Meniscus Tear

[BigEd33]

Anyone here ever tear there meniscus? I have a partial tear in mine and its preventing me from doing cardio and mostly every leg exercise. I am trying to rehab it on my own by strengthening the muscles around it but its been a struggle thus far. I am trying to avoid surgery so if anyone else has gone through a similar injury or experience with a knee injury your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Rottenrogue]

What are your limitations on movement right now.I am at the tail end of healing mine.I was only restricted to not squatting or dling for about 6-8 weeks but was able to do other stuff. Bike is a good one for rehab ,as it is a full range of motion on the knee. I guess it depends on where your tear is and how bad it is.

 

[18gauge]

did you get a steroid injection in the knee? how long ago was the injury? do you know the loation of the tear.
if its been over a 3-4 weeks and its not getting better, surgery might be a good option. recovery is pretty quick with these, usually 4-6 weeks of limited activity

 

[Rottenrogue]

and to add to what 18g said.I did get a steroid injection for mine.

 

[BigEd33]

What are your limitations on movement right now.I am at the tail end of healing mine.I was only restricted to not squatting or dling for about 6-8 weeks but was able to do other stuff. Bike is a good one for rehab ,as it is a full range of motion on the knee. I guess it depends on where your tear is and how bad it is.

My ROM is pretty limited right now.. I haven't done squats or deads in about a month now, but even before then my strength levels dropped pretty rapidly before I had it checked out last week.. Its just frustrating because I can't do simple quad/ham exercises without being in some pain..

 

[BigEd33]

did you get a steroid injection in the knee? how long ago was the injury? do you know the loation of the tear.
if its been over a 3-4 weeks and its not getting better, surgery might be a good option. recovery is pretty quick with these, usually 4-6 weeks of limited activity

No I haven't gotten an injection, it was actually never brought up to me by my doctor. And I do not know the location of the tear, but the pain has been here for about 6 weeks already and I just recently got it checked out.. How bad was your tear?

 

[Gstacker]

Took me 2 years to recover, after a year I went to work legs and leg extensions reinjured it for another year... After researching I foun out that ya leg extensions is a no no. So my advice is to skip leg extensions and rest up, start with light weight for reps....btw mine was real bad no surgery and although I can load up some decent weight on it now I have to be real Carful when playing sports like football basketball it's the twisting an lateral movements I'm scared of not weight.
GL

 

[18gauge]

what was your original injury? twisting? hyperextension? trauma? im assuming you had an MRI already. what type of doc did you see? if it wasnt ortho youneed to get in to see an ortho doc. most PC's dont know shit about musculoskeletal issues.

I actually had a different type of knee injury. was told it was my meniscus by my PC, ended up being an articular cartilage injury. i had surgery 2.5 years ago, and still have at least some pain every day...

 

[BigEd33]

Took me 2 years to recover, after a year I went to work legs and leg extensions reinjured it for another year... After researching I foun out that ya leg extensions is a no no. So my advice is to skip leg extensions and rest up, start with light weight for reps....btw mine was real bad no surgery and although I can load up some decent weight on it now I have to be real Carful when playing sports like football basketball it's the twisting an lateral movements I'm scared of not weight.
GL

Damn man.. 2 Years? Yea I learned the hard way that extensions were a no no.. I tried them in early January and it felt fine so I was pushing the weight and that was the worst thing I could've done.. I played college bball but now I can't jump or move laterally without being in a ton of pain.. I guess I just need to watch it for now..

 

[BigEd33]

what was your original injury? twisting? hyperextension? trauma? im assuming you had an MRI already. what type of doc did you see? if it wasnt ortho youneed to get in to see an ortho doc. most PC's dont know shit about musculoskeletal issues.

I actually had a different type of knee injury. was told it was my meniscus by my PC, ended up being an articular cartilage injury. i had surgery 2.5 years ago, and still have at least some pain every day...

Originally it was a hyperextension back in August and then I slipped on some ice again in the freak snow storm we had here in CT back in October. Avoided training legs for a while but it was feeling better so I started pushing it and eventually the pain came back with a vengeance.. I saw my PC who thought it was a sprain but sent me to a Ortho for a second opinion.. Ortho recommended PT to strengthen the hammies up a bit because of how weak they have become but my insurance won't fully cover PT so I am trying to do it on my own in the best way possible.. Worst part is I live in a 3rd floor apartment so walking up and down the stairs is a pain in the ass.. Don't really know what to do at this point because I have an itch to train legs and do some cardio but I can't.. Don't really know what to do at this point..

 

[18gauge]

i know it sucks to hear, but you really should take it easy. how does the bike feel? maybe take a couple weeks of doing minimal activity, then start SLOW. a little biking, walking with a very minimal incline, and just try to progress from there.
if you still arent getting better, dont be afraid to be a little more aggressive with the docs. tell them this is a major issue for you, PT isnt helping, and you need to get better. best of luck

 

[BigEd33]

i know it sucks to hear, but you really should take it easy. how does the bike feel? maybe take a couple weeks of doing minimal activity, then start SLOW. a little biking, walking with a very minimal incline, and just try to progress from there.
if you still arent getting better, dont be afraid to be a little more aggressive with the docs. tell them this is a major issue for you, PT isnt helping, and you need to get better. best of luck

Thanks man.. The bike feels ok but extending the leg out all the way is extremely uncomfortable.. Thankfully it is less painful than the treadmill or elliptical so I can bare the pain if I have the urge to do cardio.. I think I am just going to take a few more weeks of taking it easy before I get more aggresive if it isn't getting better..