

Anyone had an arthroscopy?? anyone still running when they have arthritis??

If you had an MRI you are entitled to a copy of the radiologists' report that goes with it. That should tell you what the MRI showed. I believe that MRI scans are only 95% reliable when it comes to diagnosing knee injuries. Arthroscopy is 100% reliable for diagnosis so if the MRI did show something is amiss, then arthroscopy is the best way to confirm this and (hopefully) fix it at the same time.

I had arthroscopy four weeks ago for a partial meniscectomy (removal of torn piece of meniscus) and I'm back running again already (a little bit). How soon you can get back running (or back to work) depends on what your exact problem is, how good your recovery is and also how good your surgeon is. In my case the surgeon saw me for a follow-up after two weeks. That is when you will know what the longer term prognosis is. It helps massively if you can maintain muscle strength in your legs between now and the surgery.

If it turns out that you do have arthritis then you might have to restrict your running in the longer term interests of your knee health.

Let me know if you have any questions.

hi splodge

i had arthroscopy for tear last year with spinal anaesthetic. i have been told i have arthritis in that knee and was advised to cut down my running.

i heeded advice and did just that. i bought a road bike and cycle on the days that i dont run. i dont feel too far off my fitness pre arthroscopy.

i did also find a trainer afterwards to help with rehab which i found helpful and am also going down the chi running route at the moment.

hope this of some help to you

 I have had 3 cartilage operations over the years and following the first (10 years ago) was told i have arthritis in my knee and to stop playing rugby and play hockey instead! Didn't make sense at the time either . Last year the consultant said that his knees were in a better condition than mine and we were similar age and he also said that i had snapped my cruciate ligament but that was an old injury(don't remember doing that!) and had arthritis. He was carry on what you are doing and we will see you for a knee replacement in the future. so i made the decision to take care of my knees by taking supplements (gluscomanie sulphate), cod liver oil and lost weight. But carried on running

Since the summer have started doing squats and my mileage is up to 30-35 mile a week in preparation for London. would i recommend it?  Well i enjoy running and keeping fit and it allows me to see and experience things my overweight peers dream of. So do i wrap my in cotton wool and wait- NO way!! who knows what tomorrow brings and i rather be active now because i believe this will keep being active for longer in the future. the research backs up this ad hoc thinking!!

Anyway there are still loads of things i want to to do in terms of races and places to visit in terms of running .

So i am running