Need recovery advice after knee cartillage surgery

Here is what happened to me:

. I used to train 6 days a week 2-3 h / day for the last 8 months. had lost lots of fat prior to that and was starting to build muscles.


. As I was pulling myself closer to my desk while sitting at the office suddenly my knee made a terrible cracking noise and felt amazing pain.

. Went to many Dr's and it appears I broke a large piece of my cartillage and it melted in to several small pieces

. The only thing to do was to grow a new cartilage piece large enough to replace the missing piece in the lab and then transplant it back to my knee. So I had the first surgery two days ago during which they cleaned the shattered cartillage remains from my knee and took a sample that will allow them to grow a new cartillage.

. Implantation will take place in four weeks.

. Have not been able to workout for the past 14 days and not allowed to set foot on the ground. In total I will have to remain inactive for 3 to 6 months after the second surgery.

. No more spinning, running or elliptical ever said the Dr.

. I feel terrible and have very hard time accepting this. Afraid to death to get fat again and went back to 800 cals / day as I am not doing anything besides lying on couch.

. I want to train at home while sitting or lying but don't know how to do that and need some workour routine that can still give me results to stay motivated.

. How can I get lean if I am not allowed to do cardio anymore after the surgery?

. Did anyone go through anything similar ?

Thank you all in advance for the suggestions and motivational support.

So where was the cartilage damage in the knee, was it the meniscus or articular cartilage on the femoral condyle or patella?

Ive never heared of someone getting cartilage taken from the knee, growing a new piece, and implanting into the knee so thats sounds pretty cool and I hope it goes successfully for you.

Does your doctor think there is any chance you will be able to do leg exercises after the second surgery? Maybe there is a chance that everything will heal well and physiotherapy exercises will strengthen it to the point that it can tolerate those activities? I would research for other people who had this surgery and see if they got back to an active lifestyle after a certain amount of time. Also, you should check out the site kneeguru as well.

My defect is on the cartillage behind the patella. The medical exact name of this procedure is Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation. It is a very new technique so long term complications are unclear and it is very hard to find any information on it. All I know is that the technique is used when the cartilage loss is too important to be fixed with any other technique. It takes almost 2 years to recover completely and there is a risk that the new implant over grows so it needs to be checked twice a year. Found a few testimonials on kneeguru and it made me a little more anxious to be honest. Thanks for the kneeguru tip and support.

Will update this thread in case anyone has to go through this like me.

It has been a full week since my first surgery during which they removed all the broken cartilage pieces from my knee and did the biopsy on a healthy piece of cartillage. I will be waiting 3-5 weeks for the lab to grow a new pieceof cartilage from the healthy sample they took before the actual ACI operation.

First 5 days were painful and spent a lot of time sleeping. I am applying ice on my knee for the swelling to go down and it is still swollen after 7 days of recovery. I still feel sharp pain on the biopsy spot from time to time or when I try to walk. Doing some knee exercises and some slow motion swimming without pushing myself too much and will have to keep doing those until the second surgery. Knee does not bend backwards completely but the Dr said that it would get better soon while removing the stitches yesterday.

Swimming is fun and the water makes it easier to move the knee but my leg is very soar and I felt strong muscle pain in the afternoon yesterday. I try to manage the pain and to motivate myself but it is hard to stay motivated as I know swimming is unlikely to help me get the lean and muscled body I dream of anytime soon. I am avoiding to look at myself in the mirror because I see cuts disappear one by one and it makes me very sad. Still working on accepting the fact that the only form of cardio they will allow me to do for at least 2 years is swimming.

Diet wise my 800 calories plan worked and I am not gaining weight however my muscles are allready smaller. :(

Next week I plan to start training my upper body while laying or sitting @ home with moderate weights compared to what I used to lift before the injury.

By having some sort of goal, workout and diet plan, I aim to obtain some peace of mind and higher morale before the second surgery.

I still need a lof of help so please don't hesitate to give me advice on:
a) A workout plan for the upper body while laying or sitting
b) Motivation tips and info to keep me stick to swimming (I need to believe it can help my transformation)
c) Supplements I could take before the second surgery to help me keep the muscles I have left after 3 weeks in bed and to help me evacuate fat even though I have a lower level of activity... (They need to be safe to take before a surgery)

I completed my second week after the first surgery. I have 1 or 2 more weeks before the big open surgery during which they will repair the cartilage using the benefits of genetics. In the mean time I can barely walk. Requires too much effort.

I have been doing 3 different knee exercises 50 reps each twice a day.
1- striaght leg raise while sitting on couch.
2- Knee extensions with a pillow under my leg
3- Knee bend with foot down.

Have been swimming for 30 mins everyday at max speed using mostly my upper body, arms and good leg.

Still on a 800 cals low carb diet. Lost a lot of muscle but at least not getting fat while inactive.

Things I still can't do:
- Walking normaly
- Sitting with a 90 degree knee position
- Bending knee backwards
- Driving
- Stairs are still a challenge but I can climb them one step at a time with my good leg.

Dr. says all these discomforts are because I have a big piece of cartillage missing at the present time and that everything will get back to normal after I recover from the second surgery and with some physio.

Training wise I think I will wait until the second surgery before starting training back. I am considering of buying a training station that allows me to do most of the upper body staff. I am hesitant. Should I buy dumbells, benches and bars? Something like marcy sm 4.000? or something more simple like a basic workstation such as the voit vt 1200? I appreciate any recommendations on that point. I would like a solution that would allow me to workout my upper body (Shoulders, Chest, Back, Biceps, Triceps Abs etc) the most efficient way until I can get my ass back to the gym in one and a half year.

I found this post after a Google search - I just had ACI surgery last Thursday.
Meniscus and cartilege problems had accumulated for me over many years of high impact sport. I got to a point last year where, assumingly, I ground the cartilege down too much and my knee swelled and became unstable. I had a constant 'burning' pain in my knee and longer term common sense told me the ACI procedure was important to prevent arthritis and risk of total knee replacement.
I will be happy to log info here too based on my recovery.
When do you have your surgery?

[QUOTE=cambr02;515242913]I found this post after a Google search - I just had ACI surgery last Thursday.
Meniscus and cartilege problems had accumulated for me over many years of high impact sport. I got to a point last year where, assumingly, I ground the cartilege down too much and my knee swelled and became unstable. I had a constant 'burning' pain in my knee and longer term common sense told me the ACI procedure was important to prevent arthritis and risk of total knee replacement.
I will be happy to log info here too based on my recovery.
When do you have your surgery?[/QUOTE]

That would be awesome. Because it is such a huge improvement and such a recent technique the more info we can put in here the better the post will be. I am having my surgery next wednesday.

I hope you recover very fast and get better as soon as possible.How are you doing after your surgery. Any pain or particular discomfort. Any details you want to share will be greatly apreciated.

I had 2 lesions on the femur bone each side of the knee. These were both of reasonable size.
Day 0 - The operation took just under 3hrs. I was in recovery for 1.5hrs and went home about lunch time. My leg is wrapped in bandage from thigh to foot and I have a full leg brace on. I also have a slow dispensing anti-biotic drop line in my knee and they applied a 'nerve blocker' type anesthetic - If you have the opportunity, get this. I slept out most of the day.
Day 1 - I am up on crutches and feeling ok. I am required to get on a constant motion machine for 6hrs a day for 4weeks. This will help keep movement in the joint, reduce unwanted scar tissue forming, and promote blood flow to the area. I hit the machine for 2hrs and move up to about 50 degress which is as much as I can stand right now. My leg is weak, sore, and it is hard to lift it. I can't lock my knee cap in place. About 3pm and it appears the nerve blocker has worn off. In lots of pain and I hit the prescribed ******** - with little results. I cannot bring myself to use the machine again today.
Day 2 - after a tough nite of limited sleep I am still in a lot of pain. ******** doesn't seem to have much affect on me and I push through the pain. It subsides a little during the evening. No machine today. I look at the pix from the surgery - interesting but am now understanding the extent of the damage.
Day 3 - I hate the crutches and it is very hard to do anything - sit, stand, lie, roll over. My left hip is sore from the unbalanced use of one leg and inability to distribute weight across my body. Pain is manageable and I hit the machine again. Also changed the bandages and dressing and my wife pulled out the anti-biotic drip line. Had a very challenging shower. I get up to about 50 degress on the machine and get some resistance and big clunk in the joint. I ease up a little. Have only partial appetite.
Day 4 - Pain down and continue with machine. My foot remains discolored and my calf is sore and swollen.
Day 5 & 6 are usual. No improvement or decrease in pain.
Day 7 - I call the surgeon and he wants me to come in for a check on the calf - as he suspects a blood clot. Confirmed and now on blood thinner injections and pills. Am told to ease up on machine totally as to reduce any chance of over exercising and causing the blodd clot to dislodge. I inject myself.
Day 8 - I do 2 x 5mins stints on the machine. It is not going to cause the blood clot to move with such little activity and I really am not keen to lock the leg stiff for a week and lose all flexibility. 2 injections. Had a hard time sleeping tonight. Annoying to have to sleep on back all the time.
Day 9 - Last of the injections, for now. 2 x 5 mins on the machine. Still not overly hungry, don't feel sick, just not hungry.

Am going to keep updates in this blog - blog.bodybuilding.com/cambr02

Thanks for all the info.

It sounds like you had a hard time and some bad luck with the blood clot. Hopefuly the coming days you should feel much much better. I truly wish you the best of luck for the rest of your recovery.

I am surprised they did not keep you longer in the hospital. My Dr. said I would be spending at least one night at the hospital so that they could check on me for infections and blood clot issues.

What type of machine did they hook you with. Is it like an EMS or tense machine ? My Dr never mentioned that.

Also what type of procedure did you went through. Do you know if it was a generation 1 or generation 2 ACI? I just learned that they would be using a second generation implantation procedure on me which consists in utilizing a "scaffold" or biologic sponge as a way of delivering the cartilage cells to the defect in the knee joint. They also call this a matrix.

In first generation of ACI, cultured cartilage cells are injected beneath a periosteal flap and sutured to the edges of the defected area.

They say the second generation has fewer risks and is less invasive as the matrix is almost in liquid form and it can fill the defected area better and does not require any inner sutures like gen 1. Also according to my doctors this reduces the risks of the implant over growing inside my knee. The second generation is still undergoing fda approval trials in the USA. It is used mostly in Europe for the moment.

For the pain management my Dr's suggestion was that I get pain killer injections through the blood line instead of nerve blocking because when the effect of it wears off the nerves suddenly awake and pain killers have less effect after that. I can not make my mind on that point.

Honestly I want to be done and over with this as soon as possible and the last days seem like taking forever.

One last question did they let you know how long it would take before you can partially step on it or resume mild activity like swimming etc ? I hope I can start training my upper body very soon after the surgery.

Thanks for your well wishes. I hope your procedure is as smooth as possible too and good luck. I was also anxious leading up to the surgery but am now in a different world with the impact of pain, crutches, lack of mobility etc... so continue to try and remain positive and just keep the knee attended to.
It appears I had gen1 procedure. Gen2 was not mentioned to e, and given you point out the FDA rating still to be addressed, this is probably why it was not available to me. I will post my pictures so you can see the 2 flaps sewn into the joint.
With regard to pain management, you doctor makes sense with the nerve issue. I was in a lot of pain once the nerve block wore off. My tolerance is quite high and I was in extreme discomfort. I would take the most effective solution for the first 4 days if I was you.
The constant motion machine is like a cradle where my leg rests and secured with velcro straps. You can set the degress it will raise/bend the leg to. You need to lie down to use it which is also a demand given I need to do 6hrs a day - once the blood clot issue is addressed.
I am not allowed to put any weight on the leg for at least 6 weeks. No weight bearing what so ever. I am using it to help with balance only by resting on the ground only when absolutely needed. This is to ensure the implant attaches and is not pushed out of the defect area. The catilage remains soft/liquid for some weeks.
One other point of note is that I can lift my leg out to the side ok, but cannot raise the leg forward (such as a kick) and only push back slightly. There just seems to be no strength or power available to move the leg fwd/back.

[QUOTE=cambr02;517012393]Thanks for your well wishes. I hope your procedure is as smooth as possible too and good luck. I was also anxious leading up to the surgery but am now in a different world with the impact of pain, crutches, lack of mobility etc...[/QUOTE]

Thanks for your well wishes tips and recommendations. It helps me remaining calm and positive. I am so lucky to have found someone like you in this forum. When you say you are in a different world, I can only imagine how difficult this must be.

Here is another thing that makes me feel better. In a couple of months we will be trading ideas on workout, rehab exercises and how to start training back etc. and soon the pain and struggle will be over for both of us and we will be focusing on getting back in shape. This is the thought I want to hold on to for the moment. Do not hesitate to contact me if you feel down or need someone to talk.

Ok I finally had my ACI surgery yesterday. It normally should have happened two weeks ago but it took a little longer for the cartilage implant to be ready.

Surgery started at 11:00 and ended 13:30

As I woke up from my surgery I was in a tremendous amount of pain and they gave me a few injections that calmed it and made me sleep for the rest of the day. Spent one night at the hospital during which they applied large size cold packs every hour.

When I woke up the next day the pain had become manageable with some regular parasetamol pain pills. I was discharged from the hospital around 12:00. The DR who realized both first and second surgery said the operation went well and that it was crucial for me to never step on the leg because the cartilage needs to mature inside the leg. For 8 weeks My leg which had the surgery should not bare any weight . I can walk with crotches within the house.

My family and friends are always around me to help with things I may need because even the easiest task like getting a cup of coffee has become a tough challenge.

Still applying cold packs to reduce swelling (the knee is pretty swollen) every hour for 20 min. I have some stretching exercises to do every hour for 5 mins.

The worst part of it all is that the leg is in a removable semi soft cast and it is very uncomfortable with the heat and all… But it will protect the leg for a while.

I am already soaring from lying all the time. Still not eating much to keep my weight as it is.

I am glad it is over. Will update my recovery process as often as I can.

Hi everyone,

Today is my 4th day following the second surgery of my ACI procedure. I Injured myself on the 4th of June and here I am 2 months 4 days after the first injury. My weight has not changed since then and I still am 64 kg. I think I have not been managing this whole process too badly. In order to keep my weight andnot to add fat I took some drastic measures as soon as I knew I would be inactive for a while. I decided to summarize the steps I followed to keep my weight in this entry. I Think this could be of use for those of you who transformed from fat to fit and had a serious injury afterwards.

Here is the battle plan I established As soon as I learned I would be unable to train and that I would have to spend around 6 months without any weight training or cardio:

1- Adjusted my diet (800 cals / day - spread over 5 meals - 3main meals of 300 cals and 2 small meals of 100 cals - 80% protein -10% carbs - 10% for the rest) Lean and grilled chicken meat or fish are essential to preserve at least some of the muscles I previously had built. However do not cheat yourself as you end up burning 40 to 60% of your muscle gains when you live with 800 cals but this was a deliberate choice for me. I choose to stay thin over preserving my muscles.

2- I have been drinking 3-4l of water per day

3- I also doubled my daily coffee . I used to drink 1 cup only and now I drink 2 cups per day to increase the metabolic speed.

4- Between the first two surgeries there was a gap of 6 weeks during which I was allowed to swim and even though swimming is not my favorite form of exercising I still spent 1 hour swimming every day. This allowed me to burn some fat while I was living on 800 cals. It was important to do it as I knew I would not be allowed to do much for 8 weeks after the second surgery.

5- I had dinner one hour earlier then the normal dinner time for me so that Iwould burn most of it before I went to sleep.

6- I had to giveup on all my supplements as it is not recommended to be on any supplements before major surgery

7- I used Electric muscle stimulation to preserve the tightness of my belly as sit ups or ab exercises of any kind are out of question. My stomach is still much softer then what it used to be but I believe it would have been worst if I had not used the EMS all this time.

8- Stretched regularly with basic stretching moves to reduce soarness in bed and allow a better blood circulation through my body. Neck, shoulders, arms and back suffer from an excessive inactive state in bed...


On the 4th day after my surgery I feel much better. The pain is almost gone and I am used to move around the house with crotches. I am bored and tired but besides that I feel much better. I know I have to be patient and I know that in 3 or 4 months I will be able to slowly start training my upper body again.

I can't wait to get started. Will keep on updating my recovery journal.

[QUOTE=Sharky1976;530376873]Hi everyone,

Today is my 4th day following the second surgery of my ACI procedure. I Injured myself on the 4th of June and here I am 2 months 4 days after the first injury. My weight has not changed since then and I still am 64 kg. I think I have not been managing this whole process too badly. In order to keep my weight andnot to add fat I took some drastic measures as soon as I knew I would be inactive for a while. I decided to summarize the steps I followed to keep my weight in this entry. I Think this could be of use for those of you who transformed from fat to fit and had a serious injury afterwards.

Here is the battle plan I established As soon as I learned I would be unable to train and that I would have to spend around 6 months without any weight training or cardio:

1- Adjusted my diet (800 cals / day - spread over 5 meals - 3main meals of 300 cals and 2 small meals of 100 cals - 80% protein -10% carbs - 10% for the rest) Lean and grilled chicken meat or fish are essential to preserve at least some of the muscles I previously had built. However do not cheat yourself as you end up burning 40 to 60% of your muscle gains when you live with 800 cals but this was a deliberate choice for me. I choose to stay thin over preserving my muscles.

2- I have been drinking 3-4l of water per day

3- I also doubled my daily coffee . I used to drink 1 cup only and now I drink 2 cups per day to increase the metabolic speed.

4- Between the first two surgeries there was a gap of 6 weeks during which I was allowed to swim and even though swimming is not my favorite form of exercising I still spent 1 hour swimming every day. This allowed me to burn some fat while I was living on 800 cals. It was important to do it as I knew I would not be allowed to do much for 8 weeks after the second surgery.

5- I had dinner one hour earlier then the normal dinner time for me so that Iwould burn most of it before I went to sleep.

6- I had to giveup on all my supplements as it is not recommended to be on any supplements before major surgery

7- I used Electric muscle stimulation to preserve the tightness of my belly as sit ups or ab exercises of any kind are out of question. My stomach is still much softer then what it used to be but I believe it would have been worst if I had not used the EMS all this time.

8- Stretched regularly with basic stretching moves to reduce soarness in bed and allow a better blood circulation through my body. Neck, shoulders, arms and back suffer from an excessive inactive state in bed...


On the 4th day after my surgery I feel much better. The pain is almost gone and I am used to move around the house with crotches. I am bored and tired but besides that I feel much better. I know I have to be patient and I know that in 3 or 4 months I will be able to slowly start training my upper body again.

I can't wait to get started. Will keep on updating my recovery journal.[/QUOTE]

Hi - I'm glad to see you on the road to recovery. I have not been online updating my progress in a while but am doing that now at the blog blog.bodybuilding.com/cambr02

Wow, that sounds like a really intense procedure. Good luck, OP! I'm currently waiting for my knee to heal from the subluxation I had 3 weeks ago; seeing very little improvement so far, though. My doctor and PT keep assuring me nothing is torn or seriously damaged, but my knee's still swollen and I can't walk for more than 20 minutes without pain. I might have to seek out a 2nd or 3rd opinion if nothing changes soon.

Also, TOMMAX, I registered on that site, kneeguru, and posted in their general discussion area. Looks like a very knowledgable site, with lots of good info. I'm hoping someone over there can give me some more advice that I may have not gotten yet on what I should do.

[QUOTE=cambr02;530594103]Hi - I'm glad to see you on the road to recovery. I have not been online updating my progress in a while but am doing that now at the blog blog.bodybuilding.com/cambr02[/QUOTE]

Thank you my friend. I feel so much better now that the surgery is done. How are you feeling? I hope all the problems with the blood clot are gone as well as all the pain.

[QUOTE=pumped4life82;530649573]Wow, that sounds like a really intense procedure. Good luck, OP! I'm currently waiting for my knee to heal from the subluxation I had 3 weeks ago; seeing very little improvement so far, though. My doctor and PT keep assuring me nothing is torn or seriously damaged, but my knee's still swollen and I can't walk for more than 20 minutes without pain. I might have to seek out a 2nd or 3rd opinion if nothing changes soon.

Also, TOMMAX, I registered on that site, kneeguru, and posted in their general discussion area. Looks like a very knowledgable site, with lots of good info. I'm hoping someone over there can give me some more advice that I may have not gotten yet on what I should do.[/QUOTE]

Hi there,

From my experience I know that the knee can swell a lot and that it takes time to go down. My swelling after the first arthroscopy stayed for 5-6 weeks. However it seems wise to seek advice froma different DR. In the mean time, simply takeit easy apply lots and lots of cold packs and give it asmuch rest as you can. Hope you feel better very very soon.

Hi everyone,

I am back with some updates and some good news. Day 6 started with my first Dr visit since the surgery. The Dr. was very pleased with the healing process in general. The surprise of the day was that I no longer have to wear the cast starting day 7. I have 5 leg exercises to do everyday 50 times each. The exercises are the same as the ones I was doing before the second surgery. Not having to wear the cast is a blessing as it is so hot right now.

Another good news is that I am allowed to swim on day 10 after the surgery. The trick is not to step on the operated leg. But if someone helps me get in to the water I will be able to swim and do some cardio in the water. This is very good news as it is one of my key weapons to battle eventual weight gaining. I am also allowed to train my upper body as long as my leg does not bare any weights. This means I can do all seated and laying exercises for my upper body. I also will be able to start crunches and abdominal exercises except leg raises and with help form someone while getting down on the floor and getting back up.

So today on my 7th day it is shopping time and I am turning one of my rooms at home in to a small gym with bench press, barbell Ez various weights and dumbells. I am so excited. I will share my new training plan as soon as I have it figured out. Any suggestions are welcome.

Hi everyone.

My healing goes better than I would have expected. I quit taking pain killers 2 days ago. The swelling on my knee is much much better. I am used to moving around with crutches and try to go out for a small tour in the garden after every meal. Still apply lots of cold packs on it (1 every 2 hours). I Still need help while carying or moving something as I have my hands full with the crutches. Overall I must say that I was expecting a much worst recovery time and I am relieved to se that the pain and problems mentionned by many who had this operation were not that bad in my case.

Today is a new beginning for me and I am so excited about it that I could not sleep.

After a long search I found a new personal trainor - physio therapist (2 in 1).

Today I am going to swim for the first time since the surgery. I am still not allowed to step on my leg but I can swim. So this means I can burn fat :)))))))))).

This week we will work 2h/day in the pool with my trainer everyday. We will do leg and physical therapy exercises in the water for the first part and swimming for the second hour.

Our goals are:
- to get rid of the soarness due to the excessive time I spent in bed for the past 9 weeks,
- to speed up my metabolic rate and burn fat. During the Next 3 weeks I plan to lose 3 kg
- to acquire back some strength and stamina in the water before lifting weights again
- to exercise my knee because it tends to get rigid and bending actions are not smooth at the moment. One of the best ways to do that isswimming.

In 3 weeks I will have finished setting up my own home gym and will start training my upper body. I will only be able to train in seated or lying positions but it still is better than nothing. My trainer will help me get started with all that. I will be back with more details.

Hi everyone,

It has already been two weeks since my ACI surgery.

As I wrote on my previous posts, I have tried to be a little more active this week. I have been swimming 1.5 km in 1 hour every morning (using mainly arms). It is a little tough to go to the pool without setting my right foot on the ground, jumping on the crutches etc... My trainer helps me get in and out of the water. We have also started some leg raises in the water to tighten my abdominal section a little and I am very happy with the results so far. One more week before I can weight lift to train my upper body and 6 more weeks before my leg is allowed to bare weight.

Movement is still quite limited and the knee does not bend well. I feel like I have a tennis ball instead of my joint but I think this will all go away with time. I see some very minor improvements when I compare movement capacity and comfort to the past weeks. Supplement wise I have started taking 1 serving of protein after swimming. I am also taking some Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM by Solgar (Dr's prescription for the joints).

Still applying ice or cold packs 4-5 times a day. It feels good when I apply them after the leg exercises or swimming.

See you all in a couple of days with an update on my recovery process.

I took a photo of the scar on the 5th day after the surgery. I post it here for those who wonder what size and shape of scar you may get.

Hey everyone.

Another week has gone by and today I went to my DR. for a new visit. I will tell you more about it but first things first I'll review the past week briefly.

So you all know I have been swimming. The past week I finally started to progress and increased the total distance I complete everyday by 500 m. So I am now swimming 2.5 km in 1 h every day. In addition I increased all the leg exercises I mentioned previously to 2 x 75 each every day. When I do my leg exercises I also add some weight to my ankle (only 2 kg for now).
Diet wise I added 1 serving of protein shake right after the swimming to replenish my muscles. Lost 1.5 kg last week (mostly from fat) so I think I have been doing ok.
Movement wise the knee is still stiff and bends with difficulty. Sudden moves generate a sharp but very short pain similar to a bee sting in some parts of the knee. The pain goes away rapidly.
Today I went to the Dr. for a second visit since the surgery. He thought that my knee was doing well in general but wants me to bend it more and says that I need to force it a little more. Right know I only recovered 40% of my bending movement capacity. He also reminded that it still needed 5 more weeks before I could stand on it.

Some good news now. I am allowed to start doing abs (sit-ups leg raises etc again). I am starting those tomorrow. I am also finally allowed to train my upper body in seated or lying positions. I am trying to create a full workout routine with most efficient exercises that won't require me to stand up. I am thinking of something like Day 1: Chest & Biceps + Abs / Day 2: Shoulders & Triceps + Abs / Day 3: Lower and Upper Back + Abs. Like always any exercise suggestions that you think could work for me are welcome.

I will be back with more updates in a few days.

Hi everyone,

I have failed to update my journey to recovery for a while but the progresses I have made were so slow that I decided to wait a little so that I would have something more interesting to tell in here.

Let’s start with the exciting part. I am almost on the 5th week of my recovery (Which means I will be able to stand on my leg in exactly 3 weeks and 2 days). I can’t wait already and I hope to be able to tell you how good it feels to be standing on both legs…

So here is a quick review of the past two weeks:

- Swelling: Almost gone and I am starting to see the shape of my knee cap vaguely. The scar is almost completely healed. I am truly impressed by the way the stitches look. I think I will not have any visible scars at all in a little while.

- Exercises and Movement: I increased the weights on my wrists to 4 kg and keep on doing the four basic exercises for strengthening the leg muscles. It seems that I made progress as I am almost at 90% of my bending capacity at the moment. My knee still gets sort of stiff towards the end of the day but feels much much better compared to my last post.

- Pain: No pain except when I remain too long in a seated position with my knee bent. I feel very short but sharp stinging sensation around the scar but it disappears as soon as I move a little.

- Workout: I am still swimming 2 km per day as a cardio exercise but I also started training back with weights. I think my biggest accomplishment since my last post was to manage to set up a home gym that would allow me to grow back to my old volume of exercise. I have bought all sorts of benches (Incline- flat - Decline) , Mats for floor exercises, Various length and shape of bars and lots of weights ( I bought almost 200kg of weights in total composed of plates ranging from 1 kg to 20 kg). My workout is composed of seated or laying exercises only. You can see the details of my workout in my body space’s workout tracker.

- Mental state and motivation: I can’t even begin telling you how good it felt to be back to training even though I am basically back at square one. It was a little frustrating to see that I could only lift the third of what I used to be able to lift before the injury. However I am used to this fact by now and all I care about is to do my best and to get back to my ancient volume.

- Supplements: In addition to the glucosamine pills I previously mentioned, I also started taking protein and fat burners to speed the process a little.


I think that is about it for today. But I will be back as soon as I have made some progress on these points.

[QUOTE=Sharky1976;547309113]Hi everyone,

I have failed to update my journey to recovery for a while but the progresses I have made were so slow that I decided to wait a little so that I would have something more interesting to tell in here.

Let’s start with the exciting part. I am almost on the 5th week of my recovery (Which means I will be able to stand on my leg in exactly 3 weeks and 2 days). I can’t wait already and I hope to be able to tell you how good it feels to be standing on both legs…

So here is a quick review of the past two weeks:

- Swelling: Almost gone and I am starting to see the shape of my knee cap vaguely. The scar is almost completely healed. I am truly impressed by the way the stitches look. I think I will not have any visible scars at all in a little while.

- Exercises and Movement: I increased the weights on my wrists to 4 kg and keep on doing the four basic exercises for strengthening the leg muscles. It seems that I made progress as I am almost at 90% of my bending capacity at the moment. My knee still gets sort of stiff towards the end of the day but feels much much better compared to my last post.

- Pain: No pain except when I remain too long in a seated position with my knee bent. I feel very short but sharp stinging sensation around the scar but it disappears as soon as I move a little.

- Workout: I am still swimming 2 km per day as a cardio exercise but I also started training back with weights. I think my biggest accomplishment since my last post was to manage to set up a home gym that would allow me to grow back to my old volume of exercise. I have bought all sorts of benches (Incline- flat - Decline) , Mats for floor exercises, Various length and shape of bars and lots of weights ( I bought almost 200kg of weights in total composed of plates ranging from 1 kg to 20 kg). My workout is composed of seated or laying exercises only. You can see the details of my workout in my body space’s workout tracker.

- Mental state and motivation: I can’t even begin telling you how good it felt to be back to training even though I am basically back at square one. It was a little frustrating to see that I could only lift the third of what I used to be able to lift before the injury. However I am used to this fact by now and all I care about is to do my best and to get back to my ancient volume.

- Supplements: In addition to the glucosamine pills I previously mentioned, I also started taking protein and fat burners to speed the process a little.


I think that is about it for today. But I will be back as soon as I have made some progress on these points.[/QUOTE]



Sup shark?

Great to hear youre doing well. Very very impressive to have 90% flexion 5 weeks post op and minimal swelling. You seem to be keeping pretty active as well so thats gonna be great for your physical and mental state of being. Are you taking any pain killers right now or just the supps? Do you have alot of knee pain during your flexion movments? Whens your next appt. with your surgeon?

Keep us updated and I hope things will continue on a positive route for you.

Take care.

[QUOTE=TOMMAX2;547761683]Sup shark?

Great to hear youre doing well. Very very impressive to have 90% flexion 5 weeks post op and minimal swelling. You seem to be keeping pretty active as well so thats gonna be great for your physical and mental state of being. Are you taking any pain killers right now or just the supps? Do you have alot of knee pain during your flexion movments? Whens your next appt. with your surgeon?

Keep us updated and I hope things will continue on a positive route for you.

Take care.[/QUOTE]


Thanks Tommax. Good to see you back in this thread.

I was not expecting it to improve so rapidly either. I am pleasantly surprised.
My next appointment with the Surgeon is on the 4th of October. He will check to see if I am good to stand on my leg.

Reaching the 90% bending has not been easy but I have been doing my exercises very regularly. The bending was very bad at the beginning and it hurt like hell while exercising. However it progressed rapidly. My surgeon said that I needed to force the bending a liittle more everyday and to keep it in a bent position for a few seconds until the pain goes away. It was tough but I think this is why I can bend it so well today.

I am taking just the supplements. No pain killers needed. I stopped taking those on the second week. I still have pain but nothing unbearable. I usually feel the pain when the leg is tired and I take it as a signal that says "time to let me rest ". :)

I must say that psychologically, I would not have been able to do it without the support of people in here. While members of my family and people on my entourage were completely clueless on why I was so depressed and so scared of putting weight back on or why working out was so important to me, I received a lot of support and nice messages from readers here and it kept me focused. I am very thankful for that.

Here are 3 shots of my knee (scarprogress, right vs left, and bending) I took today for those who wonder what it looks like 5 weeks after the surgery.

In the mean time I hope that you are doing fine and that everything is back to normal on your side…

Hi everyone,

I am just back from visiting my surgeon. "So far so good" he said. Bending capacity has reached 100% and stiffness is almost gone. He checked it in every angle and allowed me to partially bare weight with my operated leg.

From now on I need to walk with my both crutches (as opposed to jump on my good leg with both crutches :P) for a full week. I must be careful not to allow it to bare all the weight at once. Next Monday I will be using only one of them for 15 days. And this should be it for the crutches.

Even though I can't wait to get totally rid of them, this is still a very big progress and I am so happy to walk again despite the partial weight baring condition I was not prepared for.

The first steps seemed unnatural and akward as I am scared to step on my leg after such a long time. However felt no pain or discomfort when I did.

I must keep on doing my leg exercises for a little while. In exactly a month from today I will go back to see my surgeon and he asked for a new MRI of the knee to see how well the new peace of cartilage is doing.

A small list of dont's remain:
- I will have to wait one more month to be able to drive...
- Still no weight training while standing for a year
- Still not allowed to use stairs at this moment

I did not post a long update this time but feel free to post related questions and I will do my best to reply to them (Within the limits of my own experience).

Hi everyone,

I am back with some more good news and updates on my status.

Yesterday I went to see my surgeon with the first MRI taken since my surgery. On the second generation of ACI surgeries, patients do not need to have follow-up arthroscopy but are still required to take an MRI every 3 months. This allows the Dr to see how the implanted cartilage develops.

So this was a very critical visit as I was going to learn for sure if my surgery was a success or not. My Dr was very pleased with the results and he said that I was doing well. However, he saw signs of weakness in my leg bones. He said that sometimes this occurs when active people have to remain in bed as long as I did. He added some calcium (oyster shell) to my supplements to help the bones grow stronger.

Today I will be able to drive to work but I must pull to the side if I feel tired or get stuck in traffic. He also allowed me to do leg curls and leg extensions with very small weights (below 10Lbs). I can walk but no running yet and I am not allowed to go on the treadmill. He recommends 20 -45 minutes of slow walking every day. Still no standing exercises with weights for the moment, and leg presses and squats are strictly forbidden. I can also get back on a bicycle but without any resistance. I have to ride it with seat position set as high as possible so that the knee bears minimum stress during exercise. This may seem like very little progress but actually these are very important to me because a few months ago, those were things I could only do in my dreams. Stairs and hills are still painful.

Next visit to the surgeon will be in 3 months with a new MRI. I will keep on posting my progresses here.

See you all very soon.

Hey hows your knee coming along? Havent heard from you in awhile and hope youre doing well.

[QUOTE=TOMMAX2;637225593]Hey hows your knee coming along? Havent heard from you in awhile and hope youre doing well.[/QUOTE]

Hey there Tommax. Knee is doing good thanks for checking on me. I was just cleared for some cardio a few days ago. I can go back to cross training now however without resistance or too much speed. But it feels good to be able to sweat and to be able to burn the few extra pounds that I gained during the whole recovery. Still can't train standing and every exercise I do must be performed in a seated position. This means more isolation and less compound exercises. However I am thankful for being able to come this far and be able to walk without any pain so I can say I am pleased with the results. I am having a new MRI every 6 months to see how well the cartilage heals but My Surgeon says the results are well above his expectations. So far so good and I am so happy to be training back in a gym so my motivation has jumped back up.