nievelc Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 after having some knee surgery with breakthrough stemcell treatment I thought I would document my progress, this is for 2 reasons 1. Let's be real, if you have broken your leg you it's depressing sitting at home not being able to do anything especially if your usually active! 2. It's potentially ground breaking surgery in the UK for anyone that is young and at risk of osteoarthritis 3. There's nothing on the internet about people that have had this done in the UK The story.. Many moons ago (May 25th 2009) i broke my knee - tibia plateau fracture , Of all the climbing I have done, outdoors - El Chorro, Wales, Harrogate, Lakes, the list goes on I was bouldering indoors, final move a 7a which i had fallen on numerous times. Shouting to my mate who was half way to the changing room "One more go at this!" I took a bad fall and broke my knee. 1 year of op and rehab had me running again, 5k in 20.38, in 2014 i even started to train for Miami pro 2015 with Gabriel Sey https://www.youtube.com/user/FearlessAcademy an online coach who is a friend of a friend and a dam good coach. Being a wimp I chose not to compete though my training stats were good deadlift was up to 200KG, bench 110KG, squat 140KG - fair game for someone that only weighs 75KG and is 5ft7 my symmetry is shocking and I don't compete to take part! Fast forward 6 years and after fell running in Scotland with my uncle I found myself back in the MRI tube having my knee examined, first consultant agreed surgery to fix a tear, however when I entered his office to arrange surgery I smelt cigarette smoke and was put off. This wouldn't be my usual reaction (rules are there to be broken right?!) but it didn't sit well with me. So a bit of research in the field led me to a consultant called Datta Gorav - he is a orthopaedic specialist and a leader in the UK in stem cell regeneration of the cartilage in the knee under the name of Abicus procedure. He agreed to meet me in Southampton spire where he diagnosed a torn meniscus so I wouldn't need the Abicus treatment. Operation day Recovery would be 2 weeks and driving when i felt ready... Before I went for anaesthetic I signed a waiver just in case Mr Datta found something whilst poking about to consent to the Abicus. Next thing i woke up in recovery in agonising pain , when I looked down i had a knee brace and various holes in my body. First thing i did - checked my hip. Bingo big dressing, I had the Abicus! Fast forward 2 codeines and I was munching through a panini after being Nil by mouth for the past 16 hours, right right as rain. A picture from the inside of my knee: Here is a link to the http://vimeo.com/101600792?width=840&height=580 The protocol for recovery is 6 weeks with 25% toe touch weight baring (TTWB) Brace settings 0-2 weeks - up to 30 degrees 2-4 weeks - up to 60 degrees 4-6 weeks - up to 90 degrees 6 weeks - Meet my consultant to discuss the next 6 weeks I'm now 2 weeks and 3 days in, off all painkillers and resting up well, hopefully this will do the trick! Next check in will be Thursday when i see the physio for a progress check Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nievelc Posted May 25, 2016 Author Share Posted May 25, 2016 (edited) So not a huge amount to report on top of this, except the extra movement I am allowed. lost pretty much most of my hard earned mass. However I am back at work and have purchased some olympic rings to keep my occupied! By the time my brace comes off I want to achieve 1000 press ups in 1 day (500 is my previous PB) 500 pull ups, wide and close (non of this kipper pull up rubbish) Anyone else had micro fracture surgery and returned to running? Edited June 14, 2016 by nievelc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Wow, the future is now. My Mrs was just talking about this the other day, I didnt realise it had gone into use (stem cell) part. Impressive work on the press ups too! Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nievelc Posted June 7, 2016 Author Share Posted June 7, 2016 Cheers Flex, much appreciated. So this is the home straight, Friday is 6 weeks and it's been tough so far, I think it's been tougher on my wife having to deal with me though! Last week was quite a dark period peaking on Tuesday night, without going into detail I was broken, completely and utterly and beers did not help at all, Wednesday I was ok, Thursday I did a solid hour of pull ups and olympic ring work which got me back on track. No booze now till I am physically and mentally strong again. On the bright side, Friday I should be allowed to put one foot in front of the other. I'm not expecting to be swinging a stick and clicking my heels out of the consultants office but if i can complete 5m of walking without aids I will over the moon. And with a bit of luck I can cut the grass and give the Z blast in the Kent countryside!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nievelc Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 Well I had the brace removed and I am astonished at how much my leg atrophied, literally it looks like a bamboo cane with we plastic bag draped over it! Being able to do the simple things again are great - pickup a cup of tea and walk to my desk, go to a shop and hold a basket or use a trolley, even the morning scrum on the 0738 is quite refreshing! With all that said it is probably the most pain I have experienced since i broke my knee 7 years ago. Completely forgot about the lightning bolt that shoots through your bones when walking downstairs, i would love to film the faces I must pull when walking around! Oddly one nice thing is watching the seasonal runners out and about, it annoys me to see them running so slowly which is giving me a goal to work on I smashed the 1000 press up challenge, in respect of Muhammad Ali I did my thousand then did 5 more sets only counting once it started to hurt. I didn't quite hit the 500 pull ups (310) but I reckon i can get that by August. I hope at Christmas i can go for a celebratory from Edenbridge back to Croydon to the in laws so it'll be a nice slow run Something really good has come out of this whole process, in that I have re-assessed a lot of things in life and have moved a lot of my attention away from friends & work to concentrate more on my wife and my own professional endeavours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyZ Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Beast Good work keeping motivated and focused through a tough time. Best of luck with the pull ups! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nievelc Posted June 27, 2016 Author Share Posted June 27, 2016 First day back at the gym!! Boom!! Going through the doors of Easy Gym in west Croydon was phenomenal. Shoulders and chest I'm not going to lie, I have lost some strength but i still had 26's above my head for 8 reps on the shoulder press (strict) 70 reps done in total. Walking unaided as well now a bit hobbly when going down stairs but no biggie. Anyone on here looking for a decent surgeon to sort out cartilage issues i fully recommend Mr Datta. Literally everyday in the spectrum of pain i've been experiencing I get a little better. Walking still causes a 6/10 on the pain scale but it's now very bearable and improving. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiddyZed Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 While I may not be able to fully understand the degree of pain you must have been in / still are in - I do know how you feel (kind of). I broke my ankle (for the second time) on the 24th April. Clean fracture and the inside of my right ankle broke off from the whole unit! I had surgery the next day where they re joined it with 2 screws and spent 6 weeks on crutches. I gym fairly regularly so my upper body strength was decent, but since using crutches I could feel my upper body get stronger but as it did I could feel my right leg lose the strength and also the muscle as it was casted up. While in cast I honestly felt like a kid again, couldn't walk (obviously), couldn't drive, just felt like I was in jail! Showering was like planning a mission to the moon, had to make sure the cast was covered so it didn't get wet etc, I got so paranoid that I eventually just hung my right leg out of the bath while showering (which ended up in a mini swimming pool on the bathroom floor). Forward on 8 and 1/2 weeks and I'm know walking, driving and able to have a normal shower again ! I'm still unable to run or lift/carry any other weight apart from my own as when they took the cast off 2 weeks ago the xray showed the crack was still visible. I'm back in the hospital tomorrow morning for another x ray and check up so I'm hoping that I get the all clear. I'm both dreading and looking forward to getting back in the gym; dreading it because I'm not looking forward to finding out how much strength I've lost but looking forward to get back in and start making gains! Stay strong though, you'll be back walking pain free and unaided before you know it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 I broke my leg....a long time ago!! (1984) at the time my orthopaedic surgeon told me that your Quadracpt (big muscle front of thigh) starts to degenerate and lose mass within 24hours of being immobilised in a cast. I takes a long time to build that back 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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