Hello Fellow Swimmers: Last week I fell and broke my knee cap, had surgery on Wednesday and two screws and some wire were inserted to put it back in place. The doctor at the ER is a orthopedic surgeon who specializes in shoulder and hands and once the initial consultation is over I thought it would be best to see a knee specialist, any thoughts? The doc was telling me to be off my leg completey for at least 6 to 8 weeks and I'm concerned over what kind of recovery and physical therapy I'll have to go thru.
Former Member
My mother recently broke her knee cap. Without surgery, she has been off her feet for 6-week. She can now only put some weight on it. I may be another 6-week before she can really use it. A 12-week gap in training would make a major impact for a swimmer, so consider wisely what your best options will be.
I agree - see a specialist. You might also consult with a sport medicine specialist to get a second opinion. They mostly deal with knee and shoulder injuries.
Good luck and speedy recovery,
Anthony Thompson
Most ortho's these days work in practices where there is a specialist in nearly every category. Give the MD who cut on you a call and ask him for some more specifics. He will either give you the info you need or point you in the right direction.
I think most MD's are going to tell you to consult with the MD who did the surgery, if you start calling numbers out of the yellow pages. A broken patella/knee cap is rather common and many people are walking around fine without them; my father-in-law being one of them.
Give your doc a call, he knows more about the subject than anybody here I suspect.
