Season ending injury? Don't Ask, Don't Tell

44hunter45

44hunter45

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Snorth Idaho
Saw the Orthopedic Surgeon today. Knee hurts constantly, then spikes off the chart.

GN/BN:
X-rays say I'm not bone on bone.
Manipulation of my leg indicated no torn ligaments.
Symptoms point to meniscus tear.

Heading for an MRI next week. Hoping the tear is such that steroids and PT will resolve. If it is a straight tear, then surgery.

They want me to avoid hiking, especially in the crappy tangled clear cuts around here. Knee twisters for sure.

I have four days of PTO left and a cow elk muzzy tag for December. Pretty much made up my mind that Doc don't need to know.
I will have to get creative and use mountain bike and blind maybe? I haven't figured it out yet.

I have a strapping son at home to sherpa if I get one down. Gonna be optimistic and make one of my inReach presets say come and help, elk down.
 
Man, I feel your pain, literally! Both knees about shot. Making it tough to work, let alone hunt! Hope yours are not too jacked up and mend soon!
 
Suffered a meniscus injury summer before last guiding. Made for a long august and september. PT and one of those knee braces marketed by Kennetrek have worked wonders for me. Good luck With the cow tag.
 
Just go and take it slow. You're probably going to cause swelling and pain in your knee, but it's already torn, a lot of people go without ever repairing them. I'd get a cortisone shot if you haven't already, but I wouldn't worry about it. I tore mine about this time last year, it honestly got better over time as I used it up until they replaced that knee in September.
 
A knee brace would probably help. It should keep you from twisting a lot.

Get after it regardless. Biking is a good idea. Just don't go as hard as you have been. What's worst case scenario? You turn a partial tear into a full tear?

Also, don't take any of my medical advice. I'm still young so haven't had to deal with much... I usually say listen to the doc, but lets be honest, they use WebMD too.
 
I had an alleged meniscus tear in high school when I used to play basketball. I used a neoprene sleeve to keep it together. I often feel the same pain in the field and a neoprene sleeve will do the trick.
 
Meniscus tears come in a lot of shapes and flavors. If it catches or you hear clicking, you probably need surgery. If there is no catching/clicking, but it is painful/unstable, you could forgo surgery and PT/strength train to a full recovery. That is what I did. I trained legs throughout the recovery and hiked (I was working on a G-Bear population study). It was painful but I made a full recovery that way. 99% of people post injury never restrengthen their legs, that is why you see a bunch of people with pain later in life. Strong legs = no pain.
 
Not sure I didn’t trash both mine close to 20 years ago. Only dr I saw did a quick look and just told me I didn’t stretch enough, BS. They basically seem back to normal now but I had some days early on where the pain and instability was insane. I had one day she’d hunting where I thought I was going to have to crawl out of a canyon. I get a day or two a year now of some instability feel and can bend them at just the wrong angle where I get a quick intense shot of pain like something is being pinched in the joint. Best of luck with the MRI. Looks like we may have some of the nicest weather I can remember for the muzzleloader season
 
TheTone said:
I get a day or two a year now of some instability feel and can bend them at just the wrong angle where I get a quick intense shot of pain like something is being pinched in the joint.
Click to expand...

This happens to me, I'll go months to a year or so with nothing and then one step and ZAP...makes my stomach turn.
 
LuketheDog said:
This happens to me, I'll go months to a year or so with nothing and then one step and ZAP...makes my stomach turn.
Click to expand...
That's the truth of it. I know this has been going on for years. I'm just at the point age now where I'm paying attention to whether something can put my hunting life at risk.
 
Tore my meniscus a couple years ago. Did PT and assigned exercises religiously for 2 months prior to surgery. Ended up needing surgery anyways. Did PT and followed doctors instructions after and have had no issues. If you get surgery, stay awake for it and watch on the screen. Pretty neat to watch.
 
track1 said:
Tore my meniscus a couple years ago. Did PT and assigned exercises religiously for 2 months prior to surgery. Ended up needing surgery anyways. Did PT and followed doctors instructions after and have had no issues. If you get surgery, stay awake for it and watch on the screen. Pretty neat to watch.
Click to expand...

Oh heck no, I got pics of the inside of my knee during the last surgery, they were cool until I flipped to the one that had a drill bit sticking out of my tibia...NO THANKS
 
LuketheDog said:
Oh heck no, I got pics of the inside of my knee during the last surgery, they were cool until I flipped to the one that had a drill bit sticking out of my tibia...NO THANKS
Click to expand...
What was even better was that the surgeon walked in wearing muck boots. I had a few questions about that.
 
I feel your pain, literally. Completely tore my acl and partial tear on my meniscus a month ago. I can get around now but it’s slow going. Still can’t straighten my leg. Wear a knee brace to walk around. Been trying to get into the doctor to have surgery but they don’t seem to interested in answering phone calls. The pre surgery stuff has already been done just need someone to do some cutting. The pace it’s going it looks like I’ll be doing some coyote calling this year.
 
My mom got a shot that lubricated the cartilage in her knee. It's not permanent but it'll last a few months. I'll see if I can figure out what it was
 
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