Knee Surgery

cartliage damage is pretty dark. surgery might be on the cards.

Surgery fixed mine.
I take Glucosamine and cod liver oil, but i'm not convinced it helps.
Rest rest rest.

Glucosamine helped my day a lot, but thats with arthritis - a specific lack of cartilage.

If you have a decent diet and no arthritis, theres no reason for you to have lack of cartilage.

Supplements might very slightly help rebuild & repair but I can see what your not noticing any effects.

If you opt for surgery then have the cartilege removed. These days its a straightforward operation (keyhole); plenty of footballers (etc) have it done and keep playing for a long time after.

When I tore my cartilege, for some reason I ended up being the guinneapig for a surgeon trying out a new technique. Instead of removing the cartilege he sewed it into the back on my knee capsule with wire stitches. I had a full on metal leg brace from hip to ankle for nine months. Each fortnight I was given 5 degrees more extension, the idea being that by the time my leg got straight the cartilege would have grown back into the knee capsule.

Day one after losing the brace. I straightened my leg, I heard a ripping noise and all the cartilege tore through the stitches.

Sorry for the essay. I was subsequently on crutches for the best part of 3 years while they tried to clear up the shit job.

If I had simply had the cartilege removed, the recovery time was 6 weeks.

glucosamine sulphate is a waste of time and expensive.

I think that there is arthritis on the cards for me (hands shoulder and other sporting injuries), so it is more of a preemptive (sp?).

glucosamine and cod liver oil, same here, it can do no harm but make sure you get the good quantities pills for both, even some of advertised "extra strength " ones don't have good quantities.
Wait let me dig out this article ..

If you opt for surgery then have the cartilege removed. These days its a straightforward operation (keyhole); plenty of footballers (etc) have it done and keep playing for a long time after.

When I tore my cartilege, for some reason I ended up being the guinneapig for a surgeon trying out a new technique. Instead of removing the cartilege he sewed it into the back on my knee capsule with wire stitches. I had a full on metal leg brace from hip to ankle for nine months. Each fortnight I was given 5 degrees more extension, the idea being that by the time my leg got straight the cartilege would have grown back into the knee capsule.

Day one after losing the brace. I straightened my leg, I heard a ripping noise and all the cartilege tore through the stitches.

Sorry for the essay. I was subsequently on crutches for the best part of 3 years while they tried to clear up the shit job.

If I had simply had the cartilege removed, the recovery time was 6 weeks.

christ, what a nightmare. i can't imagine going through something like that. when was it?

Injury 1998. First operation 1999. The last operation 2001. Rode a bike again 2002.

At leat your back in the saddle. Not a nice story, where did all this happen?

glucosamine sulphate is a waste of time and expensive.

not for everybody.

and its not very expensive.

Cartilage removal, meniscus tear and a lateral release on the patellar tendon - on both knees. Many moons ago now. I was given strong prescription anti-inflammatory drugs to try to avoid surgery but it was not enough.

Ask you doc about anti-inflammatory drugs as an approach - especially if there is small amounts of damage. That combined with rest may help.

pete, surgery seems likely - stick to the physiotherapy doggedly afterwards.

After a diagnostic arthroscopy early '07 (no serious cartlege damage) it took me about four-six weeks to get back properly in the gym / on my bike. Saying that i'm still having knee problems and I'm off for another consultation in december as I'm a bit concerned.

the physio side of things really felt like it was doing good.

I take cod liver oil and glucasamine - I'm inclined to doubt the benefits of them.

Devil's Claw is the miracle for me - really seems to sooth and calm the knee.

And jazz ciggies :)

Re fish oils :
in this health article it is written that the reccomended daily dosage of EPA and DHA is 1000mg combined.
These are the main active ingredients.
So look out for the concentratiuon of these ingredients in the pills, or just take more pills a day to make it more patching ( getting to 750mg is ok ) however it is also thought that taking these nutrients directly from food ( fish like salmon and makerel etc ) would be mor ebeneficial due to easier absorption.

It has not been proven whether fish oils really do decrease the risk of hear attack, but i take it for the health of the bones and joints, and believe it to work.

Same with Glucosamine, make sure you get substituts with good concentration.

thanks guys :)

the 2 things that are making this harder are: Im in Japan and finding doctors with enough English is proving sporadic, and, i have to pay 30% of the medical costs (the MRI will cost £40).. which, isnt that bad really, but i hate to think how much surgery will cost :(

I guess ill see what the doctor tries to tell me next week :)

£4000?

Sorry to say it, with the festive season in full swing, but alcohol can aggrevate the injury if you have a tendancy to uric acid and the gouty grind paste crystals in the joint. This can inflame the soft tissue in the knee and impeed recovery. Gallons of water, rest and TLC are the best.

Being driven to go back training too early is natural, but utterly counter productive; you are dismantling all the recovery that has been achieved.

ok.. less beer...ill try! thankfully, there isnt really a 'festive season' out here. although i did see a 'have a happy merry christmas' sign today, which almost made up for it

glucosamine and chondrontin supplements with help lubricate and improve the healing and lessen the time to heal of damaged cartilage and ligaments.
The damage is already done but it certainly will help in the long run.

oh and really really important in any bodily injuries : overdose on Zinc, whether in supplements or through food.
I take LOADS of it whenever getting a new tattoo and it really speeds up the healing process, it is a vital mineral for fast wound healing

hey pete - sorry to hear about your knee.
Sounds like you'll need those bits of cartilage removed, as they'll only irritate the synovial capsule around the knee. Usually, any foreign bodies within a joint space means that the body will try to reject through inflammation...
We try to encourage light exercise through low impact activity - to actually use up the fluid produced by the knee - followed by immediate icing and elevation.
My advice is not to take too many supplements that you're not used to consuming (we tend to go a tad crazy with dosage, and the body just pisses it out - just keep well hydrated!!)

I had a similar soft tissue injury in my shoulder (knocked off bike by a black cab), after having physio for ages with no improvement I was offered surgery. The operation (non keyhole) involved stitching the membrane back onto the bone. Brace on for 8 weeks, physio for a further 6 months given all clear, showing daughter front crawl at pool guess what happened? Re operated and although I'm repaired I still have limited movement in my shoulder. Moral of the story have the cartilage removed.

You could also combine your treatment with traditional chinese medicine (TCM) / acupuncture. It really helped with my broken elbow and sore wrist and many other things.

ooops just read you're in Japan....

I'm not used to this whole 'injuring yourself and having long-term problems' thing... whenever I hurt myself it gets better on it's own... Is this what I have to look forward to?!

this is the first injury that has stopped me from doing anything for more than 3 weeks (dislocated elbow)... and it sucks :(