Hey everyone, I wanted to share my recent knee saga in case it helps someone out there going through something similar. I almost ended up getting the wrong surgery, and since there isn’t a ton of information out there on the procedure I eventually had, I figured I’d throw my story into the mix.
A Little Background
I’m a 44-year-old guy who’s been pretty active most of my life. Back in my twenties, I played badminton at a decent level, I got really into riding when I hit my mid-thirties, commuting daily and clocking over 100 miles a week. I loved taking on big endurance events, everything from road rides to off-road challenges. Over the years, I tackled epic adventures like the UK Off-Road Coast to Coast in 2021 and after this decided to start training using TR to let me complete the Bike Transalp MTB event. I saw massive fitness gains, went from 230-315 FTP at 82kg and kept on with the training. in 2023 I finished a 200km gravel event, plus my first on-road double century. For 2024, I was all set for another Alps event—a five-day mountain bike race with massive daily climbs. But about a week before that big event, my knee started acting up—swelling, clicking…the works. I tried resting, but even a super easy ride felt impossible, so I had to bail on the race.
To make matters worse, my 12-year-old son had just caught the mountain biking bug, too, and I couldn’t ride with him at all. That really hurt.
By September, my knee had improved a bit but never really got back to normal. Then, while walking in the woods, I twisted it and fell. It swelled up instantly. My physio thought it was just my ongoing patella tracking issue flaring up, so I stuck to the exercises. But things went downhill fast my knee started locking, giving way, and the pain got worse.
The breaking point came when I was in so much pain that I ended up snapping at a teenager working in a supermarket (I apologized immediately, but still!). That’s when I realized I needed real medical help.
I went to my GP, who sent me for an X-ray (which looked okay) but said an MRI on the NHS could take months. Impatient and desperate, I paid for a private MRI. That’s when the real problems showed up: cartilage damage, meniscal issues, and a bunch of loose fragments.
I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon pretty quickly (thanks to an NHS waiting list initiative at a private hospital). He took a look and suggested a “clean-up,” removing fragments and doing a microfracture procedure. But he also warned me that I might still need a knee replacement within five years—before I got to 50.
I didn’t love the sound of that—especially since I don’t smoke, hardly drink, and stay in decent shape. None of those things seemed to factor into his advice. I also asked about ACI (a cartilage repair procedure) but was told I was “too old” for it.
Luckily, I have a good friend who’s an orthopedic surgeon (though not in this exact specialty). He was worried about the quality of the proposed surgery and pushed me to get a second opinion. So I paid to see a knee specialist, and that turned out to be a game-changer.
This new specialist agreed that microfracture probably wasn’t the right call. Instead, he suggested trying to screw the broken fragment back in place. If that didn’t work, he’d do something called AMIC, which helps with better cartilage regeneration. And if that wasn’t an option, he’d refer me for ACI—the same procedure I was told I couldn’t have a week earlier.
He did warn me that going through the NHS would mean a 6-9 month wait, so I decided to pay to get it done sooner. Within a week, I was in surgery.
Once the surgeon got in there, he discovered multiple spots of cartilage damage—not just the one we originally thought. He ended up fixing the broken fragment and performing AMIC on a different area that needed it. I’m now a week out from the operation, sporting a leg brace, and I can’t put weight on my knee for another five weeks. The plan is to (hopefully) be back to easy rides in about three months. Realistically, it might be next summer before I’m ready for major challenges again, but I have a feeling physio is going to be intense.
What I Learned (So Far)
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Don’t wait on imaging. If your knee keeps acting up, get an MRI as soon as you can.
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Always get a specialist’s opinion—and a second one. Even if the first diagnosis seems okay, it’s worth checking with another expert, especially for surgeries that can dramatically affect your life.
I hope my story helps someone else avoid the near-miss I had. If you’re in a similar boat, trust your gut, ask loads of questions, and don’t settle on the first recommendation just because it’s the first. Good luck, and here’s to happier, healthier knees for all of us!