“I felt looked after by Mr Webb throughout”

We talk to one of Mr Jonathan Webb’s previous patients about her experience. An enthusiastic rock climber, she suffered a torn meniscus that was repaired by Mr Jonathan Webb at the Fortius Clinic, London.

“The video was recorded in November, two months after my surgery. The video was shot during the female Boulder eliminator. I started very slowly trying to have every move under control. The roof section was the most demanding one but someone I managed to climb further than my three other rivals and so I won the eliminator!”

I am a 27-years-old journalist working as implementation consultant. I have always been a very active person. I hiked in the mountain every time I had an opportunity and, as a kid, I practiced tennis, handball, judo, swimming, table tennis and for the last ten years, I’ve enjoyed canyoning and rock climbing.

I’ve been living for the past three years in London. London is a rushed, fast-paced city, but my routine is pretty much 40 hours a week sitting at my desk, so in my spare time I climb between two to four times a week. My session in the climbing centre lasts between one to three hours. Climbing makes me feel alive and I love the muscular effort that the sports requires. I generally feel energetic, fit and strong. I also like to do climbing competitions and that requires a regular training practice.

A week before I tore my meniscus I had been climbing in Sardinia. I believe the continuous physical strength and endurance that those days required meant the beginning of my knee deterioration. Then I was doing rope climbing in London with a friend and everything was going fine but when he was belaying me down with the rope and I touched the ground with my feet I instantly felt that my left knee wouldn’t stand my weight.

I sat down and looked puzzled at my friend as I hadn’t felt anything while climbing up and now all of a sudden I was unable to walk. I put some ice on the knee and went to A&E. At that moment the knee wasn’t swollen so their advice was to go home and follow up with my GP for a MRI. They sent me home with crutches.

The GP referred me for an MRI which revealed a torn meniscus. Options were to do surgery or not.

Surgery for torn meniscus

At the beginning I was unsure so I started doing some physiotherapy which helped to get my quadriceps stronger. From not being able to walk without limping, I was able to walk normally. However, as a rock climber I felt that if I didn’t have surgery, I would not be able to return to the same level of climbing, as climbing demands all sorts of contortion and weird angles.

I received the date of the surgery within a week of my decision and on the day of the surgery I was a little bit nervous but everything went really well. Mr Webb and his team were incredibly professional and at all time I felt looked after.

Rehab after surgery

The same day of the surgery I was home walking. I stayed at home for a couple of days icing and resting the leg as much as I could. I started physiotherapy straight away with the goal to improve quadriceps strength. My physiotherapist, Martina Kheoe, helped me to recover at the exactly right pace.

Returning to pre-injury activity level

I don’t have any pain in my knee and I was back to climbing after five months. I am weaker than before and it is taking me a little time to recover my strength. I’m climbing with a solid knee support and now that I know I have been fixed it is a case of trusting the knee and focusing on improving my climbing.

If you’re worried you may be suffering from a torn meniscus or other problem relating to the knee, book a consultation with Mr Jonathan Webb at either his London or Bristol clinics.