Lateral release

[snapdragen]

Anyone here have one, or know anything about it?








//sigh. My new hobby is having surgery once a year.

[KnottedYet]

Please don't.

There are so many other options, that unless you have exhausted all of them it really isn't worth it to have a lateral release.

I've seen young athletic women have them, but since the original problem that caused the lateral structures to get tight (especially the IT band, it feeds into the retinaculum) wasn't addressed, they ended up right back where they started.

[Possegal]

I've had one and my knee is a world better. However the PT that had worked on mine before the surgery (patella dislocation) and then worked on it after the surgery, commented that I was the only successful lateral release she and the other PTs there had seen. Given that, had I talked to her before the surgery, not sure if I would have had it. But 1 yr post-dislocation I was not able to run more than 1/16th of a mile without pain and couldn't walk up and down steps normally. So I may not be the average LR patient either.

[snapdragen]

Parts of my kneecap have no more cartilage, my kneecap is way out of alignment. I don't have much of a femoral groove, that's where your kneecap lives. So my right kneecap is trying to escape and make it's way to the side of my leg. I can't go up or down stairs without pain -- it was bags of fun when our elevators went out at work, I'm on the fourth floor.

For now I'm doing PT, NSAIDs, and probably cortisone injections. Doc thinks these are just band aids, eventually I will need surgery. Even with all of this, he's pretty sure that down the road a few years, I'll need a knee replacement.

Oh well. At least he's not making me quit Team in Training....just have to avoid hills.

This is kind of what my knee looks like.

[TxRider]

Frequent lurker, infrequent poster here.

... had chronic dislocations all throughout high school & into college. I tried less invasive measures, but finally had the first surgery about 18 years ago. It worked well, but then I started having trouble with dislocations again about 10 years ago, so had a 2nd lateral release. (The other knee never really had the same problem, but now I have issues with the IT band on the other knee.) Have had no more dislocations since the 2nd surgery, but looking back, wish I had known more & maybe could have avoided the surgeries altogether.

Both times, recovery was pretty easy for me, but I was diligent about doing all of the exercises that were prescribed starting the day after surgery. I wasn't actively cycling at the time of either surgery, so don't know about time to return, but played a lot of sand volleyball & thought I was ready to go back after about 4 weeks (unfortunately, my doctor nixed that & made me wait until 10 weeks post-surgery).

Good luck if you have the surgery & hope you heal quickly!

[ef2204]

I had a lateral release done on each of my knees within a year of each other - and was unable to walk at the time that I had them done. I was very active (field hockey, swimming, etc), but overweight at the time which likely contributed to my knee problems as well. They were done about 12-13 years ago and I still have problems with my left knee, but the right one is great. I also now weigh 40lbs less at 33 year old.

My journey with cycling started about 3 years ago and included meeting with a physical therapist/bike fit professional who was immensely helpful in reducing knee pain/stress. The fine tuning of cleat positioning, saddle height & position can make all the difference in avoiding knee pain.

After having had this surgery, I would recommend putting it off as long as possible. The body is never the same after having it altered by the hand of a physician. While it may solve some problems for you - it always creates other challenges and sensitivities. Good luck with making a difficult decision (if you haven't already!).