Were you able to run again after meniscus injury?

EatWholeFoods

Has anyone torn their meniscus and been able to run again? Did you have surgery? Can you bike and swim too?

Ready2Rock206

My son had surgery to remove torn meniscus. He runs and bikes. I'm sure he'd do fine swimming too.

EatWholeFoods

thanks it gives me hope! How long did it take for him to heal up and run again?

Azdak

Recovery will depend on several things: size of tear, location of tear, any other issues associated with tear, skill of surgeon, any other bio mechanical issues you might have in general, quality and focus of rehab.

My anecdotal report FWIW: I have had 3 surgeries to remove a torn meniscus--1994, 2004, 2007 (re injured the 1994 knee, although totally unrelated). After the first surgery, I ran 30 min on a treadmill 4 weeks after the surgery--five weeks after, could not run 100 feet. I had had patella femoral issues before the surgery and, due to the surgeon and my own poor rehab, it came back with a vengeance. I didn't run again for almost a year.

After the other two surgeries I knew how to rehab properly (plus doing a lot of preventive knee work in the meantime), and I was back to running in about a month. I have had a lot of injuries over the past 20 years, but have not had any knee problems after the surgeries. In all honesty, however, I have not run at a high volume and have done about 85% of the running on a treadmill (but I have been able to run 90 min on a treadmill w/no issues).

I work with people who have had continued knee pain following surgery. For the most part they are older and weren't very active before, so that might make a difference.

Bottom line: knee surgery does not automatically rule out future running. Many, but not all have retuned to running. IMO timeliness and quality of rehab is crucial to future success.

DavPul

Were you able to run again after meniscus injury?

Yes, unfortunately. Even after my third knee surgery I was still able to engage in that wretched activity. But I'll keep trying. Hopefully the 4th time's the charm and I'll never be able to run again

SKME2013

According to a MRI I have a complicated torn meniscus after a ski accident in 2011. I am 50 years old, female.

As my knee never locked up and it does not hurt I did not get a surgery. The sports professor told me at that point that it is unfortunately a lose- lose situation. Surgery might lead to arthritis problems later on and non-surgery might lead to problems with inflammations, knee locking...

I started running since then, a year and half ago. I did the C25K, progressed to 10K races, finished three halfs and am currently training for my first full marathon in a couple of weeks.

At no point did I have pains in my knee or other knee problems. Running form though is vital and I never heel strike.

Hope this helps.

Best of luck
Stef.

Dball0227

I've had two surgeries in the last 6 months to repair (didn't work) then remove (approx 25%) of a bucket handle tear of my lateral meniscus. After the removal I was cleared to run 7 weeks later. Started off slow and am now up to about 3 miles 3 times a week. I was running about 5 miles before the surgeries but my knee was locking and I needed the surgery. Rehab wasn't too bad was basically walking on my own a few days after the removal. The repair was a little different I had an immobilizer brace on for a week then slowly started to walk, however it retore about 2 months after the repair, I was told ahead of time it was basically 50/50 on it taking.

It hurts a little if I run outside on sidewalk or pavement but not too bad and my good knee seems to hurt a little too so it may just be I have to get used to running outside again

Virkati

I have torn the meniscus in both knees. On the right side, the last time was a posterior tear at the root. I have NOT had surgery. I was NOT a runner before the injuries. When the brace came off this last time, I started off walking, for a long time, maybe 6 months. I've lost 35 (out of 70) pounds and I've started the C25K program. I'm taking it slow. Very slow. I've been on week 1 for 3 weeks. Not because I can't progress, but because I want to be SURE that my base is solid. Bicycling was my rehab. I LOVE being on the bike.

So to answer your question...yes you can run again. Yes you can bike and swim. Take it slow. Don't over-do it. Listen to your body. Take extra rest days if you need them. And you can google upper body cardio and get lots of return from youtube.

sijomial

Lost 90% of my lateral meniscus (and the PCL) in left knee aged 31. I was a sprinter not a distance runner but did make myself train for a series of 5k runs post injury - partly for the challenge, partly for free beer!
Ran one 10k but thought that was the most hateful, dull and boring exercise I had ever done. (Sorry runners - it's really not my thing....)

When I run I need to keep volume low and knee very sensitive to different surfaces, treadmill much easier on my knee, uneven ground an issue as knee quite unstable, hard surfaces result in quite a bit of soreness. Running slow is really bad for my knee as I've never had a comfortable jogging pace so when I train I always do intervals at a good pace until I can run the whole distance at a reasonable speed. Losing weight has made a big difference.

Right knee had a minor meniscus tear (repaired via arthroscopy) and patella needed laser debridement (old fracture). Doesn't cause me any problems at all and recovery post op was almost immediate.

Cycling is my thing and even extreme one off distance and high weekly mileage doesn't cause any knee pain at all.

I can swim but advised not to do breast stroke kick following my major knee injury.

burnsgene42

NO.
Had all the meniscus removed from left knee after a work related accident. Doctor and rehab trainer both said it would be alright to run when needed on the job but hard training for weekend races was out. Nothing between the bones , bone on bone impact would result in worse injury .
I had ask the doctor (1st. doctor) before the surgery if I would be able to run afterwards. I got some double talk about professional football players back on the field after six weeks after the surgery, and I fell for it.
Both the new doctor and trainer said that in effect that was true . BUT do you have a million dollar contract to fulfill ? Do you have the same protection clauses as a professional football player ? When you've partially crippled yourself will you be financially secure without a job ?
Well of course my answer was no.
I found I really could live without running and started biking just for my health (as opposed to the highly competitive Saturday morning foot races ). After a year or so I was even able to throw away all those LOL "valuable" trophies and ribbons , they simply became meaningless.
After 25 years I still dream about running though (((;

lithezebra

DavPul wrote: »

Were you able to run again after meniscus injury?

Yes, unfortunately. Even after my third knee surgery I was still able to engage in that wretched activity. But I'll keep trying. Hopefully the 4th time's the charm and I'll never be able to run again

Amen. Now that I've finally gotten a real knee injury, I hope to stop running.

7lenny7

I was not a runner prior to getting my knee scoped. I had about 50% of meniscus removed about 8 years ago. 4 months ago I started running and thought my knee would limit what I could do, but it's been absolutely no problem. I'm up to 35 miles/week and I weigh over 220, so it's getting some impact.

I'm not one to take supplements. I don't bother with vitamins, fish oil capsules, or anything not prescribed by my doctor, but for one exception. Glucosamine. I swear by it. I had a lot of pain and swelling until I decided to try it. After a month or so of taking it daily, my knee improved. Maybe a year later I decided I didn't need it anymore and quit. About a month after that I started noticing it starting to swell and hurt and remember I had quit taking glucosamine. Start up again, about a month later my knee starts getting better. Three times I went through this cycle, trying quit taking it. After this last time, which was last fall, I decided that I'll be taking this for the rest of my life. It's cheap (at Costco) and I've proven to myself that it works well.

EatWholeFoods

7lenny7 wrote: »

I was not a runner prior to getting my knee scoped. I had about 50% of meniscus removed about 8 years ago. 4 months ago I started running and thought my knee would limit what I could do, but it's been absolutely no problem. I'm up to 35 miles/week and I weigh over 220, so it's getting some impact.

I'm not one to take supplements. I don't bother with vitamins, fish oil capsules, or anything not prescribed by my doctor, but for one exception. Glucosamine. I swear by it. I had a lot of pain and swelling until I decided to try it. After a month or so of taking it daily, my knee improved. Maybe a year later I decided I didn't need it anymore and quit. About a month after that I started noticing it starting to swell and hurt and remember I had quit taking glucosamine. Start up again, about a month later my knee starts getting better. Three times I went through this cycle, trying quit taking it. After this last time, which was last fall, I decided that I'll be taking this for the rest of my life. It's cheap (at Costco) and I've proven to myself that it works well.

Wow that is great you are doing so well after surgery. I hope you stay well and thanks for the tip. I had side effects from glucosamine because I get kidney stones. It also gave me hot flashes lol. I tried them for over a week when this happened and I stopped the glucosamine and my kidneh pain went away after 3 days and no more hot flashes.

EatWholeFoods

lithezebra wrote: »

DavPul wrote: »

Were you able to run again after meniscus injury?

Yes, unfortunately. Even after my third knee surgery I was still able to engage in that wretched activity. But I'll keep trying. Hopefully the 4th time's the charm and I'll never be able to run again

Amen. Now that I've finally gotten a real knee injury, I hope to stop running.

Why? Hate running but addicted?

EatWholeFoods

burnsgene42 wrote: »

NO.
Had all the meniscus removed from left knee after a work related accident. Doctor and rehab trainer both said it would be alright to run when needed on the job but hard training for weekend races was out. Nothing between the bones , bone on bone impact would result in worse injury .
I had ask the doctor (1st. doctor) before the surgery if I would be able to run afterwards. I got some double talk about professional football players back on the field after six weeks after the surgery, and I fell for it.
Both the new doctor and trainer said that in effect that was true . BUT do you have a million dollar contract to fulfill ? Do you have the same protection clauses as a professional football player ? When you've partially crippled yourself will you be financially secure without a job ?
Well of course my answer was no.
I found I really could live without running and started biking just for my health (as opposed to the highly competitive Saturday morning foot races ). After a year or so I was even able to throw away all those LOL "valuable" trophies and ribbons , they simply became meaningless.
After 25 years I still dream about running though (((;

Aww sorry to hear it is bone on bone and you aren't running and I understand. I took up biking now too lol. I am surprised you threw away the medals haha.

EatWholeFoods

sijomial wrote: »

Lost 90% of my lateral meniscus (and the PCL) in left knee aged 31. I was a sprinter not a distance runner but did make myself train for a series of 5k runs post injury - partly for the challenge, partly for free beer!
Ran one 10k but thought that was the most hateful, dull and boring exercise I had ever done. (Sorry runners - it's really not my thing....)

When I run I need to keep volume low and knee very sensitive to different surfaces, treadmill much easier on my knee, uneven ground an issue as knee quite unstable, hard surfaces result in quite a bit of soreness. Running slow is really bad for my knee as I've never had a comfortable jogging pace so when I train I always do intervals at a good pace until I can run the whole distance at a reasonable speed. Losing weight has made a big difference.

Right knee had a minor meniscus tear (repaired via arthroscopy) and patella needed laser debridement (old fracture). Doesn't cause me any problems at all and recovery post op was almost immediate.

Cycling is my thing and even extreme one off distance and high weekly mileage doesn't cause any knee pain at all.

I can swim but advised not to do breast stroke kick following my major knee injury.

Good advice. I can swim but can't do free style stroke or my knees feel like they are moving out of their sockets.

I used to be a sprinter. Then more recently did long distances and trained myself to run slowly which does feel less natural like you said. Uneven surfaces are messing me up now too. I am at the lower end of my normal weight range. It seems my knee is healing but the elliptical and running still mildly hurt. Well i won't run but a step. I can run on my tips of my toes and its fine but if the whole foot touches the ground at rhe moment, it hurts...so weird.

EatWholeFoods

Azdak wrote: »

Recovery will depend on several things: size of tear, location of tear, any other issues associated with tear, skill of surgeon, any other bio mechanical issues you might have in general, quality and focus of rehab.

My anecdotal report FWIW: I have had 3 surgeries to remove a torn meniscus--1994, 2004, 2007 (re injured the 1994 knee, although totally unrelated). After the first surgery, I ran 30 min on a treadmill 4 weeks after the surgery--five weeks after, could not run 100 feet. I had had patella femoral issues before the surgery and, due to the surgeon and my own poor rehab, it came back with a vengeance. I didn't run again for almost a year.

After the other two surgeries I knew how to rehab properly (plus doing a lot of preventive knee work in the meantime), and I was back to running in about a month. I have had a lot of injuries over the past 20 years, but have not had any knee problems after the surgeries. In all honesty, however, I have not run at a high volume and have done about 85% of the running on a treadmill (but I have been able to run 90 min on a treadmill w/no issues).

I work with people who have had continued knee pain following surgery. For the most part they are older and weren't very active before, so that might make a difference.

Bottom line: knee surgery does not automatically rule out future running. Many, but not all have retuned to running. IMO timeliness and quality of rehab is crucial to future success.

Thanks good to know. I do so many stretches and eccentric exercises now where it moves it and strengthens it without stress. Still sloely rehabbing and won't let myself run til its totally better because I already retore it once during healing time and was only on the pain free elliptical...now elliptical hurts. I am sorry to hear you had so many surgeries and injuries though. Resting is not fun!

EatWholeFoods

SKME2013 wrote: »

According to a MRI I have a complicated torn meniscus after a ski accident in 2011. I am 50 years old, female.

As my knee never locked up and it does not hurt I did not get a surgery. The sports professor told me at that point that it is unfortunately a lose- lose situation. Surgery might lead to arthritis problems later on and non-surgery might lead to problems with inflammations, knee locking...

I started running since then, a year and half ago. I did the C25K, progressed to 10K races, finished three halfs and am currently training for my first full marathon in a couple of weeks.

At no point did I have pains in my knee or other knee problems. Running form though is vital and I never heel strike.

Hope this helps.

Best of luck
Stef.

Yay that is great to hear! Good work and so glad you have a success stort. I don't heal strike, but I had a foot injury last yr where a horse stepped on my foot and I wasn't walking for 8 weeos and I am worried it may have changed my form even though I had physical therapy. I want to get a running coach when I am better.

EatWholeFoods

Dball0227 wrote: »

I've had two surgeries in the last 6 months to repair (didn't work) then remove (approx 25%) of a bucket handle tear of my lateral meniscus. After the removal I was cleared to run 7 weeks later. Started off slow and am now up to about 3 miles 3 times a week. I was running about 5 miles before the surgeries but my knee was locking and I needed the surgery. Rehab wasn't too bad was basically walking on my own a few days after the removal. The repair was a little different I had an immobilizer brace on for a week then slowly started to walk, however it retore about 2 months after the repair, I was told ahead of time it was basically 50/50 on it taking.

It hurts a little if I run outside on sidewalk or pavement but not too bad and my good knee seems to hurt a little too so it may just be I have to get used to running outside again

That is great! And my good knee is starting to hurt I think from over compensating for the other knee.

EatWholeFoods

Virkati wrote: »

I have torn the meniscus in both knees. On the right side, the last time was a posterior tear at the root. I have NOT had surgery. I was NOT a runner before the injuries. When the brace came off this last time, I started off walking, for a long time, maybe 6 months. I've lost 35 (out of 70) pounds and I've started the C25K program. I'm taking it slow. Very slow. I've been on week 1 for 3 weeks. Not because I can't progress, but because I want to be SURE that my base is solid. Bicycling was my rehab. I LOVE being on the bike.

So to answer your question...yes you can run again. Yes you can bike and swim. Take it slow. Don't over-do it. Listen to your body. Take extra rest days if you need them. And you can google upper body cardio and get lots of return from youtube.

Yay that is great you healed without surgery. Thanks for posting!