sibaudio

So about a year and a half ago I suffered multiple fractures to my tibia plateau (leg). Was on crutches for a summer and the bone healed up...

Ever since I've had pain/stiffness behind my knee, something I figured would go away. I decided to HTFU... until about a week ago at a regular check up at the doctor I brought it up and he recommended having it checked out.

I got an MRI and it turns out I have a tear in the cartilage of my medial meniscus that's been present since the initial injury.

Since the initial bone injury healed I took up cycling, rode 4500 miles, including a century this November, and took part in 3 races (1 RR and 2 Crits). Without the injury I may not have ever gotten into cycling.. Now I'm really hoping that having it fixed isn't going to take me away from it. The bike has always been the one thing that didn't cause any pain, as running and even simply walking can be painful.

I'm going to a specialist on Monday to discuss options but I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar injury, how long it kept them off the bike, etc etc. Apparently it's a pretty simply and successful procedure even when it's surgery.. Apparently there may be another option that involves injecting something into it... not totally sure though and of course it all depends on the severity. My main concern is how miserable I'm going to be if I have to be off the bike for any extended period of time. But any words of wisdom or advice are much appreciated!!

ColorChange

I had a small tear and an expert doc said to ignore it if I can. Other doc wanted to operate "right away". 2 years later it hasn't been operated on and I'm working fine.

deep_sky

While a small meniscus tear does not necessarily require surgery, if you are going to remain active in cycling it's best to have the surgery to give the best chance of healing cleanly. Folks at the PT clinic I used to work at would generally be back to pain free walking and hiking within 2-3 months. Folks who were more active needed more time before they could resume their normal activities. We had a few people who completely blew the meniscus completely, and they took quite some time to heal fully.

schnee

I had a meniscus tear operated on 20 years ago with arthroscopic surgery. It was GREAT, and made my entire life significantly less painful. I don't regret it a bit. Didn't hurt my riding at all.

Arthroscopic surgery for a meniscus tear is really easy to recover from. You'll be able to put full weight on that knee again in a few days, and as long as you don't have anything else going on (like a bad sprain or ligament tear) you should be walking in 3 weeks, and back on the bike in 6-8 weeks.

Whatever you do, DO NOT get a cortisol injection! It doesn't fix anything, that's just hiding the problem and will make things worse. I'd only do that if, say, you're an Olympic athlete and you won't be able to have surgery and recuperate in time to compete.

sibaudio

thanks for the great info guys. hopefully all goes well monday and we get everything taken care of as soon as possible. it'll be nice to be able to walk again without being in pain. hopefully it'll help my riding in the long run because while riding is where I have the least trouble with it, I still feel some pain and stiffness in it sometimes. we'll see!

bismillah

Avoid surgery at all costs.

GP

Are you a surgeon? Have you had multiple injuries or procedures to base your opinion on?

deep_sky

Also, have you seen what happens to people who faff about and avoid surgery? I've seen plenty of people walk in the door of the PT clinic I worked at, and without fail they were much worse off for it, and eventually had to have more comprehensive surgery because they crippled themselves by disregarding the advice of their orthopedic surgeon. Yes conservative treatment should be tried first, but if it doesn't work, you are only hurting yourself if you avoid surgery just to brag about avoiding surgery.

DaveSSS 

I've had surgery for a torn meniscus three times. The last two were a piece of cake. Had the surgery on a Friday and rode my trainer a few days later, then 50 miles, only 7 days after surgery. I had more swelling the first time and stayed off the bike for two weeks rather than one, but I was still on a trainer within a week.

SwimBike

Same thing for me DaveSSS. I tore mine, had it operated on, and was back just two week later. Of course I was training for swimming at this point so I was back in the pool in 2 weeks. I was on the exercise bike just a few days after surgery.

Hope the doc gives you good news! Surgery is no fun, I am still recovering from my elbow surgery.

Hot Potato

I had a tibial plateau fracture 14 years ago. A real nasty one. At the time, orthopedic surgeons were saying stuff like "we just hope you can tolerate the arthritis until you are old enough to get it replaced." ACL remained intact but pulled free from the bone (fortunate for one as old as I was, at my age the ligament is usually weaker than the bone). No meniscal tears diagnosed at that time. ACL was expected to stick back down with time.

Fourteen years later, I do have some trouble. I can't run for long distance before something hurts, but sometimes it is my back before my knee. Hence the cycling. I get some pain intermittently, some very painful and noisy pops at times, and about twice a year the painful sensation that something has flipped inside and is keeping me from extending my knee. That usually takes a few hours to a whole day to resolve spontaneously. I would bet a months salary that I have a meniscal tear, but I have a philosophy: avoid surgery at all cost unless life, limb, or vital bodily function depend upon it. I figure as long as I can go months without significant symptoms, I should leave it alone. I can't have an MRI because of the hardware left in place from the fracture repair.

But routine meniscal arthroscopic surgery can have you back on the bike in days to a few weeks.

bigtea

HTFU is advice that is easily given to others, but rarely self administered...for a good reason.

I got a lot of HTFU advice a year ago following my accident. I just recently told all of those people to STFU and save their HTFU advice for themselves.

Scoping a meniscus tear is pretty simple stuff that almost always turns out for the better. After my scope ten years ago I was on an indoor cycle about a week later. Actually your doctor may prescribe cycling in moderation until fully recovered..

You'll look back and wonder why you thought that HTFU was the right thing to do. Good luck and get well soon!

nahh

You can still bike, just not walk or anything? I don't see the problem here...maybe i'm missing something.

rush_forth

same injury from a snowboarding accident twelve years ago. i'm glad i did the surgery

bhkyte

I had a tear in my meniscus also.I never had it X-rayed however. It was probably a "bucket handle" tear which can jam up the knee joint and only be unlocked my flexing the knee again.
However I continued commuting by rollerblade, (but stopped playing roller hockey),not great for damaged knee joints, but great for muscles. I managed to avoid the operation that I had scheduled as the locking became less frequent and I was able to return to playing rollerhockey after 6months. It is now 18 years later and my knees are fine.

I guess if you turn up to see a knee surgeon consultancy session wearing skates they may decide that your mobility is not that challenged!

If you can train with out pain it may be worth giving it 3-6 months before deciding to have the operation ,however if you can build gradually up to training an operation may be required.
Get some specific advice to your case from a medic however.

sibaudio

oh wow just checked this after a couple of days. great to see all the positive results and similar experiences. talked on the phone with my uncle who is a personal trainer who underwent meniscal surgery on both his knees as well!

as far as the "waiting it out" thing goes.. i did. after a year and a half of thinking i was a tough guy and i'd just endure the pain... F it. when the pain becomes a forward thought in your mind and makes you not want to do things simply because of it... i think you gotta do something about it.. and now is the time as I'm graduating from college at the end of this upcoming semester and who knows what kind of benefits i'll have then, if any.

the pain is something i've become so used to that it's going to be amazing to have it gone if all goes well.

on the upside, I have a new goal to strive for.. recover from surgery and crush some souls come race season!

I'll post what happens at the doctor on monday!