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cchas
Jun 4, 2008, 6:32 PM
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Was wondering for those of you with experience (either patients, docs or PT's) what was your time from having meniscus surgery to climbing Trad (I figure that I can probably climb trad before sport - ). I had meniscus surgery a few days ago and I'm figuring 30days (doc said 30 days before low stress activities, 45 before high stress activities)- but I figure results will vary.
For me, it was relatively minor ( a 2cm complex tear to the left medial posterior meniscus)
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pipsqueekspire
Jun 9, 2008, 5:03 AM
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Hi-
I think you have this backwards- the risk of injury to your knee is most likely from hiking downhill with a heavy pack and a minor fall. i.e. trad climbing. Also a foot jam puts a lots a weird torque on your knee so that's out for sure for a while. I think easy sport with a short hike and big holds might be the place to start. As for the length of time off- I would always wait longer since the price of an extra few weeks on the couch is a lot cheaper than years of arthritis after another more severe injury.
The best place to start is with some good physical therapy to strengthen your leg(s) in a safe environment. Don't forget you'll have wasted a lot of muscle in the last 6 weeks. (You lose muscle a LOT faster than you can gain it) It would be silly to use a weak leg on a tough route only to fall to your death instead of a slow & steady rehab from a tiny little tear.
Just a thought
-pip
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cchas
Jun 9, 2008, 2:25 PM
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I always figured that trad (crack) climbing put less strain on it. The dropknees (the thought of doing one right now would want to make me puke) and the high steps (that move hurt a lot before surgery) both put tremendous strain on the knee. several of the trad routes I can only get prt of a toe into the crack, so I'm not torquing on the knee a whole lot and I can always concentrate on the thin fingers/stem problem.
Athritis a a concern of mine which I'd rather not develop, (especially since the images from the arthrascopy came back with clean images on the surfaces of the joints, and I'd like to keep it that way
I see the PT (who is also a former 5.14 sports climber so I'm hoping to get some climbing specific advise from him) later on this week, since I'm hoping to be very proactive in my recovery and work with the Doctor and PT as much as I can.
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wmfork
Jun 9, 2008, 2:37 PM
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FWIW, I had a bucket handle tear on my right medial meniscus from a combination of hiking down (getting off the Diamond) and sport climbing the next day (drop knee). I was still able to climb as hard as I could at the Creek (up to 12+) before the surgery. I had surgery in the winter, so I ice/mix climbed while I was still fully recovering.
If the the jam twist doesn't feel funky, then it won't bother you. Sport climbing, however, has a lot more complex range of foot/knee motion. I've stopped drop knee almost all together (at least the kind where your foot and knee are not pointed the in same direction).
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cchas
Jun 9, 2008, 2:42 PM
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How long was it before you felt that you were +95%. I'm at 9days nto recovery and most of the swelling has gone down in the last couple of days. The area is no longer tender but I feel I have a long way to go. The thought of just spinniing on an excer-cycle at this time sounds enticing
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hacksaw
Jun 9, 2008, 2:53 PM
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pipsqueekspire wrote: Hi- I think you have this backwards- the risk of injury to your knee is most likely from hiking downhill with a heavy pack and a minor fall. i.e. trad climbing. Also a foot jam puts a lots a weird torque on your knee so that's out for sure for a while. I think easy sport with a short hike and big holds might be the place to start. -pip
Pip is right. The hiking part (the downhill mainly) would be the hardest.
I have had this surgery 4 times (3 to the left knee and one on the right). The shortest time between surgery and getting back to full activities (mainly skiing) was about 65 days. But, that was because I was VERY serious about doing the PT. Really dedicate yourself to doing the PT. Good luck.
Halsted
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wmfork
Jun 10, 2008, 2:07 AM
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If you can run a couple miles, then you are probably at 95%, but I wouldn't recommend it. For me, it took 3-4 weeks before I started climbing again, though I was very cautious of ground fall (and I'd only try to land on the good leg). Use your best judgment and do so at your own risk.
With that said, it's unlikely you'd screw yourself really bad with a trimmed meniscus (repair, I hear, takes much longer to heal and can be undone if exercising prematurely).
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skiclimb
Jun 11, 2008, 6:14 AM
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I went skiing about 3 weeks after meniscul surgery.. awesome powder day in jacksonHole..But that was pushing it..took about another couple weeks before I went again. My surgery had gone well and the doctor basically said the meniscus was as strong as it would ever be as soon as the surgery was complete.. so i wasn't worried about damaging the meniscus.
dunno if that is your case or not. For me it was simply a matter of pain strength and flexibility as to what I could do when. Not a worry of reinjury.
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granite_grrl
Jun 11, 2008, 1:59 PM
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Regardless of the injury it might be a best idea to just top rope for a while and feel things out. That way if something doesn't feel good/right you always have the option to sit back on the rope.
From there you can see what styles of climbs will be comfortable on your knee to start back on the sharp end with.
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getout87
Jun 11, 2008, 2:15 PM
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granite_grrl wrote: Regardless of the injury it might be a best idea to just top rope for a while and feel things out. That way if something doesn't feel good/right you always have the option to sit back on the rope. From there you can see what styles of climbs will be comfortable on your knee to start back on the sharp end with.
+1
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