As the title suggests, this blog will be taking a bit of a turn. While I will definitely still be posting about my ACL injury of the past and how that recovery went, I will be focusing more time on my meniscus. Why, you may ask? Well, it's because I got the results of my MRI back!
Believe it or not, I've survived my second ACL scare. My ACL is still intact (Thank you Dr. Workman for my extremely strong hamstring graft!) but my meniscus is very torn. So before last Saturday, I had a small tear in my medial meniscus. Because my symptoms were positive and I was not in pain, I rehabbed and returned to play without having surgery. However, the tear was always there and it has gotten a lot worse to the point where I need to have surgery to repair it.
Hearing this, I had SO many questions and I started googling and reading up as much as I could about bucket handle meniscus tears (Not a great plan when you have a physics midterm to study for the next day...oops!). I also had a doctor's appointment today at the UChicago hospital and also asked him a ton of questions:)
Here's my compiled list of Christina's FAQ's and the answers which I know now!
What kind of surgery is it? Basically, the surgeon is going to go in and see how bad the tear is. The ideal situation is that the tear is in a place which can receive a lot of blood flow and the surgeon will "stitch" together my torn meniscus pieces so that blood can reach the area and heal it. To stimulate more blood flow, he will also poke holes in my bone marrow. If the tear is in an area that is not easily accessible by blood flow, he will shave off the torn piece of the meniscus to avoid the painful possibility of it flipping into my knee and restricting straightening and bending of my knee. The repair surgery takes longer to heal because I need to let the stiched meniscus area heal before undertaking weight-bearing activities.
What can I do from now until surgery? How can I best prepare for my surgery?
Continue to do strengthening exercises that are not weight-bearing and working on range of motion. You can bike if there is no pain. Keep icing to reduce swelling. Do not take any advil or blood thinning drugs a week before surgery, but if there is a ton of pain, take Tylenol.
My surgery is next Friday. Can I still go home for Thanksgiving?
Yes! It's totally okay to travel post-surgery. Just use your crutches!
Wait what no! I have to use crutches now! (This isn't really a question - I know I cheated)
Yes you do need to use crutches Christina! Because your meniscus is the cushioning in your knee and absorbs impact, putting too much weight on your right knee can cause further injury in the knee since the meniscus isn't all there. Before surgery, it's good to use crutches to avoid additional injury to the surrounding areas and after surgery, it's very important to use crutches because the repaired meniscus needs time to heal! This is different from an ACL tear where you can do weight-bearing activities pretty quickly.
When can I walk? When can I run? When can I play soccer again?
Generally, you will use crutches for four weeks and then walk with a straight leg brace for two weeks after surgery. After those initial six weeks, you will transition into walking normally. Running will be at or around the 3-month mark (this is similar to ACL). Playing soccer would be anywhere between 4.5-5+ months.
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