Surgery for Runner's Knee (PFPS)

I had developed a left knee pain after running 5.5M every day for about a year. My doctor suggested to go through a meniscus surgery. I had a arthroscopic surgery where the surgeon cleared my meniscus, which was not torn, but was not smooth due to a history of heavy basketball career.

The surgery was very short (about 40 minutes from entry to leaving the surgery center) I had a local anaesthesia, and I actually walked back to my car...

After the surgery I went through a period of 6 weeks of physical therapy, which strengthened my knee muscles, and took care of the surgery scar tissue (which is a very big deal in these kinds of surgeries because a scar tissue can shift the patella and cause long term knee damage.

Probably would have been OK with no surgery.

I had 'runners knee' for years. Remember this is a catch all phrase to describe knee painwhere the cause isn't known. I agree that seeking out a good physiotherapist is the place to start. Ultimately for me I had an MRI which revealed nothing, but elected to have keyhole surgery which removed my plica and since then problem solved. No I hadn't heard of it either before the surgery... Took over a year to get to that point and then a few months recovery. Obviously surgery is a last resort. As an aside I'm not sure if running on forefoot is always the answer, but again for me increasing stride frequency has kept me injury free since, circa 3 years.

I am 14. I have patellofemal syndrome. Physical therapy, braces, or taping did not work for me. I had a lateral release on September 10. I am 6 weeks post op, and am showing no improvement. It hurts worse now then it did before my surgery. I am probably going to have to have a TTT.

My husband had the micro fracture surgery 4 years ago and recovery was 6/8 weeks non weight bearing. He runs and plays basketball w/o any problems.

I had 'runners knee' for years. Remember this is a catch all phrase to describe knee painwhere the cause isn't known. I agree that seeking out a good physiotherapist is the place to start. Ultimately for me I had an MRI which revealed nothing, but elected to have keyhole surgery which removed my plica and since then problem solved. No I hadn't heard of it either before the surgery... Took over a year to get to that point and then a few months recovery. Obviously surgery is a last resort. As an aside I'm not sure if running on forefoot is always the answer, but again for me increasing stride frequency has kept me injury free since, circa 3 years.

My husband had the micro fracture surgery 4 years ago and recovery was 6/8 weeks non weight bearing. He runs and plays basketball w/o any problems.

it's been almost 15 months since my knee surgery and I'm glad to say I haven't had to have anymore surgeries. My knee feels great and with a lot of determination and dedication during the physical therapy sessions, I reached 95% in my operated knee over 6 months ago. Which is the best I'll be able to get to and well ahead of schedule for my procedure. So, all in all I would say my surgery was a HUGE success and I don't regret having it done at all.

My name is Rosann (Rosie). I am 23, and I've had knee pain for as long as I can remember. My mom said I would complain when I was really young.I had surgery (lateral release) back in 2001 on my left knee, and they've only gotten worse.I have been diagnosed with patellofemoral pain syndrome (pfps) for some time, on both knees.Well, i decided to try physical therapy again. i was in there for 2 months, going 3 times a week. I feel a lot stronger, but i have noticed no decrease in pain. The therapist said he's showed me everything that he can, for what i have, and since it is chronic its even harder to treat. so, i decided to consider the chiropractor. I personally have been very skeptical (i guess due to the teachers ive had) of the chiropractor, until recent events. my mom had heart surgery in 2007, her shoulders were really stiff, and painful to move her arms past a certain point (much less than shoulder height). she too tried therapy, and he gave up on her, not improving her pain or range of motion, her ortho doctor wanted to do surgery. she went to the chiropractor and within the first week her range of motion increased. its been about 2 months for her and she can now raise both hands above her head.i went thursday for an evaluation and he said that my hip alignment was off, so he adjusted me, and im was pretty sore afterwards. And said if he doesn't see an improvement within 2 weeks, he wants to refer me to a different pain specialist. and that i might be a candidate for synvisc (or other types) injections for my knees

I have chondromalacia of my right knee and was scoped the first time after a year of pain and found that my patella had torn cartlidge under it.This was fifteen years ago and it still hurt like hell after the first surgery for over a year before they scoped it again. I had to go through pt for along time before they approved the second surgery. They smoothed out the rough cartlidge and did a lateral release which made my knee cap track like it should and whala...no more pain. My right leg has never been as strong as my left since though. Back when i was going to pt my therapist told me with my condition to never stretch my quads.....only my hamstrings.

In 2000 my wife had 'runners knee'. She raced all year with her last race at The World Mountain Running Chapionships in Germany. She finished 31 as the first US woman nad was USATF Female Mountain Runner of 2000. So she was not a jogger. She quit running for 1 year and ended up having surgery a LImited Microfracture. Even though nothing showed on her MRI. She is now back to training and is 99% of herself before the injury. The keys to success were her surgeon Dr. Hawkins ( worked on Picabo's knees) and patience after the surgery.

The lateral release is one of the most effective ways to treat patella-femoral problems. I had one 2 years ago and have had no problems with my knee until I tore my ACL, LCL, and PLC. The only contradiction to the release is if you tend to scar, then there will be too much scar tissue and the release will not be effective