Recovery from knee arthroscopy

[Tangled Metal]

Question to the collective experience, how quickly did you recover from knee arthroscopy? I'm curious about what I think about as key stages. Basically, walking up/downhill comfortably, walking for 15/30/and more minutes without anything hurting or twinging, going back to work (work in office desk job mostly), cycling and driving.

I feel great, if feeling tired in the morning and through the day. I've been walking for over an hour without issues, so it all feels like I'm recovering too quickly. Should I step back and take it easy for a few more days?

BTW I had a meniscal tear that was trimmed. I was cycling right up to the op as my gp and the registrar I saw both said cycling was the best exercise since it's a fairly regular action with the knee operating in one direction without a twisting motion. It actually relieved the pain when it was at its worst.

One thing I can say, I've had very little information from the registrar and the consultant at hospital. The only information I got after surgery was.about the compression dressing, swelling and putting feet up for 24 hours. 4 simple exercises on the other side. Paracetamol and codeine if needed. I've had no information about when I'm likely to be fit for office job other than a throw away.comment about taking the weekend off. I've no idea of recovery other than the timescale from the royal.college of surgeons which I seem to be beating.

So if anyone else had arthroscopy to trim a meniscal tear on your knee can you give me any idea of timelines.

[not4u]

Hi TangledMetal,
For routine surgery like you have had if you can walk with little or no pain I would expect you should be back working the following day/ 2 days at the most.

[Tangled Metal]

RCS says average is 10-14 days but IIRC 3-5 days for office jobs. Just need to get into work though.

[AMMoffat]

I had a knee arthroscopy 12 years ago to clean out the cartilage in my knee which turned out not to exist at all! I threw away the crutches after a day and then took advantage of the fact the consultant insisted I needed a full week off work to get the exercises in and build back to fitness on the turbo trainer. Then it was back to work and I was playing hockey again in just over 2 weeks. This was in contrast to the open knee surgery I had in my teens on the same knee which entailed 7 days in hospital and a much longer recovery. If you can walk okay you should be fine to work but, if you have been advised to take longer off work, why not use the time to get the exercise in and build back to full fitness.

Disclaimer: my operation was different to yours so your recovery may need to be different - what has your consultant advised?

[Tangled Metal]

That's just it, I've never been told anything. All.I could do was ask the staff nurse. She just.gave me a throwaway comment about giving myself a weekend off. It was my second appointment.for.surgery having been cancelled after a 6 hour wait in hospital and An unnecessary day off work. The first time the nurse said I'd need 4 weeks off work. After questioning it she said that they'd give me 2 weeks sick note and if I needed more my.gp would.give me a note. Then the second appointment was in.another hospital. They never mentioned anything about a sick note and said I.could self certify for 1 week after that see my gp was the advice.

I must admit this was the worst case of treatment I've had in terms of keeping me informed. They haven't given me much info and.all contact with registrar and then consultant was a sum total of 6 minutes over 3 contacts. I had no time to take it in or ask questions. Hence my only source of info is whatever I can find online. It all.makes out 2 weeks. I felt I could have.gone in the next day. I've taken longer off but only because I've got the worst possible walks to make it to work at each end of public transport. Also being tall I really don't want to.sit on cramped bus and train seats with a tender knee.

[AMMoffat]

If you're really worried about what you should be doing, you could go and see a physiotherapist privately. Around here a half hour appointment is c £35-£40. A decent physio will have experience of re-hab from the type of operation you've had and will be able to advise on exercises and recovery. You could alternatively ask your GP to refer you to an NHS physio, in which case you'll probably have returned from your next cycling holiday before your appointment comes through

[Tangled Metal]

You're so right about NHS physio. My last encounters with them involve them doing the minimum to avoid.complaint. Basically one assessment appointment and one so they can tell you they're signing you off their list. Another time i got 3 sessions but that was because I.had badly.broken my hand. They couldn't kick me off their list for less than 3 visits.

As for this knee surgery I've been in the system since before April! Got to be patient with the NHS IMHO.

[georgew]

Within twenty minutes of mine two Physiotherapists had me walking up stairs and two weeks after this I was cycling.

[Tangled Metal]

Within an hour I was pacing up and down like a caged animal waiting for the.go.ahead to call my dad for a lift home. Pacing and drinking.coffee and water since I couldn't be.discharged until I'd passed water. Once I'd done that I walked out. My dad made me take the lift not the stairs like I wanted. Well the lift took ages.to come. Had trouble.getting into the.car as my leg was stiff and swollen. I've walked in quite a bit since but I always end up with my knee hurting by evening. Impatient I know.

I've 4 exercises to do. One is to raise my straight leg up, hold it then slowly lower it. Not sure.how that.helps my knee as it's a higher muscle group I feel it in. I've ignored it and just keeping the muscles around the knee is active mostly by walking and just using the leg as normally as possible. I've no confidence in NHS physio advice.

I've got stitches to.come out.next week. Then after a month I'll get referred to my signing off.the consultants books appointment. Basically several.hours off work to get 2 minutes chat to a registrar who says it's gone well so they'll not need to see me again. Waste of the time as I could.just phone in.and tell them that myself.

I'm considering trying my bike and the car out at about 3 weeks. Then build a up with rides along a nearby canal.towpath. I'm anxious to get on my bike for commuting so I.can avoid train travel. Resent train ticket pricing because it costs 40p more for the return leg over the.single ticket price.

Amazed they never gave me crutches. They say it's better to be load bearing from.the start.

[tyreon]

For a change I'm going to be positive! Let's presuppose the professionals have some experience and some knowledge. You've had the op,you've had the advice. Why so little input? Why so 'dismissive'? Cos 95% of the time your treatment comes good,there's no problems with it,you'll get better,don't worry.I guess they forgot to say this to you(if,indeed this is the case!)

I know this might sound a bit crazy(and I'm usually a harsh critic of what's given me),but this 'could be the case'. Also remember,these guys are giving out this advice every day: I guess they get tired,burnt out. I'll be defence counsel: doc tells patient in dry matter-o-fact way,you should give up smoking,it'll better your asthma. Said in 5 seconds in perfunctory way. The advice was good,but the flat and tired manner it was said,was indifferent,dismissed by patient,almost went 'unheard'.

I think you have to carefully listen to these practitioners: pay close attention. I think sometimes(probably not in your case?),you almost need a tape recorder. You can overlook or 'not-hear' what they have said. They've seen x100 people like you!

That's the bright side!

On the negative side,they could have been cxxp! Pay ££s and you will get more personalised medical care. Yeh,it shouldn't be like this,but that's factory farming for you! The NHS is economical,and economical cos it is factory methods!

Go with a list of questions on your next visit. Ask. They should be reasonable answered.If they're rude or dismissive,complain: you're paying for them.

Hope things go well for you. I was looking for arthroscopy into my knees sometime back(arthritic condition in both knees). Put it on the back burner!

[Tangled Metal]

It's the way some operate in the NHS. They set up their surgery list absolutely packed so that even if.everything happened perfectly they'd only just manage the list. Then things inevitably goes pear shaped. Before you know it the morning list is forced to lose.a few patients. Then the afternoon list starts over the same process.

Then those patients you've bumped have to the go on your lists again with a maximum.timescale of the operation happening within 28 days. Apparently that's the deadline for bumped surgery. Those bumped become.effectively extra patients who is go onto an overloaded surgery and list but now they.can't be.bumped or you get.some kind of sanction or lose some bonus or something.

However, other consultants manage their list better. They know they will never get those.extra patients done so they don't go on. They get their lists done first time time almost.all the time. It also means they're not rushing the patient care bit.

Both these consultant.styles exist in the NHS and neither gets better results other than the second.consultant team who end up with better informed patients. I've had that from nursing operating staff as well as observing different teams these past.two sets of hospital trips. This all means you have pot luck on the quality of your experience of NHS hospitals. The only constant IMHO is the nursing staff, they're always good IME.

[531colin]

I've 4 exercises to do. One is to raise my straight leg up, hold it then slowly lower it. Not sure.how that.helps my knee as it's a higher muscle group I feel it in. I've ignored it and just keeping the muscles around the knee is active mostly by walking and just using the leg as normally as possible. I've no confidence in NHS physio advice.....

Straight leg isometric quads exercise to maintain the Vastus medialis muscle. This muscle starts to decline after a really short period of time without exercise, and you need to maintain it as its the only thing pulling your knee cap medially.....the rest of the quads. group pulls it laterally.

My arthroscopy for torn medial cartilage was 10 years ago, I have 3 bits of advice for you.....
Do the physio
Do the physio.
Do the physio.
My recovery was fast and uneventful.

[Tangled Metal]

Well I'm healing well. TBH it's my stitches and the cuts they made that are giving me gyp. The work they did within the joint seems to not be causing any problem. Less than a week and I'm walking normally such that the guys at work don't think I had anything done. I'm even wondering about whether I should try to drive. It's my clutch leg so it needs to be ok.

Today I did 10,000+ steps, I was very busy and on my feet for almost 2 hours straight today on my first day back. Right now I've got the leg comfortably bent at an acute angle, it has pretty much full motion. Recovery has been fast for me such that each morning I'm surprised by how much it's got better overnight. I've got two nylon stitches which will need removing, these are giving me a little pain. Annoyingly they've put the plaster over one set of stitch ends, they're really messy looking stitches IMHO.

[bikes4two]

> Arthroscopy - so that's what maybe I need for my knee?
> Now aged 64, this year my knee started to give me gyp - no problem cycling but walking becoming increasingly more uncomfortable after a kilometre or so
> I've seen the GP - x-rays were inconclusive but anti-inflammatory tablets bring some relief
> My questions if I may
(1) - are my symptoms similar to your own?
(2) - how long did you put up with the problem before seeking a resolution?
(3) - how long did you have to wait for the op once the need for one was identified
(4) - and on reflection, do you wish you'd had it done sooner rather than later?

Plus any other views that might persuade me to understand that I'm not wasting NHS time (a bit of a habit inherited from 20 years in the RN where attending the Sick Bay was never encouraged )

[531colin]

I can pinpoint the exact moment my cartilage tore, I never had pain like it before. After the tear, it was OK-ish most of the time, but occasionally sudden pain would simply floor me. Maybe the torn bit got pinched in the joint, I don't know....one day I was walking to work and a young bloke was convinced I was having a heart attack....difficult to convince him i wasn't, as i couldn't speak at the time. nice of him to care!

I have no idea whether this is right, wrong, or only half the story, but somebody told me the NHS is less keen to undertake arthroscopy for grumbly knees and/or as a diagnostic procedure than they used to be at one time.....maybe other scanning methods are useful?