Anybody ever have their knee scoped?

It's been four weeks, and I'm still limping. Thought it would heal, but, nope. This is serious enough for a repair, it seems. Monday I see the specialist. It's not an ACL, for sure, but, I'm handicapped. Can't walk for long. Lucky I sit for a living.

I hear I may be able to ski in a month after repair. Is that true? I've never been through something like this.

my wife has had 4 scopes. she is a runner, not a skier. i doubt you will be able to ski in a month. the knee will be swollen and there will be inhibition of the muscles and proprioceptors due to the pain. in other words, you will be at risk for injury because the knee is not working perfectly. if you were an olympian, then you could risk it.  if the predictions of another early spring are true, get the surgery done soon and you will be ready for late spring and summers ports like drinking beer.

Sorry about the knee. I had a fall some 15 years ago that tweeked my knee. After a few weeks of pain and not being able to fully straighten the knee it was obvious I would not heal. Waiting was probably the worst thing I could have done because the muscles around my knee and my quads atrophied. I had the scope, bucket tear of the meniscus. a little snip and they cleaned it up. However because of the degradation of the muscles it was several months before I lost the limp and a little over a year before the lack of definition in that one quad was gone. Was maybe yet another year before I could no longer remember what knee it was. Know 15 years later I am beginning to get some signs of arthritis in that knee. Those are the hard facts, but it beats not being able to ski.

I have, in '97. Tore it in Park City in '93 (but didn't know). Made it worse over the years doing martial arts. That made a little tear in the meniscus a much bigger tear in the meniscus.

Get an MRI ASAP, don't rely on guesswork. The MRI will show what the problem is. The scoping is quick and easy and, with a local anesthetic, you can be awake and enjoy it with a really nice buzz

Do NOT skip physical therapy after getting scoped. Everyone heals differently, so you may be able to get back out there (no guarantees), but you will have swelling and may need to have it drained (i.e., suck out the pooled blood) occasionally. The toughest thing will be, or should be, how confident you are to put your repaired knee at risk afterwards. I skipped doing the slides at WF in March '98 because my mind just wouldn't let me.

The meniscus is a cushion between the upper and lower legs, so forget about running in your future. Try something else, like kettlebells, to stay in shape.

I've had no problem with an active life after the surgery, with the exception of hiking down from a mountain. If I remember to pack a few Ibuprofen, I'm fine.

If you're limping and in pain, take care of it right away. It won't get better on its own, and could get worse like mine did. This ski season might be done for you, but you'll be fine after that.

Good luck.

Thanks all. Fortunately, I hate to run. Love to road bike. Funny, I just ordered a new bike - I'll have it around July 4 (custom build).

But, I love to ski more. Never had a season erased. Still hoping for late March in Co.. We'll see. Maybe I'm getting too old for this s**t. Ain't nothing like this to make you sympathize with really old people when you see a long staircase.

Benny Profane wrote

But, I love to ski more. Never had a season erased. Still hoping for late March in Co.. We'll see.

Benny I appreciate your passion. You have skied this season... how many days?

Best to you man.

I've been thru this and it sucks.  ACL ended my season.  MCL's you can come back from in about a month.  Don't push it too fast because the 2nd time I ended up sort of skiing on one leg and got ITB issues that I continue to have 5 years later.

Road biking is the best rehab you can do.  You probably will want to take your clip in pedals off to start - clipping out can hurt your knee.

The MRI is not perfect but a must to see if your Ligaments and/or Meniscus is torn.  Tore my ACL and the MRI came back as a complete tear.  On the table Doc said he had good news, that 15% of my ACL was still attached and he gave me the option of 4-6 weeks vs. 4-6 months...I took the 4-6 weeks so I could still ski that season...even though he told me eventually it will tear completely.  I would prefer that to happen in the summer.  I was back on the snow in just under 3 weeks although I couldn't ski bumps for awhile longer.  That was 13 years ago and the 15% is still hanging tough.
Best of luck and maybe it is something a few cortizone shots can get you thru the end of the season.  They have worked for me this season.

Harvey44 wrote

Benny I appreciate your passion. You have skied this season... how many days?

Best to you man.

Five. And I dropped about two grand on new equipment. (not including a new car I really didn't need if I wasn't going to drive in the snow a lot) sheesh.

Benny HANG TUFF man , take care , DO the RIGHTthing for rhe LONGterm if ya hope to be skiing AT MY AGE , be 70 in May !

Been theu a heartattack , bypass and have come theu fine , i still do PT rigorously and religiously yer round 3/4 dys. Week nd do other physicl outdoor stuff . Do NOT , da NOT let the SHORT term rule your decision making . ITis aboutinsuring that you will SKI MANY more years hopefully till ya croak my man

again hang tuff , LIFE is NOT over dude , find oher chitto keep your mind BUSY

Best
Warp

^^^ Like he said.

Tore my MCL and ACL before Christmas and after PT (no surgery) was back skiing by March, with a brace. Took a similar path as Suds, got the fancy Donjoy brace and skied without ACL for five years. Finally it came to a point where I knew something had to be done. In 2010, I scheduled surgery for April 1 (see avatar) so that I could rehab over the summer and ski the following season. First winter back, I skied with the brace, now it is gathering dust. Fully functional now, though there are some leg strength issues, likely due to me slacking in the latter stages of PT.

Get it fixed.

   Tore my acl in 97 tried to live with it for about 6 mnths cnt doit . Complete tear used patella to repair it, now 15 years later all is good. See you doc right away save pain and time.

Had my right knee scoped in mid sept 01 for a tear in the miniscus, sports medicine in Lake Placid. They did a great job but don't be fooled into thinking its nothing because its not an ACL repair. I was on crutches a few days then easy weigh bearing, stretching etc. Started PT within a week when the swelling went down. PT 3X/week for 6 weeks. When my Insurance stopped paying I opted to pay out of pocket for mort PT and it was well worth it. I started skiing in Mid December and haven't had any problems since. Can't stress how important the PT is, especially as we get older. I was early 40's when I had mine done.

Good luck Benny!!!! I had total reconstructive knee surgery in March of last year that did not work. I'm currently skiing with a brace and have more pain and swelling in my knee now than I did prior to my surgery.  If I could do it all over again (the whole 20/20 thing) I would've skipped the surgery, PT'd the ba-geezussss out of it and skied.

Amen to all the comments about PT.  Its not fun or cheap but it is what will get you skiing again if you work hard at it.

Good luck!!! Get better!!!

Soon this will just be a greasy smear of a memory...   :)

MRI Friday.

No scope or work needed. Just a bad sprain. I am still limping, but, got the go ahead for light PT, and even maybe skiing in Co. in late March.
MRIs are amazing things.



Thank you so much for your cards and prayers. I couldn't have endured the last few weeks without your thoughts. sniff.

That's good news----the pain, and the pain in your ass you just saved yourself is amazing

  Took only 3 runs at local hill all of last week, seems time off helped sore patella  and tendons . Soreness was caused by  four hard charging days post Jamaica.  I started taking  Glucosamine (Schiffs) and it really helped already. Since I suffered Lime disease, joints flame up much easier.