Meniscus - possible tear :[

Yivs_87

So nearly two weeks ago I sprained my knee. After initial ER visit I was told to wear a knee immobilizer and that there is nothing else - no tears, no ligaments, no bones, nothing wrong other than the sprain.

I had the immobilizer for 8 days, followed by two days of a knee sleeve. I started moving around more freely, started making small rehab exercises. I still don't have full ROM - I can extend my leg, but I can fold the knee only to about 90 degrees, not further compared to the other leg. There is no inflation, actually there was just a minor one the first few days and then it went away. There is no constant pain - from time to time there is, but... it goes away quickly and feels more like sore muscles/veins type of pain.

Still today I went on a secondary doctor appointment. There are no torn ligaments - yey. However, after the doctor twisted my leg here and there, pushed some, pressed some, did his part, he said that there might be a bit of meniscus injury and recommended an MRI to rule it out.

He didn't look worried or anything, he didn't say it's urgent, he didn't even say it's a must and it was more in the lines 'it might be good just to check'.

I've called my health insurance to validate and schedule the MRI, but the validation usually takes up to a week (non urgent matter), and then the appointment might be in another week or two. In the meanwhile, I'm upping my knowledge on meniscus injuries, surgeries, recoveries and all that >.> And of course I'm in full panic mode lol

Have you had meniscus tears? How did it feel? Did you get surgery? How long did it take you to recover? Did you recover fully?

I'll continue doing my rehab exercises (doctor said it's okay) and I'll continue following my TDEE-20% calorie plan, but I'm bummed out that workouts might be out of question for a few months. And worse - I'm completely freaked out I might remain "injured" for life... *sighs*

Just needed to vent and to see if others have been in the same boat and how they've managed it...

sijomial

Meniscus injuries are remarkably common but have a huge range.

Left knee "bucket handle tear" in a traumatic impact from a car that also snapped my PCL. Had 90% of lateral meniscus removed (open meniscectomy) and pessimistic prognosis was total knee replacement in 20 years. I'm now six years beyond that and still going strong with no signs of OA. I am restricted in terms of distance running but played 10 years of competitive squash (with a knee brace for the PCL loss) and currently cycling over 100 miles without any reaction.

Right knee minor tears from repeatedly throwing myself off motor bikes when I was racing (I wasn't very good at it!). Had an arthroscopy to tidy it up and laser debridement of a patella injury at the same time - recovered within a week and no further issues.

So don't panic until you get a full diagnosis and even then don't panic.
Keep working hard on the rehab - strong quads really help to stabilise knee injuries.

Yivs_87

The doctor did mention arthroscopy as a way of diagnosing if there's an issue and if there is to directly fix it, but I opted out for an MRI first - doctor suggested the arthroscopy as it's completely covered by insurance, while the MRI is not (but I have secondary additional health insurance, so I'm not worried about the money, and even if it wasn't - health > money - I would pay).

But is okay to wait? I'm going back to work next Tuesday... and the MRI won't happen for at least 2-3 weeks.

sijomial

Waiting won't change the outcome - just be sensible until you know what's what.

Yivs_87

Thanks...

In moments like this I do think google should make something like an MD registration and validation process so that no non-medical person could google medical stuff...

nvrgvup12

I've had two meniscus tears on the same knee about 6-7 years apart. Had arthroscopy done both times. The extent of the tear will determine your recovery time. Most of the time, the surgery is easy and recovery is quick. I was back to work in a week, but sat and propped my leg as much as possible. Was released to full activity after 8 weeks. I had my last surgery in Sept 2015 and ran a half marathon on February 25. Surgery is not required, but my ortho said anything else is pretty much a band aid!

Yivs_87

Well, I'm waiting to get my MRI confirmed by the insurance company (it's paid additionally over here and they might decline the request), but I'm already thinking about going ahead and paying for it myself. Just... not knowing is driving me crazy...

And @nvrgvup12 how did you feel before the procedures? Was it acute pain? Or no pain?
My pain right now is only when I overextend after a long period of rest or over-bend my leg (don't have full ROM on bending yet)

shadowfax_c11

I tore the medial meniscus on my right knee about 5 years ago. It hurt pretty severely and I was not able to walk much for a few days. Lots of ice and Ibuprofen. Had to wear a brace on it any time I needed to walk for about the next 6 months. It ached constantly. There was no comfortable position. After the first few months that got a little better. It was almost a year before I was back to normal movement. I had no surgery or MRI because at the time I was living below poverty and had no health insurance. I saw a chiropractor 1-2 times a week to keep things lined up and he did ultrasound therapy on the joint which really helped the pain.

If you do have a meniscus tear it isn't a quick recovery. Be very careful to allow your body to heal fully before you go back to normal movement.

nvrgvup12

@Yivs_87, the pain I had before surgery was very come and go. It all depended on what I was doing. Squatting wasn't possible and gong down stairs was problematic. But walking didn't bother me. It would begin to ache after being up for ext. periods of time.

Yivs_87

@nvrgvup12, well for now I still can't properly extend my leg completely - it's maybe at 95% while the other is at 105-110% ; and I can't bend it fully - up to maybe 70%.
I'm getting my MRI this Tuesday, so I'll at least know for sure. But pain comes and goes - especially when the weather gets bad or I've walked too much that day (if I make over 6-7k steps).

itsbasschick

don't panic - actual sprains usually take well over 2 weeks to recover from.

Yivs_87

Well... the panic comes and goes. Mostly because if it's a tear and requires surgery, I'll be off work for a few more weeks - and I'm head of development department in an IT company and I'm the type of people who freak out if they are not there for their teams... *sighs*
But now it's more of down moments - saw this one awesome workout video and I was like 'I wanna!' ;.; but I can't. And I might not be able to go back to it for months. And the blues hits me...

STEVE142142

Don't be bummed out. They can do some amazing things with surgery right now and the recovery time is unbelievably fast. What you need to do is find a good orthopedic surgeon preferably one who practices at a teaching hospital.
To give you a little background I had double hip replacement surgery last year and 2 weeks later they had me walking up and down stairs. I was off the walker one month after surgery and off the cane a month after that. 4 months after the surgery I was on the golf course.

As far as working out, if you have access to a swimming pool you can workout in the pool with very low impact and stress on the knee. Talk to your orthopedist or a physical therapist that he recommends for the best kind of workouts and what you can do.

gianna42

Not all meniscus tears require weeks off of work. My experience was similar to nvrgrup12. I tore mine a year and a half ago (tennis) - end of August. Had pain and swelling for about a month, finally decreased, then my knee started to catch and lock along with pain and swelling again. Waited until a physical at the end of October, had MRI, surgery finally in January. Mine was not a major tear - had surgery on a Friday and returned to work the following week (I am a school nurse and can't sit all day, either).
Recovery involved physical therapy followed by home exercised. It took at least 6 months before I was comfortable going downstairs without fear of it "going out" but I was able to play tennis that summer.