A meniscal repair will help reduce the effects of osteoarthritis because the damaged cartilage is repaired and saved versus being removed. An ACL may possibly have the least long term effects. Some patients may have decreased strength of the operated side and increased patellar tendinitis.
Many ACL tears we see only have problems ascending stairs, jogging, or walking downhill but can walk up hills and on flat roads without an increase in pain. A meniscus tear, on the other hand, will cause fairly severe pain even just standing on it.
Meniscus tears generally heal in approximately three months or sooner (with and without surgery), while ACL tears take longer. If you don't need surgery, recover takes about three to six months. Recovering from ACL surgery can take six months to a year.
That being said, meniscus repair is a safe procedure with a complication rate of 1.3%. The most common complications are injuries to skin nerves, the vast majority of which resolve without additional procedures by three months post surgery. Injury to larger nerves or blood vessels is rare, as are blood clots.
Most people have some surgery-related pain and discomfort for the first week or so. Not surprisingly, pain from knee surgery decreases with time. By the end of a week or two at the most, you should have very little discomfort. Swelling and bruising are also relatively common, and like discomfort, they're temporary.
Rest: 0 to 2 weeks after ACL surgery
For the first couple of weeks after surgery, you will need to rest and care for the incision site.
How Is ACL Reconstruction Done? Most ACL reconstructions are done under general anesthesia. So you'll be asleep during the surgery and not feel anything. The surgery usually takes 2 to 2½ hours, and you won't need to stay in the hospital overnight.
Most people can walk with crutches soon after meniscus surgery. Many return to normal activities within six to eight weeks. Your healthcare provider may recommend low-impact activities rather than high-impact (such as walking rather than running). If you have a physical job, you may need extra time off work to recover.
It may take as long as 6 months before your knee is strong enough for hard physical work or certain sports. You will need to build your strength and the motion of your joint with rehabilitation (rehab) exercises. In time, your knee will likely be stronger and more stable than it was before the surgery.
Surgery has risks, such as: Infection. Damage to nerves or blood vessels around the knee. Blood clots in the leg.
With an ACL tear, in young people or active older adults, surgical repair is typically necessary after an ACL tear. The biggest issue with a surgical repair is that it takes about 9 months to rehabilitate afterwards. Most people would agree that the ACL ligaments is the worst ligament to tear in the knee.
Complete ACL tears have a much less positive outcome without surgery. After a complete ACL tear, some patients are unable to participate in cutting- or pivoting-type sports, while others have instability during even normal activities, such as walking.
While not always the case, an ACL tear is in most cases going to be the more severe injury. It is considered worse than tearing the MCL because ACL tears are in general more complex to treat and require a longer recovery time after surgery.
It is possible to go through life without an ACL. Eventually, scar tissue builds and will contribute to some knee stability. However, it is not the same stability that an ACL provides. Whether or not you are a physically active individual or casually active, it is possible to maintain your quality of life successfully.
The injury won't heal on its own, which means it may continue getting worse without proper care. For example, a partial tear may continue to worsen until it's a complete tear. Continuing to walk on the affected leg can aggravate your symptoms, making pain and stiffness worse in as little as a few days.
After 2 to 3 weeks, you should be able to walk without crutches.
Following meniscus surgery, a person may develop new knee pain. This can occur for several reasons, including reinjury or problems with postsurgical rehabilitation. It may also develop due to postsurgical complications, such as arthritis. The treatment for new knee pain may vary depending on the underlying cause.
If a meniscus suture is performed, the operated leg may only be partially loaded for a few weeks to allow the meniscus tear to heal. Depending on the shape of the tear, forearm support crutches should be used for 4-6 weeks.
Your knee will be swollen. And you may have numbness around the cuts the doctor made (incisions) on your knee. You can put ice on the knee to reduce swelling. Most of this will go away in a few days.
Having part of your meniscus removed as a runner could end a long running career. Surgery for a meniscus tear in a runner might help for a short while, but the loss of meniscus might initiate an arthritic process causing more degeneration within the knee.
In individuals with a degenerative meniscal tear, surgery should be reserved for those with painful clicking, locking, buckling, or recurrent swelling or for those who do not have improved pain or function following a course of conservative treatment.
The overall failure rate of meniscal repair at a mean follow-up of 86 months was 19.1%.
During the first week after surgery, most patients are encouraged to lift their legs without assistance while lying on their backs. These are called straight leg raises. By the end of the second or third week, patients usually walk without crutches.
ACL Reconstruction Is Major Surgery
You're given general anesthesia. This means you're unconscious for the procedure. You'll have pain, swelling and stiffness after the surgery. It can be two or three weeks before you walk without crutches.
Choose the Right Sleeping Position
Patients healing from ACL surgery should sleep in a supine position, i.e. on their back instead of the stomach or side. Put a soft pillow beneath your leg to elevate it comfortably. This will alleviate pain, improve blood circulation, and reduce muscle tension.