Has anyone ever had a meniscus injury?

mbinder · 03-03-2008, 05:03 AM

Hello-

Don't post here often, but does anyone out there have experience with a meniscus injury? I don't even remember exactly how I got hurt... I was playing hockey, the skate dug into a divot and I fell over funny and maybe twisted it. My armchair diagnosis is a meniscus injury, but I'm not sure.

Can you walk on them? Because I'm able to walk but it hurts like shit and when I straighten my leg out it hurts even more.

wufabufa · 03-03-2008, 07:53 AM

i've had a bruised meniscus. kneeling was out of the question for 2 months. basically anything more than walking(running and especially jumping, climbing stairs) hurt pretty good for a while. a good amount of swelling too.

what you have(in my experience) sounds more like ligament damage.

big_john127 · 03-03-2008, 10:49 AM

It all depends in the severity of the tear. How long has it been? How much swelling is there? How religiously are you following RICE? If there is no improvement after a couple of days go see a doctor.

Terrazas · 03-03-2008, 12:48 PM

If it hurts when you straighten out your leg, you probably have a bucket tear. I had mine removed in surgery last year, probably working a triangle the wrong way. You will need surgery, but it is a 8 week recovery. Better to get the surge and not make it worse, otherwise it will work like sand paper and dig into your joints.

Freeman102010 · 03-03-2008, 02:55 PM

yep you can walk on it. I have a torn ACL and damaged meniscus too and i operate faily activly with a knee brace.

jerbone · 03-03-2008, 05:38 PM

Get an MRI and they will be able to tell you the severity of it. I tore mine pretty bad after going down from a slide tackle in a game.

Richard Emling · 03-03-2008, 07:07 PM

my right one is in bad shape my left one has been removed alot of the guys i train with have had one or both removed

Azguero · 03-05-2008, 12:50 PM

I hurt mine a week or two ago and I am waiting for my ortho to call and tell me the results of my MRI. The idea of being sedentary for a couple months sucks, but I don't want to take any short cuts with it in the healing process.

Azguero · 03-05-2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Emling

my right one is in bad shape my left one has been removed alot of the guys i train with have had one or both removed

Doesn't that mean in five or so years your knee will be completely shot?

Kilo · 03-07-2008, 11:10 AM

I have torn both left and right meniscus before. I tore the right in football when I was in high school and the doctor told me it was a sprain and gave me a leg brace. My knee would catch periodically and would buckle about twice a year into adulthood. I was diagnosed with a medium grade meniscus tear when I finally had it scoped. I didn't have anymore problems with that knee again after surgery. I did developsome arthritis over time, which was clearly visible on the mri, from not getting it corrected when it happened.

I got the second tear on the other knee at the end of a long sparring session when I planted it ackwardly a few years back. I got it fixed quickly with no problems.

Usually with a meniscus tear you will feel pain in a localized area on your knee. Usually on the opposite side of the muscle you torqued. There will be swelling and stiffness and a good deal of pain all around your knee but you will be able to pinpoint a certain area. I had a lot of pain behind my knee too.

The bottom line is there is really no way to tell without an mri and an exam. You are looking at a scope followed by 4 weeks until your walking on your own, followed by 2-4 weeks more for full activity. If you arn't aggressive with therapy it can be 10 weeks before you are running again. (NFl players can rehab it in 2-4 until they are playing again- course they have a little help- HGH).

I have had several knee injuries including a dislocated kneecap, partial tear of the hamstring where it connects in the back of the knee and a partially torn patellar tendon. The meniscus tears ended up being the worst, but you are still fortunate it isn't a full ACL tear.