Torn meniscus question

[fernweh]

My doctor gave me a Torn meniscus diagnosis about 4 weeks ago. She advised waiting a week and if it wasn’t getting better she would order an MRI and see if intervention was needed.

I did lots of rest, icing, etc and it has gradually gotten better. I started doing workouts again last week. It doesn’t hurt anymore walking or going about my day to day. The workouts are find unless you I do much jumping/impact (jumping jacks are a big no).

For those of you who have had this injury before how long was it until you could fully resume activity? I’m thinking jumping jacks, running and other high impact exercises.

[sadlebred]

Get the MRI. That will show your doctor where the tear is located. The location will determine if it will 1. Stop hurting. 2. "Catch" and cause pain. 3. Be more/less likely for the pain to resolve...and other things.

My right knee--I wound up having surgery to remove the torn portion of the meniscus after several weeks of barely being able to walk, it catching and causing me to fall several times. The knee got infected, and I wound up in the hospital for 5 days and another surgery. It took 2 years for me to rebuild the strength in that knee and leg. I still have balance issues and will always have problems with that knee. It's better than the daily horrible pain I've had.

Left knee--I tore it running. We jumped straight to the MRI & a cortisone injection and skipped the "give it time". The location of the tear meant that it was not likely to cause much pain after the inflammation went down. I have had a day here or there that it's a little sore (maybe once/year), and I'll probably live with it for the rest of my life.

It really depends. If you aren't working with a sports orthopedist that specializes in knees I highly recommend it.

[audry80]

It took me about 6 months to be 100% back to normal. Now it's like it never happened.

[runblondie26]

Apr 21, 2020 12:30:26 GMT -5 audry80 said:

It took me about 6 months to be 100% back to normal. Now it's like it never happened.

Same for me.
Mine was from wear and tear damage over time, no specific, acute incident. If it does return in the future, the doctor suggested a quick outpatient procedure to loosen the tendon. That will allow my knee to track straighter and reduce the strain on it.

[scottcool]

To add on to whats been posted. You can see a physical therapist to help with the recovery and pain.

[Wines Not Whines]

I tore mine 2 years ago. It was very painful for about 2 weeks, and then it got significantly better, but it was still sore for a few months. I wore a compression sleeve for extra support while it was in the “ok but sore” stage. I was able to resume most activities during that time. Every now and then it will get sore again for a day or two, but it resolves itself.

[MrsE]

I would also get the MRI. I tore the meniscus in my right knee first and moved straight to surgery after it wouldn’t heal for months and it turned out I actually had a discoid meniscus and the recovery was much longer than anticipated and required 3x weekly PT. I tore my left a couple years later and had the MRI which also showed a discoid meniscus so I knew what I was in for on that one and had surgery to repair it too. Good luck.

[emilyj]

I tore mine, had the MRI, and ultimately had surgery because the flap kept catching and I kept falling. The MRI also showed I had a bunch of overall cartilage damage and arthritis, which they were able to clean up when they were in there.

My PT told me that they are doing surgery for a torn meniscus less and less, unless it's causing a really significant problem (like me and falling). I second the suggestion to find a sports-focused PT, who will understand the level of activity you want to get back to.

[labbie]

I had a suspected one, about 3 years ago and they said same thing. Had me try PT for 2 weeks and if it got worse/didn't improve they'd do an MRI.
Luckily it did improve and I was faithful with my PT exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles. 


I did no running for a solid 4 weeks, and after that it was a slow ease back into running starting with 10 minutes and working my way up.
I'd say total about 3-4 months until I felt totally like myself again, but definitely every case is different.