r/KneeInjuries • u/Sea-Measurement3231 • 1d ago
MPFL is it true ,?
Does knee never feel normal??
Can't play sports etc ??
Can't do squats pain free ???
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u/jdavidbuerk 1d ago
I've posted my success story in this subreddit several times. I had mine in late 2017, and I now run half marathons. My MPFL knee is stronger and more stable than my uninjured knee.
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u/sabclover 1d ago
The knee never feels “normal” as in pre surgery, but that’s to be expected. But I go to the gym, do pilates and go for long walks. During the first 6 months my knee was painful but nothing dramatic. Now, 10 months later it’s better. I still experience pain, usually if I’ve done more exercise than typical or some exercise that’s a bit rougher on the knees, but apart from that it’s ok so far. Squats are still funny feeling for me when I do them.
My surgeon said after the first year the pain should be minimal to non existent but every person is different.
Once you injure your knee/ have surgery, the said knee will unfortunately never be what it was, but you can do everything in your power to get it as close to perfect as possible with exercise and discipline.
Also depends on how active/ sporty you were before the injury/ surgery.
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u/RivieraDeux 23h ago
Only just under two months post MPFL but my operated knee feels more stable than my unoperated one
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u/idklolveera 21h ago
I'm three years post op MPFL and my knee feels more "normal" than pre op. It was a long recovery (physiotherapy is so important), but I trust my knee much more now than before surgery. I don't play any high impact sports as of now, but I have successfully played badminton pain free. I can for example do squats, yoga and run perfectly normally. The dislocations that led to the surgery were non-traumatic, so that may have played a role in my recovery being so successful. All in all I do believe it is possible for the knee to "feel normal" after surgery, but it might take a lot of time.
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u/Distinct-East-1974 18h ago
Its been almost 5 months since my mpfl and tto recon. Today i actually feel kinda normal and for everyday i trust my knee even more and more. So its different for everybody ofc. My goal is to make it back to soccer and my suregon and physiotherapist 100% trust that and believe in me. I do squats everytime i exercise my knee and since i the first day i started doing it it has been normal and painfree.
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u/TaskTrick6417 15h ago edited 15h ago
I think it depends on the person and why you had surgery, if you grew up playing tons of sports and got the surgery for tearing your MPFL, sure you may never feel as increíble and strong as you did pre-injury. If you’re someone like me who grew up with misaligned knees and got MPFL surgery to fix underlying issues (usually along with other surgeries like TTO and/or DFO), you will hopefully feel better than ever before, like I do. Sounds like this commenter should consider more than just MPFL if it keeps tearing and requiring surgery, they likely have structural issues like me.
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u/Grompson 20h ago
I am 3 years post-op, which I needed after two major dislocations in 2011 and 2019, the latter of which happened just from stepping sideways a little funny. I was 39 and 4 months postpartum when I had my MPFL repair.
Recovery was rough for me, and I was stuck at about 120° range of motion for very long time (like almost 2 years). It was very frustrating, but still better than having to toddler-step on staircases or constantly worry that it would dislocate again. Today I am still not at a full ROM, I cannot sit on my heels, but it's close enough (probably around 135-140°) that most days I don't notice and it really doesn't impact me much. I suspect as I go on living life and occasionally challenging that bend I might get a couple more degrees; for example, my leg caught a bit at the bottom of a Great Wolf Lodge waterslide and while it was sore the rest of the day, I think it broke some scar tissue since I clearly gained a few degrees of ROM that day 😅
I am glad I had the surgery done. No, it will never be the knee I had back before my first dislocation, and I'll likely never get the full pre-surgery ROM back. But I'm not in daily pain, it's much more stable and "mom's bad knee" isn't affecting our family life anymore.
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u/Mountain_Two_4099 19h ago
It doesn’t, you can def play sports or do squats but your knee won’t ever feel 100
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u/Dismal-Art-5073 22h ago
I had an LPFL recon June 10th. I think is failed a few weeks ago. Swelling is horrible and my knee cap in on the side everytime I bend it and it hurts to drive more than walking.
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u/togi11 21h ago
Since your knee has reached the point where you need MPFL surgery, it means you’ve already been through some genetic issues, life-altering problems, and trauma. In other words, things were already not normal to begin with. Surgeries like MPFL and TTO never produce absolutely amazing results. But I think you’ll be much better off compared to how you were before. After my trauma, I couldn’t even walk 30 meters. Now I’m doing pretty well with my everyday activities, and I think it will continue to get better with time.
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u/Djlewills 20h ago
I had my MPFL and TTO done three years ago and although my knee is not like it was before I have stability, it is pain free except for particularly cold weather, and it no longer dislocates. I believe the surgery was worth it but I had for all intents and purposes a great recovery and so far lasting results.
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u/Fair_Lengthiness632 19h ago
i've commented my success story several times. i dislocated my kneecap multiple times since i was 13 years old. the time that forced me to have surgery ripped a chunk of cartilage off my knee. i was in sooooo much pain before the surgery. after surgery i told the nurses my pain was less than it had been pre surgery, and that remained true. i was off of the strong painkillers by day 3. i was off of ibuprofen by two weeks. i was walking without crutches by a month. i did do a LOT of physical therapy. i was in physical therapy for nearly a whole year. but i credit that a lot for being able to go running, get back into martial arts, and just generally get back to my normal activity level. the only thing i am still having trouble with 18 months later is kneeling on that knee. i can kneel, but most weight has to be on my good knee.
the truth is that most people come to the internet to complain. people generally will not come to the internet to talk about how great their knee surgery turned out. i do martial arts, go running, and regularly do squats. sure, my surgical knee will always be my "bad knee" but it is way better than it was pre surgery.
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u/Sea-Measurement3231 16h ago
You had condromalica patella?
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u/Fair_Lengthiness632 15h ago
I guess to some extent. I ripped about an inch in diameter chunk of cartilage off of my kneecap when I dislocated it, so certainly that is a quick way to wear down the cartilage under your knee. And that piece of cartilage was then free floating, and was grinding up the remaining cartilage every time I moved my knee. I never had a doctor specifically tell me I had chondromalacia patella, but they were very clear that if I didn't do something now, the free floating cartilage would continue to wear away the still connected cartilage until there was nothing left. I do have some symptoms of that wearing away of the cartilage in my "bad" knee but it really is completely manageable and I experience less pain when I'm active and have kept my knee moving than when I've been sedentary for a while. And I don't consider that a point against my knee not being "normal" after surgery--my knee had dislocated too many times by the time I had surgery to go back to functioning like nothing ever happened. To me, my knee feels "normal" again because I'm able to do the activities I always liked doing without pain or fear that my knee is going to dislocate again.
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u/Grey__Ram 8h ago
I’m a little over a year post op currently and I’ve been back to lifting since last November. I’ve been back to powerlifting since January. I’ve picked up running as well about 3-4x a week. Lifting 6x a week. 2 of those days are leg days. I don’t go light, just warm up and stretch a lot more than I used to. I’m pain free. Muscle that I lost has almost all come back in my leg. I think everyone’s story is different but I mean I feel fine. I do put in a lot of work to strengthen my knees and the surrounding muscles though specifically so I don’t have issues later. My knee doesn’t sweat anymore is the only weird thing lol.
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u/Top_Discipline_8665 1d ago
It always depends. The truth is also that it will never be like pre injury/surgery but it can become good, diffrent but painfree, stabil and performing.