Meniscus repair and wakeboarding

Hi All,
I posted on here a few weeks ago regarding a torn meniscus and wakeboarding. I had my knee surgery today and it turned out the doctor was able to repair my medial meniscus. This is great as I can keep it but it is going to take a long time to heal. He also grinded some bone down (whatever the heck that means. Has anyone had a meniscus repair done before (big difference between this and simply removing it) and when did you get back to wakeboarding. I was told that I cannot play racquetball ever again but that I will still be able to wakeboard once it is "fully healed". Any input would be great.

Thanks!

Tim (I guess I need to change my username now)

I had a crashed in a motocross race and the guy behind me landed on my knee dislocating my knee cap about an inch and a half out of place, after finally getting a MRI done i found out that i had a slight tear in my ACL and PCL, and my Meniscus was damage how it was explain to me it was not tore but over strech, anyway I can tell you that get a CTI brace for your knee and after its fully healed which depends on the amount of damage it was...I choise not to have the surgrey for the simple fact that they told me that it will never be as strong as it was in the past and that i would be out of work for 4month, What did the Doctor tell you for your time line till your fully healed?
I ended up Wakeboarding after i finaly quit racing due to my knee bothering me to much i've never had problems with my knee when i was wakeboarding just when i'm walking alot or on my feet alot at work..

Tim, I had most of my meniscus removed 2 years ago. I was back in full swing in 6 months. It kills after a day of inverts and still swells. If I spin and go wake to wake its all good I have learned to ride and deal with it. The Doc said I now have the knee of a 80 year old. One thing is work it out alot and keep it tight and together. I can tell if I stop working out with it it gets loose and hurts like a motha. I know one thing that I am taking my body to the grave beat up and falling apart.

I just had my third meniscus surgery on the 4/20. The first time I tore my medial meniscus and they actually cut me on the side and repaired it. (stitched it back together) I was out for about 4 months. That was back in 1992 and a lot has changed since then. The last two surgeries have been with my lateral meniscus. The doctor went in and shaved it down this last time and removed some as well. He told me that I should never play soccer or wakeboard again. I think that with the right rehab and caution I will be back by early summer. I think that the doctor isn't concerned about the "now" as much as he is about the "later". Like will I be able to walk in 10-15 yrs. But like I told him, There is no guarentee that I will even be alive in 10-15 years so I might as well enjoy myself now. Good Luck with your comback. If you rehab the correct way you will be just fine.

after my knee injury i was back on the bike and racing with in 3weeks wasn't the smartest thing to do but i was going crazy sitting around and not doing anything...

tim,
it'll be 4-6 wks on crutches first, with the usual non-weightbearing exercises and then progressing your standing/weightbearing ex including balance/coordination ex. anywhere from 4-6 mos. to be back to "normal" on average, but why be average? just don't try impact ex (including wake jumps) too soon...

Do your PT and get as much motion back as possible. Then work on strength. You will now need to keep it in shape as a matter of routine.

I still do everything I used to do, but I won't run on hard surfaces or play pick up full court BB again.

Wakeboarding and skiing are fine as long as I am in shape. If I loose tone it hurts.

Watch the painkillers ibuprofen or naproxin as using them long term on a daily basis is not healthy for the ticker. Now and again is fine but learn to live with the day to day issues with out them and you will be OK

Squid, that's funny. I just hope my body makes it to the grave. At least when I have to be carted around in a wheelchair in a few years I should have some good photos to show for it. LOL... Maybe I should pick up golf.