Questions for masterstrackland on knee replacement for dashfolk
Hi, all. A Texas sprinter in his 70s writes: “I am suffering from loss of cartilage in my right knee, not enough to halt running yet, but causing some pain. Do you know of any quality sprinters who run with an artificial knee? By quality, I mean in the 85-90 % range for the 100 and 200 meter dashes. Appreciate any comments or contacts about this.” I’m consumed by work right now, so my apologies for the infrequent updates. Lots of records to report. Stay tuned.
10 Responses
I’ve had 5 knee surgeries, including ACL replacement, ACL stapled back on the bone, minisectomies, etc., so I don’t have an abundance of cartilage. Went several months ago to inquire about surgery for a painful L knee but was told there were too many surgeries and too much damage. We did a Synvisc One injection instead, and the substance (I believe haluronic acid) function as an artifical cushion in the knee. My knees felt like new and I’ve found runing fun again. You can get the injections every six months without any long term negative effects. I’ve scheduled my next one before the WMA championship. My suggestion is to check with your physician about Synvisc One to see if you’re a candidate. It is certainly not as drastic as a knee replacement.
There is an 85 year old runner and jumper in Southern California named Tom Pastsalis who is a multiple national and world champion who had both knees replaced.
He run with the So Cal Track Club.
There is one study of a small group of people who have had knee replacements, who continue to exercise variously, and, interestingly, all live in the mountains of Switzerland, so this is a very delineated sample. Because they were all exceeding actively physically all their lives (the norm where they live) they all continued to try to lead very active lives (read “very athletic” by US standards). Many continued bicycling. While there were no runners per se insofar as competing in track meets, some few did run at times as part of their lifestyle, many hiked up and down steep hills and mountains, etc. The authors of the study noted that the peoples’ past lifestyle, their tolerance for extremely vigourous activity, and their cultural proclivity for staying active, allowed for an extreme example of what knee replacement patients might accomplish. While I am not an MD, I have never heard of anyone sprinting or competing in middle distance with any type of knee replacement, partial or complete. The technology advances significantly every 5 years, but orthopedic surgeons I know tell me we are quite far from having the perfect knee replacement. There are so many variables yet to deal with.
I agree with Robert. Go see an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in sports medicine for an evaluation to see if your condition would respond to hyaluronate injections. There are others aside from Synvisc – Hyalgan, Supartz, Reclast and Orthovisc. A total knee replacement should be considered only as the last resort. Running typically is not one of the activities recommended afterwards. Good luck and don’t stop!
Also, to prolong their athletic careers on the track and field I suggest master athletes utilize the pool more often and as a ssytematic part of their training for a type of supercushioned training
Training in the pool can do as much for you in as many ways as your imagination can dream of..just my .02
I have a similar problem, but perhaps not so severe. I had torn meniscuses in my right and left knees repaired in 1999 and 2003. Both times the tears were due to stomping on a shovel, not due to running. Then in 2008 I injured my right while running hurdles. After running sub par in only three meets in 2009 I had another surgery. It seems that I would have better without the fall 2009 surgery. I didn’t compete in 2010. I continue to pursue a solution. I was encouraged to see an M55 tripple jumper using a knee brace in Albuquerque. His 2nd jump exceeded the existing M55 American record, so it seems to me that it must have been taking care of his knee problem. A knee brace certainly seems more sane than knee replacement. My twin brother had a knee replacement several years ago, saying at the time that it sure beat a peg leg. Last summer he said that he regreted having the replacement. At this point I still have good flexibility, so I think the significant discomfort that follows light training might best be avoided by wearing a knee brace when I run. So far, I can still walk the dogs and do light yard work, but have to be careful of really stressing my right knee. When I talked to Earl Fee in Albuquerque in March, he said that when he had a torn meniscus, his doctor suggested just letting it heal naturally, so he never had surgery. “Repair” consists of trimming the meniscus, so that is likely a part of my problem today. I hope that our Texas sprinter friend avoids drastic surgery. I hope that his doctor isn’t suggesting replacement as a solution. Certainly, he should first try a knee brace. Ron K.
I had my first total knee replacement (TKR) in January of 2009 and my left knee replaced 7 months ago. I’ve got a great doctor here in Austin, TX! I’ve averaged 70 miles/week for the past 11 weeks and my speed is now slowly coming back. If things go well my hope is to run a marathon this fall and then be on the starting line for Boston next spring and run competetivly for my age group (55-59) I would certainly do every option available before a TKR but the advances they have made with them is amazing! I have the DuPuy Rotating Knees by Johnson & Johnson. So far so good! I wish you all the best! рџ™‚
I think Dick’s experience should be more the norm for guys that have been athletic most of their lives, not sitting around wishing they could still compete. I had my left knee done about 8 months ago and will have my right one done next month. I can already do more with my left leg than I have in years, include run without pain. Most physicians will not encourage this sort of activity for legal reasons, and they truly don’t know what might happen, but they know it goes on all the time. You can google one study on high impact sports and knee replacements that surprised the medical community. I have the same DuPuy Rotating Knee. If you guys want to run again, replacements make that possible if you are willing to put in a lot of painful rehab.
I could not agree with Rusty more! Good luck with your next TKR! Have a great 4th of July!
Dick рџ™‚
I had a TKR 18months ago. Although the knee ‘clunks’ there is no pain. I am competing in track cycling sprints and expecting to go to the world masters this year. I train daily, mostly high intensity sprinting and leg strength exercises. I am 67yrs of age
Leave a Reply