Well this SUCKS!! Re: my knee and menicus tear

[shoegoddess]

Thanks everyone My knee felt "stiffer" then usual in early July but stupid me couldn't resist the Turbofire threads so I caved and bought it. Middle July me knee hurt on some days so I didn't workout those days but did on the days it was feeling good. Doing Turbofire. Again...stupid move. July 31th I could barely walk and Aug 1 I made DH take me to urgent care. I firmly believe TF HiiTs were the finally blow. I've been off work since Aug. 1st and the Dr. did say he wants to avoid surgery. Fine with me! The cortisone shot helped. I felt like such a crybaby. I had heard those shots were PAINFUL but I didn't feel it at all. I've been purging my DVD collection of high impact stuff I really don't use. Terminator, Hardcore Extreme. Stuff like that. And trading for or buying gentler stuff like Ellen which surprisingly I like. Me the intensity junkie
I'm going to start back slow but I hope I'll eventually be able to do IMAX2 and the leg work from STS M1 & M2. I was to chicken to try M3 This injury will also get me to go back to mat work which is all I did in the '80s and my legs were the thinnest and leanest they've ever been.
Again thanks so much for your replies and advice.

[Kathy G]

Cindy,
I hope the cortisone shot helps! I had a small tear in my meniscus but it was overshadowed by the torn ACL I also had. I fell playing volleyball in a sandpit and heard that awful loud pop when I went down. I also had two Sports Doctors/OS evaluate me with the same conclusion. Surgery because of my activity level and because I couldn't live with the many limitations that not having surgery would impose on me. So when they repaired my ACL they also shaved the meniscus.

Four years later, I feel great and can do everything but fully "crouch" down fast (I have to do it slowly). I think that it's more of a mental block than anything because nothing "physical" is limiting the motion but I still have this "fear" when I do it. But other than that, I'm fine. I can run, do high impact, squat with heavy barbell (but not butt to ankles), etc. To me five months of rehab and another six months of getting the strength back in my injured leg was worth it.

I think you have to evaluate what you can live with and what you can't... If you feel that this will severely limit your activity level and make you unhappy, then maybe you should seek a second opinion regarding surgery and rehab. And if you do go the surgery route, check the qualifications of your surgeon. I went with the second doctor because he had more experience and came highly recommended from two other people I knew that he had successfully performed knee surgery on.

Hope this helps. I feel your frustration and pain....joint injuries really do s*ck! I'd rather break a bone than have to endure another one of them.

Kathy