torn meniscus?

LisaUlrey

Any experiences with a torm meniscus? I am almost positive this is what is going on with my knee. Healing time with out surgery? Can I do normal exercises after healing?

Azdak

If your meniscus is actually torn, it will not heal. It is a piece of cartilage that has no blood flow. A torn meniscus is a structural injury that will most likely not get better. Depending on a number of factors, a doctor may choose to: a) try to surgically repair the meniscus; b) trim the loose piece of cartilage that is moving around the joint capsule and causing pain; c) put you on a rehab program to try to strengthen muscles and increase the stability of the knee so that there is not that much pain.

I have to be honest--I haven't seen Option C work very well -- not for a return to full activity.

An injury such as a torn meniscus has to be evaluated in terms of your lifestyle and desired activity. In some cases, it doesn't have to be repaired -- it really depends on how it affects what you want to do.

On the more positive side, if you ACTIVELY rehab the knee post-surgery (and I mean from day 1--following a therapists instructions), recovery is often straightforward and there are often no limits to future activity.

I have had 3 surgeries for meniscus tears--the first one was bad because I didn't work aggressively enough to reduce the swelling post-surgery and to regain my range of motion, and because I had an underlying patello-femoral tendinitis that I hadn't addressed properly (the surgeon also did some "freelance" work in the knee that caused increased swelling). That took 10 months before I could run again. However, after the other two (last one in my 50s), I was playing golf within a week and back to running not long afterward. My workouts have never been affected by the surgeries.

MoreBean13

Get to a doctor ASAP! Sorry about your injury.

Hoppymom

I had surgery after messing around with therapy. Healed very quickly after the surgery and can do anything with no pain.

skinnyjeanzbound

I had a minor tear and was able to rehab with physical therapy (2x/week for 8 weeks) plus doing strengthening exercises at home EVERY DAY. I was VERY good about doing my required homework and have had a good outcome since. It took a few months of continued work at home after finishing PT for the pain to completely subside, but it's been over a year with no recurrence of the pain.

I never had to stop running while doing rehab, but had to cut some other exercises that hyper-flexed the knee and also had to quit bending my leg underneath me when I sit (a bad habit that was really hard to break).

Good luck with your recovery.