I know how you feel HR - I've come to terms with the fact that I'll never run again and I'll concentrate on cycling to keep the fitness up.
I see my consultant on Friday for a follow up but I can't see anything changing as he said the only option left is a knee replacement which he wouldn't consider for some time anyway!
I originally had a meniscoscopy, which was unsuccessful so he decided to try again but while he was in there, he abraded (?) some of the articular cartilage from the medial femoral condyle as there was some OA which he thought the microfracture might benefit. There were about 15 punctures but the first I knew of the procedure was when I came round. I was given some basic physio info relevant to the meniscoscopy but none for the MF apart from flex the knee occasionally. That's when I googled it and saw all sorts of contradictory info. I contacted the consultant and he just said no impact weight bearing (running) for 8 weeks but apart from that carry on as normal. The upshot is, I'm 4 months post procedure and not a lot better off.
At the follow up visit he said he'd make no decision for at least 9 or 12 months but the only option left is a knee replacement.
Hi Nick and thanks for your reply. I hope your recovery is going well and that you'll soon be back running. The surgery hasn't significantly improved my knee and I can walk with slight discomfort for about a mile and then it gradually gets more and more uncomfortable but I couldn't possibly run on it. I have started biking though as I need to exercise and that is great in that I can bike for ages with no discomfort and it did help the mobility slightly too.
I agree with you about the conflicting information. I was given almost no info at all about recovery so googled it and scared myself to death about what I shouldn't be doing, so I contacted my consultant and he was adamant that the sooner I got mobile and got weight bearing the better it would be, which conflicted with all that I was reading!
I see him again next month and it will be interesting to hear what he says about my recovery.
HY4 - initially I had some meniscal cartilage trimmed but that wasn't successful, so they trimmed some more and also did a procedure called microfracture on the articular cartilage for some osteo arthritis but several weeks in I'm no better off. The consultant won't do anything for at least 9 months and the only thing left is a knee replacement.
I can walk the dog ok for about a mile or so then it starts to get painful. The bike ride this morning was ok on the knee though, so that's a good thing
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