How did the dr diagnose your meniscus tear?

Options
2»

Replies

  • EatWholeFoods
    EatWholeFoods Posts: 174 Member
    Options
    Thanks everyone! Wow some of you have been through a lot of waiting and a lot of pain. Good news is it is finally starting to feel better. It does worry me because the pain happens from twisting or jumping. I know some meniscus tears heal on their own. I do not want to cause damage ever again though. I will get a second opinion if it isn't getting much better than this soon or if it gets worse. I can't bike. I tried swimming. I can walk now without pain. I do heat then stretches and some exercises for it then stretch again which is helping and I increased my vitamin c intake and that is when I finally noticed an improvement about 3 days after extra vitamin c.
  • jeremywm1977
    jeremywm1977 Posts: 657 Member
    Options
    EatWholeFoods wrote: »
    Thanks good info! It locks up sometimes and buckles forward and I told the dr that. It isn't visibly swollen.

    The locking and buckling may be a sign of torn meniscus, or at least that was the case with me and I just recently had my 3rd surgery on my left knee back in April (my left knee has given me problems since age 15.....i'm 38 now, and probably on my way to a knee replacement before I hit 50). The locking is from the floating cartilage "wedging" itself in the knee joint.......put a pencil in a door hinge and try closing the door for an example of what's going on. I believe the buckling is caused by the same problem, only the loose cartilage is throwing your joint out of alignment and throwing off the joint's stability, causing the buckling. (Please note that I am paraphrasing information that I partially understood from the expert explaining it to me, so please don't rip me to shreds if this is somewhat inaccurate)

    Sometimes an x-ray can pick up on whether or not your meniscus may be torn.......cartilage is not easy to see on an x-ray, but there are some telltale signs in an x-ray that can at least steer a good orthopedic specialist in the right direction. I've been shown my x-rays, and it was pretty obvious even to my untrained eye. Yes, an MRI can be even more help if an x-ray isn't obvious, for instance, if your damage isn't that bad (my knee was tore up all kinds of bad).
  • EatWholeFoods
    EatWholeFoods Posts: 174 Member
    Options
    Thank you, it is getting better but what looks weird is I did a lunge in the mirror and see a dark colored "band" moving on my knee area. The healthy knee doesn't do that. What the heck is that lol. I can carry heavy things. Things seem better but can't jump without the bad pain and twisting causes it. The bad pain has reduced to a 5 and was like a 9 when it occured while running. I thought it would rupture when it first happened.
  • jeremywm1977
    jeremywm1977 Posts: 657 Member
    Options
    In researching "dark colored 'band'", I see information that says it could either be bruising from damaged cartilage or a torn ACL or MCL. I'm not trying to worry you, I don't think anything will rupture, but you may want to get an orthopedic specialist to look at it, ask for an x-ray and if the x-ray turns up nothing, ask for an MRI.

    Don't give up until you get an answer.
  • EatWholeFoods
    EatWholeFoods Posts: 174 Member
    Options
    Thanks so much. I went back to the dr and I am getting an mri soon. Now the dr thinks I have a torn meniscus. What is bad is the dark band like you said. Theres a longer bruise now...looks like frayed blue lines or something and then the dark band I see in the mirror if I do a lunge. So something could be torn and bruised...maybe my meniscus slipped out of place? I can straighten my leg and bend but it randomly bends and buckles and I fell from it on Monday.

Categories