Patient Stories
Runner Back on the Road Following Meniscus Root Repair
Date posted: 5/27/2025
Last updated: 5/27/2025
For Stephanie Lee, 47, a certified personal trainer, Pilates instructor, and life-long athlete, running has become her favorite sport.
“I love it because I can run anywhere, whether I’m at home or traveling or on vacation,” she explains. “It’s so good for my brain too. I love to be outside, and I really appreciate the solitude and meditative-like benefits running provides.”
Running wasn’t always a part of Lee’s life. After graduating from the University of Charleston with a degree in sports medicine where she played on the women’s volleyball team, she turned her passions for sports and fitness into a personal training career. Since then, she has vigorously assisted people in achieving their best fitness and health goals in a variety of roles, including her current position as a fitness and Pilates coach at Life Time Fitness in Burr Ridge, IL. While she enjoys helping others, early in her career she found herself in need of her own wellness structure after so many years following a coach’s game plan.
“I really discovered running when I did the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago shortly after college graduation,” she says. “After that, I tackled the Chicago Marathon and then began doing lots of little runs, like 5K, 8K and 10-mile events.”
Lee passed along her love of sports to her two teenaged children who participate in basketball, golf, and track. She and her husband, a former collegiate basketball player, attend as many games and meets as they can.
The ‘pop’ that took her off course
Injury was not remotely on Lee’s mind until last year when she began to feel pain in the medial (middle to outside) of her right knee. Very tuned in to her body’s messages, she visited a local healthcare provider and started physical therapy. All seemed to be going well until late last year when she attended one of her son’s high school track meets. Worried that she might miss the start of an event during the meet, she sprinted to the starting line and immediately heard a distinct ‘pop’ in her right knee. “It was quite painful, and I thought for sure it was an ACL injury,” Lee says.
She went home to ice, rest, and figure out her next move. Shortly thereafter, a coaching client at Life Time Fitness recommended that she consult with Jorge Chahla, MD, PhD, of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, well-known for treating knee injuries in athletes. She scheduled an appointment right away and liked him immediately. Dr. Chahla, after an exam and review of Lee’s MRI, explained that she had sustained a meniscal tear at the spot where it attaches to the bone and recommended sthat he undergo a meniscus root repair.
“Stephanie was a perfect candidate for a meniscus root repair,” explains Dr. Chahla. “This is a procedure that I perform routinely, and I assured her that I would treat her like I would a family member. Prior to surgery, I walked her through my surgical approach, which includes passing small stitches through the remaining meniscus tissue to reattach her torn meniscus back to the bone. I explained that we shuttle the sutures from the meniscus through a couple of small tunnels made in the bone (tibia) just below the knee. By fixing the sutures at the tension we like, we can restore the meniscus root attachment at its natural anatomical position.”
Lee listened carefully and ‘held it together’ when he explained the important rest, recovery, and rehabilitation protocol. But she knew this was her best chance of returning to running and an active life.
“Dr. Chahla was so great,” Lee says. “He asked a lot of questions and cautioned me to give it time to heal. He was very kind and straightforward. I was confident that I was in good hands with Dr. Chahla and his physician assistant, Mary Kate.”
Recovery and running again
Her outpatient surgery at Rush University Medical Center went perfectly, and she was able to go home the same day to begin her recovery. After six weeks on crutches with no driving, followed by a strict physical therapy regimen, she began walking pain-free.
“I knew I had work to do, but I was really motivated to get back to full strength and functionality,” she explains.
Just six months post-surgery, Lee was cleared and successfully ran in a turkey trot, after which she says she became very emotional. “It felt so good to be back,” she says. Just three months after that, Lee ran 5.5 miles in the Chicago Auto Show run, and today, one year post-surgery, Lee is back to a self-reported ‘99%’ of full function and is enjoying running regularly again.
“As an athlete, I’ve learned a couple of life lessons in this journey,” Lee explains. “The first is that it’s OK to ask for help, and the second is that you can’t always count on grit. Sometimes you have to just let the process happen to get you to your goal.”
If you would like to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jorge Chahla to discuss your knee or other sports injury, call 877-632-6377 or schedule online.
