Seeking some insight from you all. A bit of background. I tore my lateral meniscus in my right knee 10 years ago and had it repaired (torn piece removed) and likely didn't rehab how I should have. Fast forward to the present and that same knee hurts daily above the kneecap and directly behind the back of my knee closer to the outer side. I go see an orthopedic doctor and he has me do an x-ray and MRI. Turns out I have a degenerative tear in the same knee and my patella is not tracking like it should (pulls outward) causing the daily pain. The doctor recommends a lateral release on it to correct the pulling and says that it's a simple procedure and success rate is high. Anyone have any experience with this procedure?

Most of my research has me a bit skeptical despite the doctor's opinion. Also, my sister is a PT and she recommends weight loss and PT.

Thoughts?

I've seen a couple folks get this done. Some with more improvement than others. But I'd be inclined to listen to your sister. Do the PT first. You can always go under the knife later. And, even if PT doesn't fix the problem, it'll probably make post operative recovery better and faster.

That's what I'm thinking. Most of what I read online is nothing but horror stories.

I honestly didn't know they were still doing this surgery and I'm a physical therapist. I haven't seen one probably over 7 years.

The outcomes weren't great when I saw them. Have you tried to just rehab it?

Not yet. That's what I'm leaning toward but wanted to get different takes.

I would do everything else before considering surgery. Where are you located?

North of Dallas in Grayson County

Find a good PT and hold off on any surgery now.

Thanks. That's what I'm leaning toward.

Are there any exercises that you may be able to recommend? There seems to be a lot online. Obviously I'm going to find a PT but figured I'd get ahead of the game.

What's your email? I can send some to start working on.

Should go rehab first. I'm actually surprised the Dr. did not suggest this route first. You may want a second opinion.

Got a second opinion. Turns out that my patella is just fine. No lateral release needed. There is some grinding which may have caused loose debris to float around and cause pain. There may be some degenerative tearing but hard to tell from the MRI as apparently they're a little trickier to read after you've already had knee work done previously. He recommends getting it scoped to clear debris and really get a close look if I have any fixable tears or simple clean up.

I suffer from patella tracking issues, grinding in the knee, meniscus tears, possible arthritis.

I was overweight for basically all my adult life.

Biggest thing that helped. Losing weight and exercise. Also, wearing proper shoes. Go to a real shoe store not in the mall, and have them for you.

That's what I'm working on. Diet and exercise. Currently at 260 and would like to get back down to 215. Will likely get it scoped and rehab with PT and get me some good shoes. Once Im well enough I'd like to get back to running. I always enjoyed it and somewhere along the way just let life get in the way.

I had the same thing with both patellas pulling outward when I was a teenager. The doc prescribed isometric exercises three times a day. Fixed them right up. Lateral release surgery would have meant being on crutches for 6 weeks per knee.

Had a lateral release back in 2014. It was extremely painful for months but it fixed my issue. I did pt but it just kept coming back until i had the surgery. But I'd definitely try pt before going straight to the surgery.

I had a lateral release in 2005. Fixed problem.