Knee replacement or other alternatives

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Hanibal74
Posts: 70
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 12:52 pm

by Hanibal74

Hi all,

Would love some advise on alternatives.

I had a AC knee reconstruction done about 13 years ago. It’s been pretty good up until 3 months ago when I started feeling knee pain during rides.

After seeing a knee specialist I was given a number of options:

Knee replacement(I’m only 44) will try and put it off if I can. Would love to know if anyone has had this done and returned to cycling.

Quarterzone injection(will get me back on the bike but might do more damage)

Synthetic cartlidge injection(can’t find anyone to confirm this actually works)

Any other alternatives would be appreciated.

Cheers.


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spdntrxi
Posts: 5790
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:11 pm

by spdntrxi

I had knee surgury ~4 years ago.. My knee gets wonky occasionally ( like I cant push hard or stand up) but it's pretty rare.

Cortisone - repeated injection just does more damage then good. I've only used it for my hand and then let it rest to heal the ligament.
Injections - heard good and bad.. the ppl I know personally said it was a waste. I have not had it personally because of thus.

My coworker has had the knee replacement.. (tennis player) not really a cyclist persay... but he does those spin classes and seems to be ok with it. he's late 50s and got the right knee replacement at 55.

By AC I'm guessing you mean ACL. Would think this would effect cycling too much. Although I've had that surgery as well, my real issue is with my meniscus or lack thereof.

I avoid anything with sudden change of direction like the plaque.
I ice that baby down if I do something active (like run or triathons) I use a GameReady device for that.

and dont forget.. always get a second opinion. I assume you had another MRI ? A lot has changed in 13 years. I was offered a meniscus transplant but would have had to go under the knife again... so I passed.... atleast until the pain is day to day and constant.
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Hanibal74
Posts: 70
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 12:52 pm

by Hanibal74

spdntrxi wrote:I had knee surgury ~4 years ago.. My knee gets wonky occasionally ( like I cant push hard or stand up) but it's pretty rare.

Cortisone - repeated injection just does more damage then good. I've only used it for my hand and then let it rest to heal the ligament.
Injections - heard good and bad.. the ppl I know personally said it was a waste. I have not had it personally because of thus.

My coworker has had the knee replacement.. (tennis player) not really a cyclist persay... but he does those spin classes and seems to be ok with it. he's late 50s and got the right knee replacement at 55.

By AC I'm guessing you mean ACL. Would think this would effect cycling too much. Although I've had that surgery as well, my real issue is with my meniscus or lack thereof.

I avoid anything with sudden change of direction like the plaque.
I ice that baby down if I do something active (like run or triathons) I use a GameReady device for that.

and dont forget.. always get a second opinion. I assume you had another MRI ? A lot has changed in 13 years. I was offered a meniscus transplant but would have had to go under the knife again... so I passed.... atleast until the pain is day to day and constant.
Yeah it was my ACL. Had an MRI done a few months ago. This time the specialist said it was the meniscus that was damaged/disintegrated. . Funny enough the reconstruction seems to have held up well.

I’ve been cycling for about 10 years and it’s never been an issue. I am now feeling pain when I stop and start again at a set of traffic lights.

Thanks for the response.



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spdntrxi
Posts: 5790
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:11 pm

by spdntrxi

could be OA.... bakers cysts.. any number of things.. I have them all .. well my doc took the bakers cyst out but said I had signs of OA. In my 40's as well. The MRI should show if there is a little tear and that could be rubbing something ...

One could thing I do is take pictures of my knee in a mirror.. then when it hurts and whatnot.. take a picture again and see if you can notice swelling. If you have a small tear it will definately hurt and swell somewhat.

I would definately avoid the partial replacement if you can.... at your age you are looking at atleast 1 more in your lifetime.

I use my bad leg at lights exclusively.. I dont like to keep my bad knee in the clips. I also now highly prefer cleats with Zero float as I feel they unclip ever so slightly faster and I dont have to twist as much.
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Dewolfis
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2018 11:18 am

by Dewolfis

spdntrxi wrote:
Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:49 am
could be OA.... bakers cysts.. any number of things.. I have them all .. well my doc took the bakers cyst out but said I had signs of OA. In my 40's as well. The MRI should show if there is a little tear and that could be rubbing something ...

One great review of Testo-Max should take pictures of my knee in a mirror.. then when it hurts and whatnot.. take a picture again and see if you can notice swelling. If you have a small tear it will definately hurt and swell somewhat.
Honestly, this is so subjective and it all depends on your specific case, I wouldn't only go with what my doctor suggested. Maybe look for a second opinion, but from a doctor. Good luck with the knee, brother. I'll be in the same boat in a few years too, if not sooner.
Last edited by Dewolfis on Thu May 19, 2022 9:56 am, edited 2 times in total.

welchy
Posts: 458
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2015 4:04 pm

by welchy

Hi there,

I've had an actifit transplant which failed and now Meniscus transplant (Had it at 25 Years old and I am now 29).

I'd highly recommend it over the alternativesbut hard to get recommended for the surgery unless you are physically fit and have good ligaments etc.

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ms6073
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by ms6073

What about knee stem cell therapy? No experience, but a friends father who was a life long cyclist had been undergoing this regimen with reasonably good results until an unrelated heart issue put him off the bike for several months.
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c60rider
Posts: 872
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:12 pm

by c60rider

Sorry I haven't looked on the training thread for a while so only just spotted this now. It depends which bit of your knee is shot. Often it's the medial or inside compartment that tends to wear out first. If that's the case then you may want to have a look at this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SgTUiKH_98
I've had a couple of patients now that have the surgery and it's been brilliant for them. If it's the patello-femoral joint ie just behind your knee cap then they can put a new button on the underneath of the patella itself but this is getting rare to be done in isolation, normally when they're doing an entire knee replacement.

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