Worried about my son

[MajorCaptSilly]

My son had meniscus surgery for a leteral tear last year right before Memorial Day. he healed well and fast but has been playing on a traveling team as well as hogh school workouts for basketball and his knee is really hurting the last couple weeks. I think he's also going through a growth spurt to add to the pain. He lives to play basketball and really hope he doesn't have more problems with that knee. I'd hate to have his high school carreer ended because of this. Nate has a tourney this weekend with 5 games scheduled. I hope he can make it through. If anayone has experience with the residual effects of meniscus surgery, I'd love to have some advice.

MCS

[Starscream]

No advice, but thoughts and prayers sent.

[ahc4353]

Can't help Scott as I don't know about this type of injury.

Prayers sent for pain relief and continued success for Nate.

[catfish2]

I don't know anything about his condition, but I'm sending him prayers.

[CBI_2]

Prayers sent for his health. I would recommend ice packs too keep inflammation down as inflammation can greatly contribute to pain.

[Wanger]

Ice and anti-inflammatories...and REST! Remember that serious damage can be done when injuries are not healed before they are pushed too much. Honestly, I would contact a doctor to get some advice there. That's the best advice I can give you.

[BlackDog]

I'd find the best sports medicine doctor in the state and get his opinion. Don't mess with it. He's too young to have recurring knee problems.

[Scottw]

Can't help with advice but good thoughts and karma sent for strength and healing

[JaKaacH]

Sounds like time for another MRI.
Any clicks, pops, or catches or just soreness?

RICE
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation..

[Waynegro1]

Sounds like time for another MRI.
Any clicks, pops, or catches or just soreness?

RICE
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation..

:tpd:
Plus see a Sports Doc or Therapist ASAP.

Prayers on the way, brother. :tu

[icehog3]

You have some great advice above, Scott, so I will just add my thoughts and prayers.

[alley00p]

Scott, that is good advice above - especially about seeing a sports medicine doc! I'm sending good thoughts and prayers to your son and your whole family!








:)

[DPD6030]

MCS, thoughts and prayers for your son and family.

[awsmith4]

Prayers sent Scott

[Green Lantern]

I had the same injury the summer before my senior year in High School recovered over the summer and went back to wrestling/track&field with no pain just a bit scared to do it again. its been 5 years now and been having clicks in my knee and a slight feeling of slipping again for the past 3-4 years now and occasional swelling after a heavy lower body workout. Went back to the doctor, had an MRI and found nothing out of the ordinary. all i can say it is just take it easy and don't go overboard.

[The Poet]

Ice is good. Anti-inflam is good. Rest is essential. Shut him down - one tourny ain't worth a lifetime of pain. JMHO.

[WWhermit]

Though I never got as far as requiring surgery from sports in my youth (baseball and soccer) my knees have never been 100%

I just turned 40, and wish now that I never played to the extent that I did. There's not a day that goes by that I don't have pain, or limitations in what I can do as a result of my injuries.

It sounds to me that your son has pushed himself much farther than I ever did.

WWhermit
:pi

[MadAl]

Warm it up before, ice it after.

[MajorCaptSilly]

Well, he survived the toruney and is not in much pain at all. I'm going to get him fitted for a brace this week and have the doctor that did his surgery take a look at him as well. I think he grew an inch over the last couple weeks which could be a contributing factor. Thanks for the advice and thoughts!

MCS

[DavenportESQ]

Great News Scott!

[Old Sailor]

Scott, PM Dragonman...Nick, he had that same operation last year.

[chippewastud79]

I live everyday with no meniscus in my knee and in my experience a few things will help: drugs, glucosamine/condroiton, rest and ice. Granted my injury was not simply a meniscus tear, but it is something that is the most painful from the injury.

I used to use a brace that was fairly ineffective at relieving any pain. The brace was designed to take pressure off my lateral side and didn't help with much besides protection from a repeat injury.

Assuming he already takes a pain killer/anti-inflamatory, try something that can be taken everyday to help. Something like Celebrex seems to help me.

The glucosamine/condroiton or similar joint-health supplement can help. It will never rebuild the meniscus but it does add a little bit of help for the joints. If he is ever going to be subject to performance enhancing drug tests, make sure the one you may choose is not going to trigger a positive.

Something else to consider, a shot of "lubrication" in the joint. There are two products I tried at the advice of a doctor, Synvisc and Supparts. Both are artificial lubricants designed to make the joint track more smoothly. While neither worked for me, I know former teammates who found it very helpful. **if your son has any poultry allergies, these may not be an option**

If it hurts, don't do it. If it isn't essential, like actually playing, skip it or modify it so as not to aggrevate it. If squatting hurts, do leg press. Avoid things that cause problems.

Ice it everytime after playing or activity, even if it doesn't hurt. If it is bad, every hour on the hour for 15-20 minutes.

Hope atleast some of it helps. Let me know if I can help any more.

[Texan in Mexico]

I hope he did well in the tourney this weekend Scott. Lots of good advice above so I will just say I had this done a few years back and RICE is the way but each case is different.

Most important to have a doctor take a look at it.

Let us know how he did.

Travis

[MajorCaptSilly]

I hope he did well in the tourney this weekend Scott. Lots of good advice above so I will just say I had this done a few years back and RICE is the way but each case is different.

Most important to have a doctor take a look at it.

Let us know how he did.

Travis

Nate played really well. Not quite as good as his last tourney but given the fact he is the youngest on the team, he held his own against bigger, older kids.

MCS

[BUCASmoker]

Not sure if this helps, but I suffered a similar injury playing ultimate frisbee 2 years back. I had a partial tear on the inside part of my right knee, and had surgery to repair the tear.

I ended up being off of it for a while - about 2.5 weeks until I was riding a bike, but almost 2 months before I could run (on a treadmill) and only 4 months until I could play sports again. My advice would be to not push the recovery. I recovered very slowly (not sure why, just had a good amount of pain for a long time). Usually recovery time from meniscus surgery is really fast.

The one good thing about meniscus tears is that it isn't very easy to re-injure it in the same way. It's a little bit different than other injuries such as breaks where the area is a lot weaker after it's healed.

[MajorCaptSilly]

Update:

When we took Nate to the orthotics place where my wife works to get fitted for a brace, the orthotist asked him if he knew his right leg was 3/8'' shorter than his left. We never had a doctor mention that. He gave Nate a lift for his shoe that has changed everything. Not nearly as much pressure on the left knee now. He had to be fitted for a custom brace as he has a bow in is leg that makes an off-the-shelf brace useless. The same place that makes the braces for The Lakers is making his brace. Off to Purdue for another tourney!

MCS

[ahc4353]

So nice to hear good news!

Thanks Scott!

Enjoy the tourney

[Starscream]

Good news indeed!

[BlackDog]

Scott, that's good news. I'm glad the doc found the source of the problem. Here's to many successful years playing basketball!