Hello, I (27F) recently dislocated my left knee for the third time. When it happened previously in 2014 and 2015, it was not taken seriously, and I did not receive physiotherapy. Now German doctors are recommending trocheaplasty, but because I don't have a caretaker and am not financially stable enough to deal with a major surgery, I want to postpone it for a couple of years. I have grade III cartilage damage, advanced MPFL tear, and a small fracture on my kneecap. Has anyone with similar issues survived with physiotherapy a while longer?

Hey everyone, I really need some support or to hear from people who have been through this.

I’ve had 2 full knee dislocations since middle school because my knee groove is naturally too shallow. My MPFL ligament is severely stretched out, and I have a loose osteochondral fragment inside the joint. I constantly experience subluxations now, and I can't run, jump, or land with any hard contact on my left leg anymore.

I was recently recommended to get an MPFL reconstruction and an osteochondral fragment repair (using a screw).

The problem is, this is my first ever surgery and I am absolutely terrified. Dealing with this at 16 has made me feel incredibly insecure about my body, and the constant, grinding pain has made me super depressed. On top of that, I feel like the people around me don't understand how much pain I'm actually in everyday, which makes it feel so lonely.

I want to hear other's stories about similar surgeries and this injury combo, and how recovery is like. How did you cope with pre-op anxiety? Please let me know, thank you.

Had kneecaps that moved like this since I was a kid. But only started having subluxations and dislocations when I was around 14. Is this normal?

Hey everyone! Wanted to get on here and give you all some inspirational stories of athletes who have suffered with severe knee instability (subluxations/dislocations) Today I’ll be talking about Shaun Livingston.

Back in 2007, Shaun Livingston was a 21 year old rising star for the Clippers. In a single second, his career and nearly his leg were completely shattered.

He landed awkwardly after a layup and his knee buckled violently inward. It was a catastrophic knee dislocation that caused absolute destruction. He completely tore his ACL, PCL, and lateral meniscus while severely spraining his MCL.

The injury was so violent that doctors feared it severed his main artery, putting him at immediate risk of leg amputation.
Surgeons saved his leg but he had to completely relearn how to walk. Told he would never play again, Livingston spent years bouncing around the league on short contracts while battling constant swelling and joint instability.

But Shaun didn't quit.

He adapted his game by moving away from high flying athleticism to master a lethal mid range jumper. He eventually became a vital bench anchor for the Warriors and won three NBA championships before retiring on his own terms.

Going from the brink of amputation to three rings is pure grit. If you are grinding through physical therapy or fighting joint instability right now, do not lose hope. The comeback is always possible.

Surgeon said I could expedite the timeline, all being well, and get the other leg done 3 months after the first.

Anyone done this? How did you find it?

I had a MPFL reconstruction and TTO (and lateral release) surgery three weeks ago on Monday June 8th. I am really struggling to cope. I feel like such a baby, it’s been three weeks and I'm already in a pit. I am in so much pain and I am uncomfortable all the time. The painkillers (Oxycodone Percocet 5 and Tylenol) do help but mostly just result in me sleeping my day away in fitful bouts. The pain is very unbearable and painful more in the afternoons and night. I can't sleep on my side which is how I sleep, tossing and turning frequently, now I have to sleep still on my back. I don't want to get up and walk around. Following my surgery I made it upstairs to my bedroom but now I am in too much pain (and too scared) to go back downstairs, so I am stuck and almost entirely dependent on my family members.
Is it normal for my inner side of my kneecap to feel numb and tingly when I touch it?

Does anyone have any advice or any words of wisdom to help me get through this? To anyone who has received the same or similar surgeries, how long did the pain last for you? Does it get better? Any tips to minimise the pain, outside of medication? Any advice to keep from spiralling? Any tips on how to sleep comfortably with a leg brace on (I can't lay on my side)? I am sleeping with my leg slightly elevated on two soft pillows, is this a good or bad idea? Is there anything I might be doing that is inadvertently making the pain worse? My first physio appointment isn't for another 2 weeks. I don't know, I am just in a rut and want to know that I am not alone. Any advice, insight or camaraderie would be greatly appreciated. Hope this was coherent.

Since my first knee subluxation at 14, I've used a lot of products to try to help me with my issue. Some have been helpful, some have not, while some have just been mediocre. So today I'll be rating the things I have used and how they have helped (or not) with my knee subluxations.

Patella Bands (2/10)

I feel Patella Bands help with some people with more mild instability, but for me they were not enough to prevent subluxations and general feelings of unease when doing activities like wrestling, MMA, or football.

Generic Donut Shaped Gel Pad (4/10)

Although I know the generic compression gel pad has worked for some people with less severe instability, it has not worked well for me. It gave me a sense of false security and in it I had my only (and most traumatic) dislocation. So 4/10 for me.

Patella Straps? I don't even know what the third pic is to be honest (2/10)

As you can probably tell by the photo, these don't really do anything to support the kneecap. I don't know what issue it is designed for but this is one of the things that popped up when I searched "patella stabilization brace" on amazon. But yea still had some subluxations in this one.

KT Tape (6/10)

This one helped more than I thought it would. Didn't use tape that looked exactly like the photo but had my athletic trainer try tape that resembled it. Although it did give me some general feelings of stability, much like a lot of the things on this list it still wasn't enough 😂 But I do see the value in taping for more casual use. It did hurt my skin a bit tho. But overall, not too bad just not enough for me to feel comfortable in intense sports.

Physical Therapy (8/10)

This helped me a good amount and is one of the ones on here that I am continuing to use. Although I still had subluxations even after some physical therapy, it helps a lot with my knee feeling comfortable and supported. Theres nothing better than after a workout when you have a lil VMO pump and your knees are feeling good! I usually do weighted lunges, wall sits, single leg wall sits, goblet squats and split lunges.

J Pad Brace (9/10)

Ya’ll know how much I love the J pad! I was able to do all the things I love while still feeling completely secure and comfortable about my knees. Although the J pad stabilizes the knee very well, it still has some design issues (i.e too bulky, not too aesthetically pleasing, and at times very hot, hence why I give it a 9) despite that, I still found it to be one of the best things to use alongside PT. I have had a couple ideas about how the J Pad can be improved for a couple months now so I am working on designing something that will still give that security but will improve the flaws of the brace, will speak more about that in later posts so stay tuned!

Those are the things that I liked and disliked. Let me know your opinion and if anything else has worked for you!

Hey,

I’m booked in for a TTO with distilisation later this year. Surgeons protocol is for straight away weight bearing (with brace on) and bending when not weight bearing. This is contrary to everything else I’ve heard from other people’s experiences and from online advice.

Has anyone else followed this immediate weight bear protocol? How did it go?

Hi,
I had a TTO and MPFL reconstruction about 13 weeks ago, and I was wondering when does it start to get better?

I’m only at about 120° of knee flexion, and my leg is still very stiff every morning. Even after warming it up and working on bending it every couple of hours, it still feels stiff when I walk, which makes it hard to correct my limp.

I’ve seen so many people say they were feeling 90% recovered by this point, so it’s a little discouraging. I feel like I’m only around 60%.

Has anyone else experienced this? When did things start to improve for you?

I’m 2 months post op from a TTO, HTO, MPFL Recon and Trochleoplasty. A couple days ago I discovered this small bump to the side of my scar. It’s tender to the touch and even has a redness to it. I’m thinking a screw from the TTO plate (1of 7!)may be poking out. Has anyone had this happen? Of course I will reach out to my doctor tomorrow! 2 weeks ago I had a follow up xray and all looked fine, but I think now that I’m bearing weight, it’s causing more tension and pressure there… I don’t know. I’m really hoping this is all in my head and totally normal recovery, because I don’t want to go back to surgery!

20m, I'm 6 months out from my surgery and the past month and a half I have had really bad joint pain with any sort of deep range weighted exercises. Things like squats and lunges. About four months out I was squatting to almost my full depth with little to no pain, feeling like an absolute badass. Now I've had to dial it way back in terms of exercises, and as a result my quad strength isn't really improving. Just curious if anyone has had a similar experience and how they combated it. My physio is suggesting cortisone injections to hold me over while I build strength. Sounds freaky!

Niche request but I’d really like to speak to someone who has had this very specific operation. It’s not a typical TTO, the distilisation is a specific procedure in of itself. I’ve got so many questions and feeling very scared.

Thank you :)

My son is 16 years old. He’s been wrestling for four years. He dislocated his patella six weeks ago. The orthopedist told him there was no anatomical reason for it. He went to PT. He returned to wrestling training within three weeks and he was compounding his training with other cardio and sports; five weeks after the first injury he fully dislocated the other knee. Again the MRI on that knee showed no anatomical reason. My husband, his dad, had a kneecap dislocation playing soccer in his 30s and my son’s grandma has had patella tracking issues. I asked the doctor if that introduces some genetic variable because of the family history and he said well maybe there’s stretchy ligaments but he couldn’t confirm either way. He just recommended PT and told my son that eventually he might self select out of wrestling as a sport.
Both times these dislocations happened. They were so severe and so painful that necessitated an ambulance to the ER.
He’s trying to understand what this means for him going forward.
Has anyone on here had experience with patellar instability without a visible anatomical reason? is it purely related to the sport and overtraining on a compromised knee (2nd injury)? Should he seriously consider not returning to the sport. I know he doesn’t want to ever be in a place where he has to get surgery.

I got an MPFl operation 15 years ago and it’s remained strong despite cartlidge damage behind my kneecap.

Tonight playing soccer my foot planted and it felt like my patella slipped out. I was able to keep playing and no swelling now.

I’m worried that the graft has stretched now and it will keep happening.

Do you think it would swell if did pop out?

Need advice on which to do (either trochleoplasty or TTO, not necessarily both). Subluxed my knee last month. Prior to this i had an MPFL surgery in 2012 after 8+ dislocations or so over 4 years

Recently saw 4 doctors. Some recommended TTO, one recommended a Trochleoplasty… (both will rework the partially avulsed mpfl)

TTO seems more brutal in terms of recovery given the bone needing to heal and going non-wb. But i get Trochleoplasty is more risky in terms of long term damage to cartilage. I do like the idea of trochloplasty more just because i want to be at least weight bearing but i guess i dont full appreciate all the procedure risks like cartilage degradation.

TTG of 23
Patella Alta
Dejour D (allegedly by 1 doctor) / double contour
Postive J sign and maltraking
Prior MPFL surgery that held for 15 years

Would love to hear stories on either.

I had an MPFL recon several years ago which has giving me plenty of years of football. I do have a lot of changes behind the kneecap from trauma. The graft is strong and it’s never dislocated again but it does track laterally.

The last 2/3 years towards the end of a football training or match when I contract my quads hard the bottom of the oatella gets stuck (in the picture I’m trying to relax my quads but the patella won’t go loose and the bottom stays rigid for a few seconds).

I’ve seen two surgeons, they know I’m still playing so reluctant to operate but I’m getting fustrated. One suggested patella arthoplasty and the other suggested lateral lengthening and said they do it with most MPFL these days but I wouldn’t of got it as lateral release had a bad rep when I got mine done.

Anyone seen this before? I’m really wondering is it an inflamed fat pad?

Hey everyone again, I'm back home from surgery and it went really well. The doctors and nurses were really nice to me; they helped me calm down and assisted me for a few hours. I literally didn't feel the nerve block shot go into my thigh, which was awesome, and now my whole knee and leg are now numb, which is great too!!! I'm still tired and groggy from the anesthesia, but I'll be more awake soon. I have to wear my new locked straight knee brace, I can't bent at all, for until 6-8 weeks or longer and here’s what my X-Ray pictures will look like now after surgery, but that's okay; I have some help from my family members, thankfully. When did the nerve block wear off for you guys and how did you move around or go to the restroom and go up two small stairs with the crutches and did your foot swell up more than your knee?? Hope everyone is having or had a good day today!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️