Recovering From Microfracture Surgery

May 04, 2024

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Location:

Manhattan,KS,

Member Since:

Sep 16, 2006

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Recover From Injury

Running Accomplishments:

400m = 55.7; 800m = 2:03; 1500m = 4:08; 1 Mile = 4:24; 2 Mile = 9:28; 5k = 15:26; 8k = 25:35; 10k = 32:12; 15k = 49:50; 10 Miles = 53:27; 1/2 M = 1:13:50 (during marathon); Marathon = 2:28:31

 


Post Microfracture Surgery:

 

5k = 17:25; 10k = 35:50; 10 Miles = 58:29

Short-Term Running Goals:

Masters USATF Cross Country National Championships 8k in St. Louis, MO! 

Maybe a marathon in 2013?

Long-Term Running Goals:

Enjoy running and racing at whatever level I am able to. Possibly run another marathon post Microfracture Surgery in under 3:00.

Personal:

I'm in the Army. I am married with four children (20/17/13/8 years old). Trying to return to previous running form after having microfracture knee surgery in July 2008.

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Pegasus 29 A Lifetime Miles: 438.30
Brooks Launch A Lifetime Miles: 429.17
Adios Lifetime Miles: 118.88
Brooks Launch B Lifetime Miles: 206.30
Pegasus 29 B Lifetime Miles: 146.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.500.000.000.000.000.000.000.50

AM - So I did my stretches, and drills along with push-ups & sit-ups etc... Then jogged to see how the knee felt. It still hurts so I jumped on the bike at the gym and rode for 40 minutes hard. I am really not into this cross training thing. I hope I can more motivated to do it as it just is not as fun or fullfilling as running. I tried the elipitical but it hurt the knee as well so I guess I need to stick to the bike for now. The only problem with the bike is my butt bone is sore from the seat.

 On another note I am still waiting for my MRI to be scheduled. However, I went to see Dr. Brady for chiropractic work. I was actually very pleased (thanks Josse). He worked on my hip, back and knee and spent about an hour and a half really working me over. He thinks my knee problem may have been brought on by the hip. He was pretty surprised how tight my hip was. He did some deep tissue ART type work on the hip which was a bit painful and then he also did some acupuncture and electro therapy where he hooks a device up to the acupuncture needles and sends electric pulses deep into the hip area. This was very uncomfortable and I am not a big fan of needles so not much fun. It felt like someone was tapping on the muscles in the hip with a hammer as they twiched. He then did some ultrasound as well. If that wasn't enough he then stuck some more needles in my knee and did some more of the same along with more ultrasound. His approach might have scared some away but I am ready to get healthy so I was willing to give it a shot. He seems pretty sharp and he seems to understand athletes. He has worked on Maggie Chan and some other BYU runners in the past as well. He showed me several stretches to work on the hip as well. He truly seems like he wants to help fix the issues and help me get faster. His prices are very good compared to others I have tried and he does not seem like the type that wants to treat me forever. His approach is to get me healthy as quick as possible and then teach me how to keep things that way on my own. He did a few hip and back adjustments as well that actually made my back feel the best it has in a long time. I also noticed that the rest of the day and today the hip felt a lot looser. It is sore, but he said to expect that, but feels like it already has a bit better range of motion. He said I may not like some of the stuff he was going to do right now but eventually I will be thanking him for it. I hope he is right.

So far now I am in therapy and cross train mode. More to follow once I get the MRI and more treatments from Dr. Brady as well. I am not looking forward to more acupuncture but if it works I can deal with it. Besides Deena Kaster does it a couple times a week.
 

Comments
From James W on Thu, Jan 31, 2008 at 00:52:57

Wow, that sounds really involved. Seems like a lot of the bloggers are having issues brought on by problems in the hip area. This was Lybi's issue (piriformis), I was developing a little soreness in my piriformis caused by my pelvis being out, seems like there were others as well. I am amazed that a chiropractor was able to do all of that, plus work on you for about 1 1/2 hours. Mine does heat, electro stimulation and chiropractic, but no acupuncture, and not deep tissue massage. Good luck with a speedy recovery.

From josse on Fri, Feb 01, 2008 at 17:43:49

Glad to hear you liked Dr. Brady. He really knows his stuff. I hope the recovery goes speedy. I'll be watching for updates.

From Adam RW on Sat, Feb 02, 2008 at 15:16:26

Keep being patient. It sounds like you are doing all the right stuff... I'll keep checking back.

From jeffmc on Tue, Feb 05, 2008 at 11:51:03

I heard that you got an MRI done yesterday morning. Have you found out yet what is going on? I hope you are feeling better.

From josse on Tue, Feb 05, 2008 at 16:43:36

What's the news?

From ArmyRunner on Tue, Feb 05, 2008 at 18:13:13

Ok, so here is the update. Last week I decided to take a full week off and do nothing that would irritate the knee. I figured this would be good to do while waiting for the MRI results, etc... On Friday last week I went back to Dr. Brady and he worked on me knee for about an hour. More acupuncture, electro-therapy and ultrasound along with some ART and scraping, etc... The worst part was he found a very tender area on the knee and started to really work it. This was extremely painful but he thinks it is possibly a plica issue and if so he thinks he can make some progress with it. I was worried that the knee was going to be even worse, soreness wise after Friday’s treatment but it was actually a little better walking around. Then on Monday I went to get the MRI. Having never done this it was a weird experience as well. Much louder than I expected. Kind of like a small jack hammer sound for 20 minutes. They gave me the results on a disc so now I have some really cool picture of my left knee. The initial results indicate a clean MRI of the knee. So for now it does not look like I have any meniscus or ligament damage. The good news is no need for surgery but the bad news is they are not sure what is causing the problem. My plan from here is to start running indoors starting tomorrow for the rest of this week and see how things feel. If things are feeling better then next week I may start running outdoors again. I will continue to see Dr. Brady as well and hopefully he can help fix things up. So we will see how things go. It is depressing not being able to run so hopefully I can get going again soon.

From Adam RW on Tue, Feb 05, 2008 at 18:17:53

Thanks for the update and I'm glad you don't need surgery. Hopefully the week off did the trick!

From jtshad on Tue, Feb 05, 2008 at 18:19:16

Glad to hear about the results of the MRI! And if you Doc has some ideas to work on, that is also great news. Just take it easy and get over this injury. Taking the time now, in the thick of this crappy winter, will pay dividends later this year for your racing (and mental well being).

Are you still thinking of running in the Del Sol or are you going to take some time to get over this?

From josse on Tue, Feb 05, 2008 at 18:46:14

So I think this is what I had 2 years ago. But my doc called it planker band syndorome but from what I read on plica sounds the same. I think you where on the mend and probably reinjured it doing the races. It took me a couple of months to get over it. I got it a couple of weeks before SG marathon. I ran the marathon and then took a week off and started back with 3 days a week for 2 weeks. Then I did 4 times a week for 2 weeks. Then after that I was up to 5 days a week. I had it in both of my knees.

I remember my doctor said it was just a matter of the inflamation going down before the pain would go. I used an ultraviolet light I bought that is suppose to help decrease inflamation (you can borrow it if you would like)

I also think daily scrapping would help with increasing the blood flow to the area (which also helps decrease inflamation, I have a tool you can use). Another thing I would be doing is ice/heat on the knee. I bought this wonderful thing at walmart. It is a strap you can put ice or heat packs in so you can strap it on and go about your business. I believe it was under 10 bucks. This may sound all overwellming but I know it will speed up the healing process.

And one more thing no fast stuff untill you have absolutly no pain!!!!! Let me know if I can help or if I am being to overbearing;)

From MichelleL on Tue, Feb 05, 2008 at 19:12:24

Just checking in and wanted to say just reading about your injury makes my injuries hurt. I am glad no surgery is on the horizon. I too abhor cross training and was always amazed at Josse's ability to cross train for 60 minutes or more a day. I would think you would want to suck it up and do at least 60 a day.

From krash man on Wed, Feb 06, 2008 at 17:28:30

I know what your going through. I just came down with some knee pain. I did the rest thing and now I am testing it. I can run on it but it doesn't feel right. I have a Dr. appointment next week. My pain is in the front of my knee. It feels like it is in the joint. Where is your pain?

From ArmyRunner on Wed, Feb 06, 2008 at 20:57:00

Josse,

I will take any help I can get. I wouldn't mind borrowing the scrapping tool and having you show me how to use it. Just let me know and I can try and pick it or something.

Krash,

My pain has been on the outside of my left knee around the joint area. I ahve been dealing with it for almost three months now. I was probably not aggressive enough trying to treat it early on. I have a hard time taking time off and probably just delayed the healing process and made matters worse. Not to mention I raced on it when I should not have. I have a tendency to overdue things at times and am just hard headed that way. I am not sure I will ever learn.

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