Protect Your Meniscus (my 6 weeks of hell)

[nicthekid220]

LONG, but worth the read. you can laugh/post about my stupidity.

so the first day of august of last summer i did some damage to my knee.

i had just got back from a 6 day camping trip and couldnt wait to skate. i had my dad drop me off at the top of the hill i made my way down. i got to the steep slide section and thought id attempt to try a toeside coleman (backside?), i was leaning forward. i went for it. understand i, before this point, never really learned to toeside coleman

POP! i fell to my ass and wondered how bad it was. i held my right knee and dared not to move it. i tried to move it. DEATH! i called my mom and had her pick me up.

so i got home and told my parents "No, im not going to the doctors, i just hyper extended something. im fine. give me a week and it'll be new." so i borrowed some crutches and chilled for 8 days.

after 8 days i went back to skating. my knee didnt hurt, but it didnt feel 100%. Little did i know that my "hyper-extension" was really a tear in my meniscus.

around day 10 after the incident, i went to Raging Waters with my friends (waterpark). In there was one of those standing wave things, and being an avid bodyboarder i had to show all the inland kooks how to REALLY sponge. so i waited and it was my time. so i was riding, carving and doing 360's. and of course i messed up. when you mess up the water catches you and sends you tumbling up the foam hill into the back of a foam wall. well on my last allotted mess up i slammed hard, and did the same injury to the same knee. so i limped off and had my friend take me back to the tanning chairs and chilled while they enjoied there time. they got back and i tried to stand, slowly. and like magic! it was fine. it was alittle sore.

then in late september i went to Phoenix to visit an uncle. DITCH MECCA! so i skated for 3 days. on the last day i was at the ditch. i was sitting on my board, the board was on top of the side of the bank. i stood to leave and POP!

GAWDDAMMIT! so i sat my ass down and knew i was ****ed. so i sat on my board and paddled my self to the exit. i started stretching my leg out slowly to see what the damage was. Once again, fine. just sore.

you would think that after the 3rd time id go to the hospital. no.

fast forward to december 20th(?). i was going to meet up with some friends at a local graffiti yard to do some art, yes ART. i was right out side of the fence i needed to hop. i sat down to finish the conversation with my GF. i said bye and stood up from sitting completely flush ground-to-ass. yeah, POP! so i sat there for an hour, thinking that my knee would once again fix its self. nope. so i called my dad and he picked me up.

this time i told my parents i need to see the doctor. after 5 days it was "kinda" better. luckily it was the start of winter break. i didnt have to deal with stairs and crutches at school.so i went to the knee doc (dec. 28?). i told him the situation. he said it sounded like it ripped my meniscus with a "bucket-handle tear". the MRI confirmed it. so they scheduled the operation for the 18th of January. my knee doc suggested that i dont skate, but he felt i could still ride a bike and bodyboard, go figure..

so the rest of the break i cruised around on my beach cruiser and stole plenty-a-barrel from the local beach breaks.

i had the surgery and its been 5 weeks. my surgeon says it should take 6 weeks, maybe more. so i havent skated or surfed for 5 weeks. it sucks. i still manage to find some stoke going with my friends and taking pics of them surfing. i have to wear this annoying brace 24/7. my right leg is MUCH smaller than my left. i should be braceless on the 1st of March. until then physical therapy and suicidal thoughts, jk .

i really cant wait to get this thing off and have the o.k. from the doc to skate and surf. it better happen fast, b/c CEREMONY is playing in my friends garage sometime in March with his band. if your into hardcore you know CEREMONY is the #### and there would be nothing to keep me from thrashing to them. so until then..

PACK YOUR FIST FULL HATE!
TAKE A SWING AT THE WORLD!

oh ps.

if you #### something up on your body, go get it looked at. especially if your Canadian or Euro and have free health care.

[speshlspeclsteak]

6 weeks was how long it took before i was even ready to get surgery, it was also how long it took before i could get around without crutches after my knee surgery (october 19th) and another six before i could stand or walk without a brace on i still cant run i havnt skated since september and i wont be able to until april and not without a brace for 2 years meniscus damage is nothing

if you wanna fathom what happened plant both feet a little bit further than shoulder width apart and knee yourself in the ankle with your heel planted and both feet flat

and when i'm done, i get to do what you got on my other one from the extra stress put on it from having a weak ass left knee

[AJ]

Opened up my knee last sunday.








No fractures, stiches come out on Wednesday.
I have no idea, at the moment, if anything is torn. I hope I'll be healed in 4 weeks from now.

[islandlife]

yea man it sucks, I've been out for 8 months after I tore my acl and meniscus playing basketball....wish it would've happened in the sport I actually play, volleyball

[AJ]

Ahhhh, I gotta skate.
I can walk and I can cruise around.
I can hold a tight tuck too, wondering what does everyone ride with after healing
do you use a pharmacy knee brace, or an actual knee gasket made by a skate pad company?

[Will M]

I thinnk the same things happening with my knee, it only happens when i do colemans though, never popped out or anything from standing up or sitting down. It pops out when i do a coleman and i try and push my right leg down to the ground and it sort of pops and feels kinda weird.

After sitting down for like 5 mins i'm ready to do some more skating. I wonder if it's just the way i do my colemans or if it's my leg. I cba to see the doctor about it, i don't see it as a huge deel at the moment but if i can't do my coleman in a different way to stop it I might have to.

As you said it's not too much of a problem if you live in the UK as you get free health care.

[Stoopidsquig]

I thinnk the same things happening with my knee, it only happens when i do colemans though, never popped out or anything from standing up or sitting down. It pops out when i do a coleman and i try and push my right leg down to the ground and it sort of pops and feels kinda weird.

After sitting down for like 5 mins i'm ready to do some more skating. I wonder if it's just the way i do my colemans or if it's my leg. I cba to see the doctor about it, i don't see it as a huge deel at the moment but if i can't do my coleman in a different way to stop it I might have to.

As you said it's not too much of a problem if you live in the UK as you get free health care.

If I were you I'd get that looked at while it isn't a big deal. A stitch in time will save nine.

[Will M]

If I were you I'd get that looked at while it isn't a big deal. A stitch in time will save nine.

Gotta love that saying, so true as well. Although in this case i think i will decide to ignore it becase i was reading on another thread that its just a tendon in the leg that moves into the wrong place but it pops straight back, so im sure it will be fine. Ill probably just try and develop my technique for colemans.