Anybody ever have a Meniscus Tear in their knee?

About 4 weeks ago I was running and after I was done, noticed my knee was not feeling good. It started to swell and the pain got worse. I saw the doctor and she scheduled me for an MRI. The MRI came back and I was told I had two meniscus tears. I'm scheduled to see the Orthopedic Doctor on Tuesday. Anybody else ever had this?

 

In my younger years,I tore my meniscus and ACL playing softball. After 2 weeks of rest it felt pretty good so it was back to the game. I shoulda went to the vet and had it taken care of. After numerous twisting of the knee(I thought it was minor sprain) , my knee started locking up and clicking. Went to a surgeon and he trimmed the tear in the meniscus but said if I did the exercises prescribed, I wouldn't need the ACL repared. Since the operation I tore the knee up real bad again and in the future will probably need a replacement knee and ACL. My dvicce to you is get a good surgeon and have it taken care of now before it becomes a bigger poblem. If it can be scoped, you will be up and around in no time. Good luck.

 

Thanks johneman, I just don't want to be out for very long. I got a lot of crap going on at work.

 

funny story about this. i race motocross and race atvs and never had problems....well one day i bought a wii and hooked it up. sat down and when i got up to put a game in my leg locked in horrid pain and thats when i ended up with a t bucket tear which is when it tears and folds over to the other side. surgery is a piece of cake in and out of the place in like 5 hours.

 

if they repair it your off your leg for four weeks if they just take it out your good to go after a week and whenever you can apply pressure to it.

 

That is a wierd story ya got there! I don't want them to just remove it. I need to be able to continue to run.

 

very true. had mine removed (arthroscopic) and was back on my job in 3 days. and thats when i was a valet back in vegas. ran all day long on concrete.

 

same for me minus the vegas valet part i also tore my acl from top to bottom (vertical tear) playing soccer. i suggest after scoping it, go for one round of physio (thats all you need, they show you the exercises once and can all be done at home = cheaper!

 

I tore mine playing paintball (very strenuous (sp?) on your knees with all the running, diving, and sliding). I had the surgery to fix it and it definitely helps a lot. Every now and then it still hurts but nothing like it used to. Definitely worth the surgery though.

 

Hey Missile!!!!! I hope they fix it up for you so you can be all you want to be, and more! ! ! ! !

 

Thanks Don!

 

Are you a dog or what?

 

MM, I did the unholy triad @ 19 (L ACL, MCL & medial meniscus) when I was much, much younger! There was no scoping then, just scaple, but I sprung back & am still very active even though I have degenrative arthristis now due to the total menisectomy. After that I had a couple of scopes to keep it clean then in 2004, I did a partial ACL, grade 2 MCL but no meniscus damage fortunately in my other knee. Opted for no surgery, just PT & work out. After about 6 months I was back to a pretty active schedule though I do not run anymore.

Because of these experiences, I learned a lot about knees & I keep my orthopedic is in my phone's contacts.

The menisci carry the brunt of the body weight, gets little blood supply which can make the healing process longer. Pay attention to the guidance your orthopedic gives you, the PT you definitely can do at home with exericses from the Doc. Move it when your doctor advises you too (because of the weight bearing thing), but getting it moving is important too. Remember though, everyone situation is different!

My doc reminded me of that. I was on the internet, knee forums (yep they have them) and really twisting myself into a pretzel because I like being active. It was killing me. But, I wasn't doing myself any favors comparing my recovery with a young person. He told me body composition, age, previous undetected tears, types of repair (tear removal or repair), physical condition etc. make everyone's surgery & PT unique. From your posts, I see you like being active so patience & ice will pay off. Your body will let you know!

Good luck with surgery!!

 

Thanks xedge! Very helpful information. I can't wait to get running again but I will do what the Doc says!!

 

another tip i remembered! after all is good, i recommend doing some biking, stationary biking seems to work the best for me since i can control the exercise better, the point is that biking keeps all the muscles that work the knee nice and firm to support it. i'm 21 and have had this knee issue for 6 years. every 6 months or so i have to jump on a bike for a bit to keep the knee healthy!

 

Thanks AK27! I have heard that from a buddy of mine that is scheduled for knee surgery.

 

Tore mine about 11 years ago. Had the scope surgery, would have been on my back for a week but a few days after the surgery I slid off a chair. Just operated on leg folded up under me and my heel hit my butt. That hurt. Swelled up like a watermelon, ended up out of work for a full month. Guess best advice I could give is when the doc says rest do so.

 

OUCH!
Gawd, I hope that doesn't happen to me.

 

I have a torn medial (inner) meniscus and a "absent" lateral (outer)meniscus.

The term was on my MRI report. "Absent" means it wore away to nothing. So I"m bone on bone.

I'm due for a knee replacement a 50. I'm 42 now. But in the mean time, on pain management.

Which you can't take at work, but taking tons of ibuprophen in the mean time.

 

Gawd, I'm hoping mine is not that bad. Thanks for the info.