UKH

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and came across an old thread discussing knee surgeries so I was hoping I might get some answers/shared experiences here.

I (female, 42 years old) was diagnosed with 3rd-degree chondropathy which had gotten to a point where climbing stairs was painful and, since my goal is to properly hike, climb and ski again, my doctor recommended knee surgery which I had six weeks ago. I had an arthroscopy during which the bottom of my patella was shaved and patella osteotomy (I hope this is the correct term, I am not a native speaker), i.e. an approximately one-inch cut was made across my knee and a few millimeters were cut off the side of my patella.

I had my first post-op appointment with the surgeon today and raised concerns that the knee was extremely sensitive to pressure and that I was not able to put weight on it when I am on all fours (I got two toddlers, hence playing on the floor is a common occurrence in my daily life).

The doctor just shrugged his shoulders and said he did not understand why it would hurt, he had no explanation, at this point it should not hurt and I should just be patient. Now, I don't have a problem being patient if I know what I am waiting for, but his complete ignorance (and nonchalance) as to why this is hurting really scares me. Has any one had a comparable surgery and can share their experience? I had no trouble being on all fours prior to the surgery, so now I am freaking out that I may have worsened my knee by going for the surgery and rather than being able to get back to my old activity levels I'll now struggle with everyday stuff.  

Be patient, keep it strong, very strong. I had cartilage arthroscopy menisectomy a zillion years ago. But really this is very early days. You have had some probe messing about cutting things inside your knee. It just isn't going to be all better in 6 weeks. And i wouldn't be on all fours at this stage. 

I am 68 and I had a similar, but not the same, operation just over six months ago. See: https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/rock_talk/high_tibial_osteotomy_recovery-...

I am not surprised your knee hurts if you kneel on it six weeks post op. Recovery from bone surgery often takes months. Depending on your operation and age, You should think months rather than weeks for a full recovery.  Is walking up and down stairs less painful post-op?

If you aren't seeing a good physio, I suggest you find one and see if they can suggest some exercises that might help you.

Having broken several bones in the past (spine, calcaneum and a couple of others) it can often take 12 months to make a good recovery. Don't give up, but be prepared for the long haul.

Thank you so much for the encouragement! I avoid being in all fours as much as I can, but end up doing certain movements automatically when playing with the kids - just gotta be more mindful about it. I started getting nervous when the surgeon seemed so convinced that this should not be hurting, but then again he has always been the cutter, never the cutté, so it really helps to get some perspective from people who have been through it themselves!!

Thank you for the pep talk and your insights! I am still a bit wobbly walking up and down the stairs (definitely have to heed Ian's advice and work even more on my muscle strength), but overall my operated knee feels better than the other one and better comparedto pre-op, so I guess I'll take that as a good sign!

I am seeing a reasonably good physio (not too much of a choice where I leave), but while he has had plenty of post-arthroscopy patients I am his first osteotomy patient, so at times he seems a bit clueless as to what is "normal" at this stage.

As far as the surgeon is concerned, I feel he really downplayed the recovery time and effort. I think I would have gone for it anyways, knowing what I know now, but maybe would have been a bit better prepared mentally had he been more upfront...

Anyways, feeling a lot better after your remarks already! I'll keep doing my PT, try to be patient (not my strong forte) and hopefully by the time my kids are old enough to hike the Alps (we live in Germany), my knees will be up for it too!

Had a knee variously messed with in my late teens. It recovered pretty well pretty fast but the one thing I definitely wouldn't do for a very long time post op is kneel on it. They're not built for that. Even good ones.

Yeah, my doc pointed out that nobody had reported back to him with this issue before because kneeling or crawling on all fours is not something a lot of his patients do 😀 Just gotta be more conscious about it for now I guess... Thanks for your input!

I had cartilage repair done just as the hospitals were locking down back in 20 and...... not so long back. The road to recovery was long. 4 months in and recovery was quick, physio was key to success. 6 months in both myself and the surgeon felt the repair had failed as it was swelling up bad and it was flaring up again. He suggested giving it another 3 months so make sure so I decided to go do the 10 summit carrauntoohil traverse before I went back in because I hated the idea of not being able to go outdoors for another 4 months. Got back from Ireland and had no further issues, turns out it was a blip.

The moral of the story is that there are bumps in the road and doubts whether it has worked. Physio and patience ended up being the fix for me. I was back to 100% after a year. Best of luck.

You might find "Comfytemp Flexible Knee Ice Pack Wrap, Reusable Gel Cold Pack for Knee Pain Relief, Hot & Cold Compress Therapy for Leg Injuries, Knee Replacement Surgery, Arthritis, Bruises & Sprains" (search on Amazon) helpful.

A gel pack which you put in the freezer and then wrap around your knee. They help with reducing swelling.

I had a PCL/LCL/PFL rebuild 14 years ago. I can't remember if I ever liked kneeling before, but I totally cannot kneel, on either knee...

Most surgeons appear to absolutely not give two hoots about patients post op - their park is done and after that's up to the physio / you to do the hard work. 

I've finally started getting a bit of under kneecap grinding, got an MRI last year which showed the early onset signs of arthritis. Had to give up hill running (no great loss for me), but a simple change has been going from a single speed bike in town to having gears - massive reduction in pain when going up steep hills in Glasgow! 

Also you will have scar tissue in there afterwards. I think you will need to find a really good physio to sort that out.

I found shauna coxsey's instagram account of recovering from knee surgery really interesting. She is only little but the amount of weight she was having to shift to get her knee pain free was quite something . I seem to remember it was circa 100kg for one leg.