Meniscus and surgery

Back in 2006 I twisted my knee and got a really bad tear in the meniscus. I had surgery with a slow recovery. In 2013 I began lifting seriously at age 49, and then in 2016 the same knee was in bad shape and I had a second surgery. The surgeon told me there was not much cartilage left and I needed to stop running, but that I could continue lifting. I actually reached a PR in just six weeks after the surgery. Stopping the running enabled me to gain weight and strength. I also stopped over training giving myself more time to recover, and saw nice progress reaching a PR of 235kg DL at age 55.

About a week ago we had a celebration in which I danced a bit, jumping up and down a little, and since then my other knee feels like trash - I struggle just to walk or do stairs, and I can't bend the knee much, and can't stretch the quads. So I've scheduled to meet the surgeon (December 8) that did the last surgery on my left knee. If my knee hasn't recovered by then my guess is he'll send me for an MRI, and then do a clean-up in surgery.

What recommendations do you have for someone in my shoes regarding surgery? I'm about to turn 57, and apparently my knee cartilage is not so good, and the quality of the material in the meniscus is no longer of a young hopper.

If you don't have persistent mechanical symptoms (locking, catching, the knee giving out, etc.) I would not go for a surgical consult. It sounds like you just did too much dancing and flared your knee up. If that is the case this is something that needs rehab and not surgery. Also, I would expect to find some abnormalities in the knee cartilage of a 57 yo man, regardless of whether their knee hurt or not. I would just start back training extra light on squats and build back up. If you are still missing some knee flexion try some pin or box squats and gradually increase the ROM over time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nick D'Agostino

If you don't have persistent mechanical symptoms (locking, catching, the knee giving out, etc.) I would not go for a surgical consult.

---

Thanks for the advice. I've been giving the knee a rest for two weeks now, and it's not getting any better. Using it even for just walking or standing increases the pain, and I'm still not able to bend it fully.
How long should I give it a chance to heal on its own? Right now training with the legs seems out of the question; at most some light partial squats. I'm not interested in stopping training for an extended time

You should start rehabbing it now with light weights using a ROM that you can tolerate. I would do one day of squats presses and another day of deadlift and bench alternating them every 48 hours. If higher reps feel good start high and gradually work your way down over the course of a month. If lower reps feel good stick with 5 or fewer reps per set, start light, and add a little bit each time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nick D'Agostino

You should start rehabbing it now

---

Will do.
Thanks!

You're welcome!