Exercising with torn meniscus

eagles226
eagles226 Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone know if I’m allowed to use a recumbent bike with a healing torn meniscus?

Answers

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 36,040 Member
    That would be a question for your doctor.

    My orthopedist told me I wasn't burning any bridges by doing any kind of exercise I could tolerate pain-wise, either pain at the time or afterward. He also told me I'd likely need surgery of some type eventually, when pain got beyond that point. Gosh, that was a long time ago. :D Decade or so, maybe?

    I bike and row. I have not only the torn meniscus, but osteoarthritis in knees and elsewhere. I bike on a regular stationary bike in Winter, and a regular hybrid bike in Summer. More volume than that, I row, machine in Winter when I have to, boats in Summer when I can. Lots - 4 days a week in Summer. Winter is more like alternating stationary bike and rowing machine 4-6 days a week.

    Reasonably soon after this was diagnosed, I experimented, and figured out that for my combination of issues, things that involved straight-line hinging motions of the knees, and even high pressure during those motions, were OK for me. Things involving impact and torque made the situation worse. Therefore, I avoid running, lots of walking (just do enough to stay conditioned to it), things like aerobics that involve jumping around, fast break leg-twisty movements like what might happen in tennis, basketball, etc.

    But that's me. The specifics might differ for you. What I'm suggesting is more that you may be able to cautiously and gradually experiment, and find out what you can do, and what you shouldn't.

    One thing that really helped me early on: Physical therapy. The same orthopedist told me it wouldn't cure or help heal the torn meniscus. I told him I didn't expect that, but wanted it to learn how to walk, climb stairs (especially that), and generally move in ways that would reduce the stress on my knees going forward in the future. So he referred me, and I fortunately found a really good physical therapist who helped me make good progress with that.

    I don't know what your current situation is, so maybe this next doesn't apply: The single biggest improvement in pain frequency/severity for me came from weight loss. It took a little while for that effect to settle in, presumably because some healing needed to happen once the strain of carrying extra weight was gone, but I saw a really major improvement after reaching a healthy weight. YMMV.

    Looping back to underscore what I intended as my key advice here: Ask your doctor, or your physical therapist, or both.

    Best wishes!

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