u/MammalFish

ACL + meniscus repair 8 weeks ago. I think I’ve been a little misled because the meniscus repair was minor, and the ACL was the more major injury for me, but I have had a WAY harder time returning to walking than I expected. ACL repair is usually a faster recovery and I think my surgical team didn’t set my expectations up properly.

I was cleared to shift to partial weight bearing at 4 weeks then full at 6. But I think I started walking too far even with crutches and my knee got super mad. I’m having trouble walking without limping, and if I walk more than like a quarter mile even around the house I have SEARING pain.

I’m frustrated because I expected to be more functional at 8 weeks. I also have a work trip in a month that will require a lot of walking and I’m nervous.

When did walking feel normal for you?

I am having a really really hard time and I’m scared. Return to walking is not going well and I’m worrying there’s something really wrong. I tend to catastrophize so hopefully this will be fine.

I had ACL allograft plus a minor medial meniscus repair 8 wks ago. Was cleared to begin weight bearing at 4 weeks, cleared for walking no crutches at 6 weeks. But I’m not there. I am having this pain that comes and goes that is BAD - worse with exertion and swelling, only with weight bearing, deep in the posterior lateral knee. It’s sharp and ramps up slowly and becomes piercing with normal walking. I have had to back off a lot of walking and PT to try and get it under control.

Had a surgeon appt today and our best guess is some tibial plateau cartilage they saw was damaged during surgery is acting up. We also wonder if I’ve been hitting extension too hard (everyone in creation told me to extend as much as possible??) and that’s aggravating the knee bc I’m putting it in hyper extension to match my good leg?

Idk. All I know is it’s been 8 weeks and I can’t really walk. I feel so behind. Surgeon did some structure checks and everything major looks good, and if I see no improvement soon I’m gonna get another MRI.

Please tell me this gets better. I am so tired of not being able to walk. This is such a long fucking time.

I am 7 weeks post ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair. Medial meniscus got one suture, surgeon actually found that posterior lateral meniscus horn tear did not merit repair and left it alone.

That said, that posterior lateral area is freaking out as I transition to FWB and inhibiting my ability to walk. It has me kind of scared. Normal gait triggers a searing, pinching pain deep in the joint slightly posterior lateral; gets worse with provocation and slowly ramps up; makes me hiss with pain, like a ‘zing’. Yesterday after trying to push the leg into full extension it got way worse, I actually felt a tearing sensation.

So weird. I felt something like this pre surgery when I had really exerted, and this does get way worse with swelling and use now; and my ACL is finally intact again now so I’m sure the joint is way tighter. Still, this is freaking me out.

DAE have an experience like this with transition NWB > FWB? I have a follow up w surgeon in a few days and trying to figure out what to ask.

Edit - worth saying I just consulted my surgical notes and while they confirmed I didn’t have a lateral meniscus tear, there was significant cartilage damage on top of the tibia. So I wonder if that’s what’s acting up here…