Jonathan, age 56, who has a challenging medical history shares his experience of being pain free 18 months having had double nStride (autologous protein) injections in both knees and gives some very handy advice too!
I was in real pain. I mean teeth clenching, screaming, awful, pain. I staggered the arthroscopies on both knees by three months, so that I could have a knee supporting the recovering one - and I’m glad I did. One knee was just one stage from needing replacement, the other was two stages. Ninety days after the second operation on both knees I was given the nStride procedure at the same time.
I had nStride too soon – which was totally my fault. Initially, I had continued pain from the second knee for about six months. If I had waited a further three months before having the pair of, totally painless, injections then I am certain all would have been well right from the start. But I really did insist on having the injections, and both timing and attitude are the only parts of the process I would change. Even so, pain in the worse knee dropped from level eight to three and the better knee down to one. Now, both have been stable - at level zero - for over a year. Really astonishing. But I wish I’d waited that little bit longer.
Initial cosseting was important for me. Everything involving my legs was done gently, mindful of the whole leg as being important and not just focusing on the knee. I chose to gradually return to normal walking and leg use over 3-4 months and still think of the effects on them when I do most things.
Complementary additions. Physiotherapy, gait analysis, and professional orthotics no doubt boosted the procedure’s outcome – and likely the final 5% of my good outcome.
To me, nStride really works. My life has been restored. Everyday walking, hiking the really steep bits of the Austrian alps, gardening, getting in and out of low-slung cars, servicing my motorbike, maintaining two allotments, emptying the dishwasher, and countless other formerly impossible things are again part of my daily life. I can currently kneel down and stand up with no support or floundering whilst having zero pain. I walk a minimum 5,000 steps per day, frequently exceeding 20,000 - with no knee pain at all. Having an awful diet - I am (post lockdown) five stone over my perfect weight but my knees are still performing at 99% perfect compared to the 20% beforehand.
Yes, it is worth the money. nStride is not a cheap procedure, and with my additions this was a considerable investment. But it is worth every penny, and in retrospect I would have invested more if needed. Once you lose your knees you will do almost anything to get them functional and remove that dreadful pain.
Chill out and believe in the outcome. I have no idea how many times I have twisted or overloaded my knees - hundreds. Similarly, the number of times I was sure that I had finally blown it and damaged them to the point they would need the big operation; only for them to be perfectly restored in a day or two.
Keep moving. Remembering and using good physiotherapy exercises repeatedly to help the knees was advised during a great rehabilitation programme I signed up for. I still do 5-10 minutes of knee exercises daily to maintain ligaments and tendons. Keep finding ways to move and not sit down for too long. Wherever you are, simply do not give the knees a chance to lock up and keep the soft tissue strong and nimble.
Mr Vedi really knows what he’s doing. He has an extensively excellent track record in his profession. As one of the UK pioneers of the treatment, he totally understands even the finest points of nStride I recommend him to you just as I have close friends, and members of my family.
My trust in both Mr Vedi and nStride was very well placed. I am so glad I happened to meet him, so happy we discussed this procedure, and I am utterly overjoyed with the outcome. Thank you Mr Vedi. You changed my life.