Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Five and a half years after my MT, I finally raced again. I didn't run a tri, my knee and I both don't like running, so I tried an aqua-bike. You swim and bike, and that's it, so I spare my knees from the repeated pounding of a 210 pound frame training. So my wife found a race we could both do (she wanted an Olympic distance tri), and we signed up. It was a blast, I placed 2nd overall, and she was second in her age group.
Still charging.
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Hi Rich, just finished reading your entire blog from 2008 to date. I'm having a MT and articular cartilage surgery with Dr. Stone next week and your blog has inspired me to say the least. Quick question if you don't mind, did you have any issues with the alignment of your knee or did you have to go through an HTO? Or did you have any issues with your ACL?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty comfortable with the MT and articular cartilage surgeries but I am nervous as some surgeons have advised me to fix the alignment (small varus deformity of 3-4 degrees) before completing an MT.
Congrats on a great success and I hope I end up having half the success you're enjoying.
Warm regards,
Tariq
I did not have alignment issues. I had an otherwise stable knee. Week 2 sucks, I hope you are feeling alright.
ReplyDeleteHi Rich, just had my MT surgery yesterday with Dr. stone. Today feels ok with no pain really. I was warned the pain will start in day 2, hopefully it won't be too bad. Tirsh will be my PT so i guess i will be in good hands. thank you
ReplyDeleteDays 2-6 aren't good. Stay on top of the pain meds and follow Trish's instructions to the T. She is the best. Tell her I said hi.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip, its day 3 and I am def feeling it :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck, remember there will be good and bad days, but the good will soon outweigh the bad. Rehab, rehab, rehab.
ReplyDeleteThank Rich, I very much appreciate the advice. I read that you pretty much worked on your rehab 7 days a week for the first year, did you have any specific schedule that you followed? Unfortunately, I couldn't schedule appointments with Trish as she's fully booked. I'm heading into day 4 and I feel my rehab is very light with no real challenge. Any tips on rehab (which exercises to focus on? how many hours a day should i spend on rehab? should I buy a home bike?..etc) are very much appreciated. I'm always reachable on tariqbaareh@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for inspiring so many people and for being patient with all the requests and questions you receive. best, Tariq
Hi Rich, I just wanted to say thank you for this blog. Your positive attitude is something I admire. I am 21, i completely destroyed my knee last december due to a very disastrous skateboarding accident. Somehow I completely tore my acl, and mcl. My pcl and lcl also both had minor tears, but nothing that surgery could fix. Also, my lateral meniscus had to be mostly cut out. In January I had a minor surgery to clean up and get a closer look. I spent the last 6 months in rehab trying to get my knee to be somewhat functional(I had to always wear a brace when walking).
ReplyDelete5 days ago I had major surgery on my left knee. I had a lateral meniscus transplant, acl reconstruction, and mcl reconstruction. The meniscus is where I am feeling the most pain(the left side of my knee). I had a nerve blocker too, but i also had a catheter attached (which would keep it numb for 3 days). I was told by friends that acl reconstruction was excruciatingly painful but mostly all i feel is the pain from the left side of my knee. The ice machine does amazing pain relief for me. My knee looks double the size yours was. I will have to spend 6 weeks no weight bearing(on crutches), 4 more weeks wearing a brace while learning how to walk again.
Well, that's my story so far. I just wanted to say that reading this has helped me keep positive attitude. Day 4 and Day 5 have been the worse because of the lack of the nerve blocker. Maybe there is some light at the end of this very dark tunnel. I do know the meaning of working hard as you do, so i hope to see results from rehab. I hope in 5 years i can achieve close to the same results as you.
Thank you, Jonny
Hang in there Jonny...it's really early. Let your body start healing and do exactly what your PTs want. It will suck, but it will get better, and before you know it this will be one hell of story.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your 5 year anniversary I have my MT done in 1997 with Dr. Noyes in Cincinati. I had to say that I have been very lucky. After 6 months of gruelling rehab, I was pretty much pain free for the next 13 years I did give up sports but took up hiking and dancing. I did have another surgery in 2003 which removed 20% of the MT, but things have been great until the last 3 years. I now have significant arthritis again and I am trying to decide if I should have another MT or just wait for the partial knee replactment at age 50. I am 39 right now.
ReplyDeleteJason, 13 years is awesome. I hope I can get another 7. My knee has other issues, and I hope I can avoid any more cutting. I'm hoping for no knee replacement! So far I've been able to avoid arthritis...the stability I regained from having a meniscus was amazing.
ReplyDeleteGood luck.
Hi Rich, Thanks for your blog. I think I might have commented on here once before. I had a MT in 2010 and then a clean up with another doc in 2011.. Things have been ok, but I'm lacking in the quad strength area. I am now committed 7 days a week to build it as the doc says if my quads dont become stronger, I'll have symptoms again. Sadly, I'm seeing a small amount of swelling. 2 questions- 1- Did you have swelling now and again after working out? 2- Any advice for building better quads (protein drink before/after workout, etc)?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Bridget (age 31)
Bridget,
ReplyDeleteQuad strength is a tough one since traditional things like leg extensions are bad for bad knees. I still get swelling from time to time after a hard workout, but nothing too bad. Are you seeing a PT? What are you doing right now rehab wise? Send me a PM.
HI Rich,
ReplyDeleteGlad you are doing great! My question for everyone. Was it hard to get ins. reimbursement. My 16 year old daughter need a meniscus transplant and a 3rd ACL revision! She also had an osteotomy. I live in So. Cal and her ortho has only done 10. To me, that is not the experience I am looking for. I talked to Dr. Stone and we anticipate going up there this summer but first I am trying to figure out my reimbursement. Any help or advice would be welcomed. This will be her 5th knee surgery. Hurt in 2012 at a soccer game.
Thank you!
Hope