Microfracture Knee Surgery

I am seven weeks out from having this procedure. I am including a link of the procedure description for any curious minds! Still having trouble walking from time to time, and I am limited to isometric exercises for my rehab.

I have read reports from Atheltes who have had this done, but I am curious about any Weekend Warriors or Bodybuilders experience with the recovery process. I was in PT today and they had to remind me that I am seven weeks into a 3-4 month minimum rehab, but I can't help myself I am getting a little impatient. Of course even the Atheletes said take your time in recovering!


At least I can get back in the Gym now, so I am back working my upper body!

[url]http://www.steadman-hawkins.com/knee_microfracture/overview.asp[/url]

Thanks

I didn't have that particular procedure, but I had a kneecap realignment a little over a year ago. That involved breaking the lower attachment of the patellar tendon from the shin bone and moving it over. It also included tightening up the attachment of the VMO muscle.

Anyway, I spent a couple of months in PT for that as you can imagine. The good news is that my time in PT put my legs in the best shape ever! I was really surprised. I was doing 300 lbs on the calf press machine after that, I used to do 70! LOL

The bad news is that leg is still a little smaller than the other one... oh well!

Stick with the PT and make the best of it! Do a few more reps than what they tell you when you can. ;-) Just think you are getting stronger every day. And think how great the knee will feel after it is healed. Mine is awesome now!

Darren

thanks - I know it is tough, this is my second knee surgery in 18 months on the same knee. At least last time it was just a menisectomy versus the microfracture. First surgery recovery time was much better.

Anyhow, I am sticking with it.

How's it coming along. I had a microfracture at the end of october. No PT, doctor doesn't think it's necessary. I just use the stationary bike and lift(upper body). Mines coming along well but I have an annoying popping sound when I walk. But no pain and no limp.

I developed extreme knee pain a year ago February, and had the surgery done early August last year. I was on crutches and doing rehab for 6 weeks. It took several months to totally recover, but in the mean time, developed problems with my feet due to my limping around.

My doctor told me, and I have confirmation from other doctors, that leg extensions are the worst thing to do to your knee. The second worst is a full squat. You should never go beyond horizontal positioning of your hamstrings. This puts exsessive preasure of your knee cab against your femur, which is where the damage usually occurs.

Recently I stepped up on something about two ladder rungs high, and apparently reinjured my knee. Appointment is two weeks away. In the mean time I went back to crutches and started doing my rehab routine again. Stationary cycling with little or no resistance is suppose to help heal your knee, or so the PT told me when doing rehab.

This injury is the worst sort you could ever have, as it effects everything. Ain't fun, let me tell you.

Somewhat related. Two years ago, I had knee surgery to move my kneecap over, similar to dartol's situation and some repairs done to try to delay a full replacement. They also sucked all the loose "junk" out of there. Unfortunately, the "loose junk" was the only cushion that I had, so a year later, I had a total knee replacement.

In my case and I would say in just about anyone's, the key is the physical therapy. I was a "PT animal" from the time I woke in the recovery room to this day. If the therapist said to do 15, I did 20, if they said do 20, I did 30. I would flex and bend that knee from morning 'till night.

Cutting to the final act...:) at my one year evaluation, my surgeon said he has never seen a knee replacement with as much range of motion as I have. Before the surgery, I had just under 110 degrees but *a lot* of pain. A successful operation should yield around 120 or 125 degrees. My last measurement was 137 degrees. All due to my dedication to physical therapy.

Mike

[QUOTE=jdonyx;12859092]I am seven weeks out from having this procedure. I am including a link of the procedure description for any curious minds! Still having trouble walking from time to time, and I am limited to isometric exercises for my rehab.

I have read reports from Atheltes who have had this done, but I am curious about any Weekend Warriors or Bodybuilders experience with the recovery process. I was in PT today and they had to remind me that I am seven weeks into a 3-4 month minimum rehab, but I can't help myself I am getting a little impatient. Of course even the Atheletes said take your time in recovering!


At least I can get back in the Gym now, so I am back working my upper body!



Thanks[/QUOTE]

Hey guys,

How did you get on with your rehab's in the end?

I am now also at the 7 week mark from microfracture surgery in my right knee and itching to get back in the gym and build back the lost strength and size in my legs. I know i need to take it slow though, and am trying to do the isometric exercises the physio gave me, however dull they are.

Is there anything else you could recomend? Or exercises that you felt worked well over the rehab period?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Tommy

Anyone?

Guess i am on my own here then :)

I am an Engineer and an ex-professional athlete; I can tell you more than you ever wanted to know about Microfracture and what you should do pre-post OP and how to maximize your recovery efforts.

The quick and short of it(and I can certainly expand on this should anyone want more info) is:

1. Do not use anything that comes in contact with the point of the surgery (muscle, ligament, etc.) for at least a week. After that, the blood flow they initially caused with the microfracturing process will reduce and you need to get moving to cause continued blood flow. This is the mechanism for cartilage repair... Blood Flow.

When I say get moving, I mean in a deliberate, careful fashion. Realize this is NOT a repair type surgery... This is a "I hope this works" surgery in that they rely on your body's ability to repair itself to fix the problem. You can cause a second surgery if your are not careful about how you conduct your PT after the fact.

2. When moving, or PT'ing, only cause DIRECT, NON-ROTATIONAL PRESSURE to the area. This means you can make a compressive force on the area but NOT any sliding or moving force. The compressive force can promote blood flow to the area, but rotational pressure, sliding, moving force can slough off the growing cartilage and cause permanent damage to the area.

3. You need to allow the cartilage to grow strong before subjecting it to sliding forces. This typically takes approx. 12 weeks for a relatively strong health cartilage to grow. I know that your Surgeon will have you in PT before that, but just make sure you follow these concepts, regardless of what the PT Tech has you do. You can gradually build up to 100% weight bearing forces over those 12 weeks but I would shy on the side of caution in the face of damaging growing tissue. Let it marinade, so to speak, but keep your flexibility and motion during this time.

So that is the skinny on microfracture procedure and how to maximize your results in the long term.

If you get popping or issues after the surgery, there is only a few possible causes:

1. You subjected the area to sliding forces that sloughed off growing cartilage and now it is hanging in the area, affecting movement and reaking havoc.

2. The procedure was unsuccessful and the blood flow did not facilitate cartilage growth. You will have to undergo a different procedure to alleviate the issue: mosaic plasty, cartilage transfer, plug, or cadaver transplant, stem cell cartilage growth and implant, to name a few.

I hope this helps and feel free to ask for more specifics if needed.