1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Knee Problems

Will it ever improve

Posted , 4 users are following.

tim37853
tim37853

I had acl and medial meniscus reconstruction surgery on my 18th birthday 2 years ago and I was on crutches for 13 weeks which led to full muscle atrophy. 1 month ago I just had another surgery on my meniscus. I got informed I have about 15-20 years left in the knee before I'm looking at a full knee reconstruction at the ripe ol age of 40. I've been a competitive sportmans my whole life and always been fit. I have always wanted to join the military and police force. I now have had to move back home with the parents with no job and trying to find a career path whilst finding motivation again to regain leg strength.. really not liking being at home but If I moved what job could I do and where do I go, the knee is too sore, I find myself sleeping a lot and feeling empty all the time with no motivation for rehab, I don't know if I'm just being a sook or there's something wrong with me, would love to know some tips or tricks

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • AlexandriaGizmo
    AlexandriaGizmo tim37853

    Posted

    Hi last year I had two bad fractures and a knee injury, like you crutches have turned out to be the only option, its a pain as you say in more ways than one, I also have muscle atrophy which doesn't help as it is restricting movement even more.

    Can you get in and out of a car, if so can't family take you out and about, have you got Netflix or some such media, can you take up an instrument, like guitar, join a society of some sort like a charity.

    One thing you don't need is to become depressed

    • tim37853
      tim37853 AlexandriaGizmo

      Posted

      Hey Alexandria, yeah so I was on crutches 2 years ago when I had my first sugery, I'm not on crutches this time and I can drive however I just can't walk very far yet. 

      Trust me I've watched a whole lot of netflix. I need a new tv series! 

      It's funny becasue I can still doo things and have a smile and laugh everyday but my brain juust feels lack of motivation and empty as I said. I just need to start something but it's hard to iniate it i guess. 

      Thanks for th reply!

  • martinarvelo
    martinarvelo tim37853

    Posted

    It's difficult.  Life can be pretty unfair at times, but it is the only one we've got. I can only suggest not wasting this one life sleeping too much, and losing even more muscle strength. Focus on getting the best physical condition possible, and then on finding work which does not need you to be a competitive sportsman, and there are many.  Study . .change direction . . find happiness in where you are and what you are.  

  • Trants08
    Trants08 tim37853

    Posted

    Hi you must be soooooo frustrated. How come you were on crutches for 13 weeks? They tell you to put weight on your knee straight away.
    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo Trants08

      Posted

      that seems to depend. . With my first arthroscopic operation on my k ee, to clean up broken bits of meniscus, and shave off the top of the bone, I was told not to weight bear for two weeks (13 does seems a very long time!)  the surgeon says he told me what exercises to do during those weeks, but I certainly never heard him. When I went back, I had lost pretty well all the strength in my muscles, and it took ages of physiotherapy to get it back . . but in the end I did.  I found the tens machine helped to wake the muscle up, and start it responding again . . . 
    • Trants08
      Trants08 martinarvelo

      Posted

      I had ACl reconstruction & Meniscus tidy up 3 moths ago. I was told to put weight on it straight away, which I dident expect. The problem Is Consultants & Physio's say different things.

    • tim37853
      tim37853 Trants08

      Posted

      Hey So with my situation, I live in the countryside of Australia so It took me 4 weeks to actuaclly diagnose and get the actually sugery and I had to use crutchers due to the meniscus flipping inside the join which caused a locked leg. 

      After surgery i had than a further 9 weeeks in a ROM brace due to the severity of the meniscus damage 

    • tim37853
      tim37853 Trants08

      Posted

      Yeah for sure, everyone is different as well in how they recover, I did a lot of walking in a hydrotherapy pool but weight bearing didn't happen for a long time

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.