Following the successful surgical repair of a torn meniscus, it typically takes four to eight weeks to recover fully. It can take several more months of physical therapy and rehabilitation, however, to ensure your knee has the strength and stability it needs to return to sports with minimal risk of reinjury.
Small tears often heal on their own, while others may require arthroscopic surgery. Most people fully recover from a torn meniscus and can get back to doing their favorite activities without knee pain.
Some minor meniscus tears can heal on their own with rest and careful home care. However, most bucket handle tears don't get better on their own. The separated portion is often stuck in the middle of your knee. This piece can't move back or heal by itself, so you need a surgeon to put it back in place.
Ordinarily, your doctor or physical therapist will ask you to reduce your sports activities while your meniscus tear heals. Healing could take between four and eight weeks. However, the time depends on the severity and position of the tear.
Left unrepaired, a meniscus injury can linger for years, causing pain and limited mobility. An unrepaired meniscus tear increases the risks of further injury and permanent damage to the knee.
The athlete with a meniscal tear is often treated with meniscectomy or meniscal repair, depending on the size and location of the tear. Potential sequelae of meniscal injuries include the loss of in-season competition days and diminished career longevity.
Living without a meniscus can increase your risk of osteoarthritis and chronic (long-term) knee pain. A torn or injured meniscus can also lead to osteoarthritis. This condition happens when other cartilage in the knee wears away, causing pain and stiffness.
Cycling can be a good cross-training option if you have a meniscus tear, but it won't suit everyone. If your knee feels uncomfortable, check whether it makes a difference if you adjust your saddle (higher is often better) or where you place your feet on the pedals.
Some people can still walk or even play sports after their meniscus is torn, but may be limited by any of the previously mentioned symptoms. Sometimes a 'pop' or 'snap' will be heard when the injury occurs. Common Treatment: Meniscus tears do not usually heal.
What type of meniscus tear is the worst? Bucket-handle meniscus tears are the most serious type of meniscus injury. They often occur alongside a ligament injury. Bucket-handle tears require prompt surgery in order to have the best possible chance of recovery.
Continuing to walk on the affected leg can aggravate your symptoms, making pain and stiffness worse in as little as a few days. Plus, suffering a torn meniscus may also increase your risk of complications, like developing osteoarthritis in that knee.
Avoid activities that aggravate your knee pain, especially any activity that causes you to twist, rotate or pivot your knee. If your pain is severe, using crutches can take pressure off your knee and promote healing. Ice. Ice can reduce knee pain and swelling.
Put your affected leg about a step behind your other leg. Keeping your back leg straight and your back heel on the floor, bend your front knee and gently bring your hip and chest toward the wall until you feel a stretch in the calf of your back leg. Hold the stretch for at least 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 2 to 4 times.
Most meniscal tears improve with time and physiotherapy. Physiotherapy will include load modification e.g. reducing your running and walking and reduction or avoidance of the movements and activities that make your pain or swelling worse. This advice will also be accompanied with a comprehensive exercise programme.
Avoid positions and activities that place excessive pressure on knee until pain and swelling resolve. Problematic positions include squatting, pivoting, repetitive bending (eg, climbing stairs, rising from seated position, operating clutch and pedals), jogging, and swimming using the frog or whip kick.
How do I do exercise to heal my meniscus? For most tears, some simple exercises can help maintain muscle strength in the front of the thigh (quadriceps), back of the thigh (hamstrings), calf, and hip. All of these areas are important for your overall leg function while your knee heals after an injury or after surgery.
Pain, especially when twisting or rotating your knee. Difficulty straightening your knee fully. Feeling as though your knee is locked in place when you try to move it. Feeling of your knee giving way.
Meniscus tears are the most frequently treated knee injuries. Recovery will take about 6 to 8 weeks if your meniscus tear is treated conservatively, without surgery. If your symptoms persist after 3 months or your symptoms become significant, your doctor may recommend surgery to repair the tear.
The patient should avoid pivoting and squatting and should work on keeping the quadriceps muscles strong. If the swelling and pain have not resolved in 6 weeks, they usually won't without surgical intervention.
Medial meniscal root tears are associated with poor subjective knee function (24), and a relatively high proportion of these patients (31 %) require a knee replacement within five years (35), emphasising that medial root tears are part of a general degenerative process.
You will have a physical examination to find out if you have a torn meniscus and to rule out other knee injuries. Your doctor will check both knees for tenderness, range of motion, and knee stability. X-rays are usually done. Based on your symptoms and the physical examination, your doctor may diagnose a meniscus tear.
In most patients, meniscus tear repair is preferred over meniscus removal. That's because studies have shown when the meniscus is repaired and preserved, patients tend to experience better overall healing and better long-term joint function.