Hi All,
I just became a member today & this is my 1st post.
I am a 66 year old elite age group Ironman triathlete.
Last summer I was having knee pain on my right side & after a few cortisone injections I got a MRI & was diagnosed with a torn meniscus. I had arthroscopic surgery in October & everything has been OK. Several weeks ago I had the same thing on the left side. I tried a few injections & they did no good. I could not run & was entered in a 1/2 Ironman race in St. Croix on May 6th. The MD said that since I could not run & that another arthroscopic procedure would be necessary eventually he suggested that we do it & try some aggressive PT & maybe I could run. The procedure was done on April 11th. 5 days after I was able to cycle easy on a stationary trainer. 1 week later I ran for 10 minutes on a treadmill. 2 days after that I increased the duration to 20 minutes. All this under the MD's approval. I was also going to PT 3X a week. On Sunday April 22 I attempted an easy run outdoors. It hurt & after 20 minutes I stopped. My knee swelled up. The next day I went to the MD & he extracted 25 cc's of fluid. I stopped all PT & any exercise. 1 week later I was still in pain so I told the MD I thought that I should get another MRI because I felt that something was not right. I did that on April 30th & saw him the next day. He told me that I had de-lamination of the cartilage. There was no evidence of this in the 1st MRI. I think that the MD was too aggressive with my rehab but that is after the fact now. He wants me to wear a brace & use crutches for 2 weeks. Then just the brace & no activity for 4 more weeks. He hopes that the cartilage will re-attach. I have read about prolotherapy, stem cell, orthovisk etc. Any information about my recovery & chances of running injury free again would be appreciated along with any suggestions about what might work aside from just rest. Thanks
