Its next on the list when I recovered from the cartilage repair yesterday. Anyone had it want share experience, anyone just left it snapped how has biking gone. Obviously it depends how stable my knee is but I may be tempted to try and live with.

BUPA….

Missus had hers done (knee unstable and kept giving way) done in November 07/8ish lots of physio paid for but BUPA and surgery when she wanted to have it – 6 months post injury. The propreception(?spelling?) still isn’t perfect but she is back doing everything and more than before. Took about a year to get back to full use & fitness along with the psychological issues with trusting it not to give way.

Edit Superdan on here had his done when I was working with him, he was doing the physio in the back stairwell in the office every day, which did speed the recovery. He will have some good tips.

I wont be going through BUPA but will pay for private physio. Surgeons are all the same arent they!
Might be getting ahead of my self as I havent been able to walk since 2nd Feb when I fell off at Bike Park Wales, but its best to get info in advance.

There are ways of making the process go quicker though if you dip into the right bits of the private system. Depends what the timescales you get are really.

3 knee ops on the same knee here. First two were cartilage and the last was cartilage plus ACL reconstruction using hamstring graft. ACL was done through BUPA at the Jonathan Webb Clinic in Bristol. Post op physio was excellent and I worked bloody hard in the gym at the exercises given to me to recover the strength and stability back to try and get back on to a rugby pitch. It took 6 months before I was allowed to run but I’m pretty sure I was doing light work on a static bike within a few weeks. I did play rugby again but if I’m honest I never trusted it 100% and still don’t if I’m jumping off a fence or such like.
This was all before I took up biking and it never really gave me any trouble doing this. I still suffer from a lack of mobility which means I can’t go on to a full squat position and I’m totally barred from running as it’s just bone on bone.
I’m not a great example as I’ve virtually no cartilage in the left knee so suffer from a small bit of pain and swelling after playing golf!
The post op exercises will be essentially the same if you choose not to do the op and the only way to get a stable knee again is hard work and commitment to put in the hours doing the strength and proprioception programmes .

I smashed mine about 5 years ago. It was bad for a while, i could’nt kneel down etc. I just left it and its been ok since. Riding was’nt an issue.
I did tear the miniscus two years later and was poised to get that operated on but cancelled as i did’nt think it was seriously affecting me enough to risk an op- i was quite fit at the time and it was almost summer. Self employed too.

To be fair to the nhs they have been very good. Went to minor injury clinic 2 weeks later saw surgeon he sent to have physio 2 weeks later not a lot of progress, that was last tuesday had op monday. I need to wait for this to settle before the acl is done.