Yes, you can often lift your leg with a torn meniscus, especially with exercises like straight leg raises that strengthen the quadriceps to support the knee, but you must listen to your body and avoid painful movements like twisting or deep squatting, which can worsen the tear; exercises like lifting a leg straight up while lying down or heel slides are good, but heavy lifting or pivoting should be avoided until cleared by a doctor or physical therapist.
Tighten the quadriceps of your injured leg. Keeping your knee as straight as possible, lift your injured leg off the bed until your heel is about 30 centimetres (12 inches) above the bed or floor. Hold for 6 seconds and then lower slowly.
The patient should avoid pivoting and squatting and should work on keeping the quadriceps muscles strong.
A torn meniscus causes pain, swelling and stiffness. You also might feel a block to knee motion and have trouble extending your knee fully.
Knee Strengthening Exercises for Meniscal Tears
1. Deep Squats and Lunges. Movements that require bending the knee deeply, such as full squats or lunges, put significant pressure on the meniscus. These exercises can worsen pain and increase the risk of additional tearing, especially if performed with poor form or added weight.
Examples of moderate intensity activities include:
Perimeniscal injections: a new gold standard for meniscus tear treatment. Perimeniscal injections offer a promising new pathway in the conservative management of degenerative meniscus tears. Degenerative meniscus tears are a common cause of persistent knee pain, especially in ageing and active populations.
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.
Symptoms of a meniscus tear may be different for each person, but some of the most common symptoms are: Pain in the knee joint: usually on the inside (medial), outside (lateral) or back of the knee. Swelling. Catching or locking of the knee joint.
Riding a stationary bike is often recommended during rehabilitation following surgery to repair a torn meniscus, according to the AAOS. Stationary bikes can be easily programmed to provide little resistance to your knee joint.
The majority of meniscal tears heal with time and physiotherapy. Physiotherapy will include load modification, such as reducing running and walking and reducing or avoiding movements and activities that aggravate your pain or swelling. The exercises will gradually improve your knee's strength and stability.
Focus on Rest and Activity Modification
Rest gives your meniscus time to repair itself. However, complete inactivity can stiffen the joint and weaken the surrounding muscles. Instead, shift to low-impact activities. Walking on flat surfaces or swimming can keep you active without adding strain.
Motion is typically restricted for first 4 to 6 weeks to allow the meniscus to heal. 4 to 6 weeks, if: You have regained motion and strength. Your knee is not swollen or painful.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome. ITBS is a common source of pain in athletes. Although the iliotibial band (ITB) can become inflamed proximally and present as hip pain, it most commonly presents at the lateral aspect of the knee and can mimic a lateral meniscus tear.
Corticosteroid Injections
Your doctor may inject a small amount of anesthetic into the knee along with corticosteroids. The anesthetic provides immediate pain relief that wears off after a few hours, at which time knee pain may return. The corticosteroid begins to work two to three days later.
How is a meniscus tear treated? If your MRI indicates a Grade 1 or 2 tear, but your symptoms and physical exam are inconsistent with a tear, surgery may not be needed. Grade 3 meniscus tears usually require surgery, which may include: Arthroscopic repair — An arthroscope is inserted into the knee to see the tear.
Although knee braces do not heal or treat your meniscus tear directly, they can provide extra support and stability for your knee while your meniscus injury heals.
It doesn't heal the meniscus
A cortisone injection cannot heal your meniscus tear. In most cases, your body will heal over time if you follow the correct rehab plan. Cortisone only helps with reducing the pain and inflammation from meniscal injuries.
Most people who tear a meniscus can return to full activity. If you have surgery to repair a torn meniscus, your knee should be fully recovered after a few months of physical therapy. If you have surgery to remove all or part of your meniscus, you may be at a higher risk of developing arthritis down the road.
Current evidence states that the first treatment for degenerative meniscus tears should be physical therapy! Several studies have shown that improvements in pain and function are the same whether you have arthroscopic surgery or physical therapy.
"Human evolution led to five basic movements, which encompass nearly all of our everyday motions." Meaning your workout needs just five exercises, one from each of these categories: push (pressing away from you), pull (tugging toward you), hip-hinge (bending from the middle), squat (flexing at the knee), and plank ( ...
5 minutes of warm-up. 5 minutes of strength exercises. 5 minutes of balance training. 30 minutes of light to moderate aerobic activity.
This is exactly where the DAILY 7 exercise concept comes into play. Focusing on the seven basic human movement patterns - push, pull, squat, lunge, hinge, rotation and plank - this concept will help you build strength, increase flexibility and reduce the risk of injury.