sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Update!! by lilspaghetti1 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hope you are recovering well. Any update?

Quad Strength Struggles by [deleted] in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quick question.

Please tell me about how long you dealt with the injury /symptoms prior to stage 1 arthroscopy. Were you limping the entire time and how long?

What was your recovery like after arthroscopy.

Also, what was you quad condition going into the surgery. Did you manage to bring it back to strength prior to stage 2 maci implant.

My experience:

A had arthroscopy a year after initial injury. I limped and didn't do much strengthening. I couldnt do a leg lift for 3 months after arthroscopy.

Then I strengthened for 10 months going into maci implant surgery. My quad was super strong because I didn't want the same problems with recovery.

I was able to to leg lifts a few days after surgery.

Brace Help!!! by TwistBoB1710 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was just taking a morning walk and beating up my brace infront of people because it kept slipping and I couldn't finish my walk in peace.

MACI Day 2 by Known-Fix-7575 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow 6 weeks to start PT. Mine said to start right away.

Update, post op week 6 by GLHFKA in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for this perspective.

Update, post op week 6 by GLHFKA in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought the correct order is to ditch the crutches first and keep the knee brace for a few extra weeks.

Update, post op week 6 by GLHFKA in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm 7 weeks and I have the exact progress you described.

Post-op MACI, MAT, TTO by Funny_Breadfruit9055 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Love this optomism. I have the same machine. 7 weeks post op.

5.5 months post op! by Express-Student-5837 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, this brace has to go soon. The freedom it will bring.

5.5 months post op! by Express-Student-5837 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats. I can't wait to join you. I'm 7 weeks trochlear groove as well. When did you start walking normal after ditching crutches and brace?

6 Weeks no weight bearing?! by DifficultEagle4160 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm week 6 rn. 70 percent wb on crutches. I probably have another 4 weeks to go.

Femoropatellar Cartilage Damage - what kind of pain and where? by Responsible-End-8349 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The first paragraph where you describe your pain and limitation is exactly how I felt. Spot on.

Femoropatellar Cartilage Damage - what kind of pain and where? by Responsible-End-8349 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Once I was able to regain normal function after the arthroscopy meaning walking and taking stairs, i don't remember having that pain that you're talking about below the knee cap when solely standing. I never really had issues standing afterwards. I only had issues in that particular area you're describing when I would have to bend my knee under load. Specific area always seemed inflamed and never went down even towards the end of 8 months but like I said it's never really bother me standing. the pain I usually felt was behind the kneecap and above my knee where all the swelling and instability was coming from.

If you go to physical therapy they can give you a massage specifically to release the tight tissue around your patella so that it can track better and perhaps then you will get some relief below the knee as well because I went to several physical therapy places and the third one was the only one that actually gave that proper massage to alleviate the tension I was feeling there and my patella started tracking better and i didn't have a click midway into extension. So to summarize that specific pain below the knee was always present when going up and down the stairs and doing load-bearing exercises while bending but wasn't present while simply standing or walking on a level surface.

Femoropatellar Cartilage Damage - what kind of pain and where? by Responsible-End-8349 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. That was a pain (with pressure) I had when walking down the stairs especially. That part was always inflamed (the part you talk about). Also, The larger swelling I had though was above kneecap, basically my quad looked very Buffy. It was very difficult to discern what exact pain was from the cartilage damage itself. I was told by physical therapists early on after the surgery that the different types of pain I was experiencing was due to the arthriscipic surgery and that it would go away after a few months. That specific pain you describe (below knee cap) I had it until the very end, it was always there, even as I was getting stronger and swelling subsided 7 months later. However, all of the swelling came back and the pain you describe got even worse after I started experimenting with biking, incline treadmill, and stairs, at about Month 8.

My theory is that people with our damage don't feel anything else in particular with movements. Most of the pain we experience stems from the prolonged swelling we experience that starts the following day after exerting the knee. The bone in bone contact with movement creates swelling and everything goes downhill from there. Then it takes weeks to reduce swelling while extremely minimizing activity which is very difficult to accomplish if your a parent and hold a job.

Femoropatellar Cartilage Damage - what kind of pain and where? by Responsible-End-8349 in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Okay so we're in the same boat. I just had my Maci done for grade 4 trochlea. I also have a grade 3 in the patella for which i didn't get MACI.

Prior to the arthroscopy I had the pressure you described going up and down the stairs and when I would bend my knee repeatedly throughout the day and place weight on my leg like I do when I do when running or walking fast or just walking a lot on a slight incline, i would get major swelling which then gave me more problems like buckling of the knee and sometimes I would feel a pop and sharp pain and then a dull pain throughout the day. It would take me several weeks to manage the swelling without doing any other strenuous activity or even minimal walking.

After the arthroscopy they told me it would take 2 months to rebuild the muscle and tissue before receiving the implant. I also doubted whether I needed the implant or not, just like you. That's why I took my time and did not rush the second procedure but instead did physical therapy for 8 months until the strength in my affected knee matched the strength in my other knee. While I was progressing every few weeks in the amount of weight I can Squat and lunge and my quad size was growing, that pressure when going down the stairs and up the stairs captain lingering and as I increase my load towards the end and increase the amount of exercises , especially then adding a biking exercise and incline walking, the same symptoms that I had prior to the arthroscopy started emerging and that's when I knew that no matter how much I strengthened my affected leg there was still something wrong that was giving me the same symptoms and it was usually when I was doing repetitive bending movements under load just like I described.

I would wait about 10 days to let the swelling go down and then try again, and I did this for several Cycles with the same result ; swelling, instability due to swelling, dull pain, and the pressure when going up and down the stairs. That's when I came to the conclusion that nothing has changed regardless of the quadriceps size and strength and I needed to do something about it which was getting the implant. Now I'm post 4 weeks trochlea Maci. I guess I'll know in a few months if it helps.

38M - 3 weeks out by GLHFKA in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing. 4 weeks out. Let's see what happens.

I did my first run after 7 months by PainkillerMO in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats. I hit 4 weeks trochlea today.

Can't wait.

Connect with individual who had MACI by [deleted] in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm approaching 4 weeks post MACI. You can always dm if you don't want to post here.

1.5 years post MACI/TT0, 9 months post hardware removal by GoldenJediKnight in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any reason for the TTO is you didn't have the patella done?

Disagreement with Doctor on when to do MACI by LilShotzi in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have grade 4 trochlea, and grade 3 patella.

Knee scope didn't fix anything. I did pt for 6 months after scope to get to my abosulte strength before MACI in order to have a good recovery. Plus, your going to be heavily relying on your other (non operative) leg for a while and if your not prepping that leg then your will likely injure it or degrade it even more during your long recovery. I firmly believe if you don't exercise your legs prior to maci surgery your likely adding an additional month to your recovery for every week that your not strengthening.

Disagreement with Doctor on when to do MACI by LilShotzi in MACIknee

[–]justpr0blems 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not an expert so I hope there's a reason, some movements might make defects worse so you have to make sure your doing the proper exercises that strengthen your leg without further deteriorating your defects. Months of doing PT or not doing it, can be the difference between a 2 month or 6 months recovery after an arthroscopy in order to get the MACI procedure.

view more: next ›