Arthoscopic knee surgery - recovering

[doubletwist]

So I learned today that due to a knee injury way back in 1992 [dislocated patella], that over time, things have gotten worse.

 

There's a small bony fragment floating around in my knee, the patella has pressure pushing it up against one of my bones, and I've got "avascular necrosis", which means part of my bone isn't getting any blood. The doctor says he's surprised I can walk, let alone do martial arts.

 

So I'm scheduled for some arthoscopic knee surgery to try to take care of things. My question is, can anyone who's had something like this done give me an idea of what the recovery is like. The doc said possibly 8-12 weeks recovery, but I don't know if that means I'm on crutches for that long, or what.

 

Will I be able to attend classes [maybe no kicking ,focus on hand & flow techniques or something], or will I be sitting on my @ss for 2-3 months? [At least I have a nice easy desk job ]

 

Thanks for any info.

 

DT

[Shorin Ryuu]

Well, just to give you a brief rundown on how my knee surgery/recovery went.

 

I had an torn ACL for two years, then I finally got a patellar tendon graft. For the first three weeks, I was on crutches. I don't recall exactly, but it was perhaps around 2 months out that I was doing some kata, very slowly, and taking my knee into consideration. It was probably about 2 1/2 months before I could actually start jogging forwards at more than a crawl. Probably about 3 1/2 months till I could run distance and speed.

 

Now, here's the other part. Most days (maybe a day or two off a week), I was also doing physical therapy about 5-6 hours a day. A lot of it was very low intensity (although with my knee, it sure felt like high intensity) over, and over, and over again. Fortunately, I was able to do this and still watch class from the sidelines (which I recommend, since you can still learn a lot from just watching a class). However, many people would probably be hard-pressed to find the time to do that and their necessary physical therapy. I simply can not stress enough how important the physical therapy is to your recovery. Above all else, I would say even more than going to class, spend time doing your physical therapy. Worst case scenario (And this wouldn't happen, but I'm using it for the sake of example), if you didn't go to class for 6 months and only did your physical therapy, you would be far better off than if you sacrificed physical therapy time for class.

 

Fortunately, your knee surgery won't be anywhere near as extensive as mine, from what it sounds like, but start your therapy now (before the surgery) and really hit the ground running (well, crutching) in terms of your therapy right after it. I started the same day I had surgery.

 

I'm really stressing the point of therapy because I think it is that important.

[kimura_guy]

well I had arthroscopic surgery to my left knee to remove some cartilage. I was on crutches for about 2 1/2 weeks. After that, it was about another week till I could walk normally (bending my knee). I was kinda stiff legged walking with my brace on. No major complaints afterward. The plus side is I can tell you when its gonna rain, LOL.

[delta1]

I havn't had anything like what you describe. But I've hadseveral leg injuries, and I have to agree with, and emphasize, what Shorin Ryuu said about physical therapy. Stick with it and do as they tell you. I've found that you never completely recover from seriouse injuries. But you can minimizethe long term dammage. Conversely, you can make it worse. Trust me, it's better to put up with the pain and agrivation now than deal with a more seriouse condition later. And don't be in a big roaring hurry to get back on the mats! Err on the side of caution while recovering and while working back into training.

 

Fortunately you do American Kenpo, so there is still a lot you can do now. Go to classes and observe. Take notes. Read as much of the EPAK literature as you can get ahold of. Work on your personal notebook of techniques. Class is also a good place to do some of the exercises your physical therapist or doctor might give you. It's an environment you are used to working out and stretching in, and it will make you feel more involved than just a spectator.

 

Try not to think of this as just downtime, but rather an opportunity to observe (a lot of third party perspective), and to work on the mental parts of the art. Possibly start to meditate. Keep yourmind and, as much as possible your body, actively engaged in Kenpo.

 

Hope it all works out well for you. Good luck!

[P.A.L]

I just injured my knee last week, while sparring it poped and i fell down after one week i went back to class again it poped, it is not swelling ,also no pain , but i can't bend it like before, this second popping scared me i put a a brace on and going to doctor ASAP, i hope it is not my minescus(spl?)

 

I think you should take it easy, it took me 7 months to heal a febula(spl?) since i was practicing on it.

[kimura_guy]

That is what I had, meniscus (sp?) and torn ligaments......And I had that popping in my knee also......Good Luck

 

KG

[Hudson]

I have no ACL. Oh well. I was in a brace for a while, but I had a great physical therapist, and my knee has not given me problems since. And it's been a while.... a long while.

[Guest]

I have also torn my ACL, They did a lot of work and i was out of serious sports for about 6 months after that i never had a problem with the knee, until i found out that i overworked it too soon (i started pushing the sports earlier than i probably should have) I then had an arthoscopy to clean out all the scar tissue and bone chips caused by my enthusiasm. After that surgery i was up and back to normal in 3 weeks. My advice is take it slow and listen to how your body responds. Good luck

[doubletwist]

Thank you for all the advice and info. I will of course let everyone know how it goes. [scheduled for Jan 20th]. My instructor says he's got some good hand-technique stuff for me to work on that I can do sitting in a chair or whatever, so I will still be going to the dojo, just not moving much.

 

DT