Working out with injury

Starsetxo

Hey! So my doctor thinks I have a torn meniscus (not confirmed until mri is complete) but whenever I want to work out the pain in my knee makes me lose motivation, any suggestions on getting back on track?

Chieflrg

Do whatever training you can that doesn't make the pain worse or unsafe.

DancingMoosie

When my knee hurt, I went to the gym and did all the upper body machines. I also did a little recumbent bike as the knee healed. Ask the Dr what is ok and what is off limits and go from there.

Wingsont84

I was hooked up to iv and got fat.... Lol

But Don't push yourself, do what you can or just diet and be healthy till injury gets fixed

AnnPT77

One thing that helped me improve things with my torn meniscus: I persuaded my orthopedist to give me a physical therapy referral. (I wanted to try to defer surgery . . . and have, for something like 3 years and counting. And it's NBD, these days.)

He wasn't initially inclined to give it because PT can't help the torn meniscus per se, but agreed when I told him I wanted it so they could help me learn to walk, climb stairs, etc., in way that would put less stress on the knee. It was not a cure-all, but was a help - reduced pain.

Once you're there, you csn also pick the PT's brain about safe(r) exercises, and exercise adaptations.

Each case will be different, but I've found I need to avoid impact and torque on my knee, but tolerate straight-line hinge motion pretty well. This means I don't run, do things like aerobics, basketball, tennis, etc., or even walk for volume, but I do regularly row, bike, and spin. Since rowing was my main deal anyway, I'm good. YMMV.

Icing after putting stress on it helps, too.

Good luck!

sendtoharvey

Ehhh... high school injury #1 15 years ago.
Umm.. had to take time off, but they're right, more upper body stuff, or limited lower body, plus stick to the food eating habits..

sgt1372

Motivation comes from within.

Only you can muster up the motivation to do whatever it is you want to do but you really shouldn't do anything that may worsen your injury.

As for your injury, if it is a torn meniscus, it is possible that the tear (if small) will be able to heal by itself but if the tear is large and/or badly located or shaped, surgery may be the only recourse.

However, in the scheme to things, an arthroscopic meniscus surgery is probably the least invasive knee procedure that can be done and recovery time for less serious meniscus injuries should be relatively short - just 2-3 months, as compared w/an ACL or other knee ligament repairs which can take 6 months or longer for full use a recovery.

The latter is the reason why I never had the 3-way ligament tear in my left knee repaired surgically.

Good luck!

busyPK

I've been there and had surgery years ago for a torn meniscus (arthroscopic so easy recovery). I'd focus on upper body and core exercises with limited pressure on your knees until the MRI comes back and you speak with your doctor.

JAYxMSxPES

You really need to wait for the MRI results and course of action from the doctor. The Meniscus helps stabilize and cushion the bones that meet at that point. Any exercise that requires knee flexion and extension is probably not a good idea right now.

HoneyBadger302

Follow your doctor's advice, but if you're up for it, upper body workouts and any seated workouts are still very viable options for you. I'd also look into PT, I've got (minor) tears in both meniscus and it is well managed doing what the PT had me doing (I just keep up with similar exercises on my own now).

Also, if you're up for it, remember, abs are still made in the kitchen!