Recovery from meniscus surgery varies greatly: meniscectomy (trimming) allows return to office work in days, manual work in 1-2 weeks, and sports in 4-6 weeks; meniscus repair (stitching) requires crutches for weeks, restricts bending for 6 weeks, and can take 3-6 months for a full return to sports due to longer healing, making it a much slower process.
Meniscus surgery recovery time
Generally, it takes about 4-6 weeks to be able to walk without crutches. You should expect to be able to return to sport between three and six months after your operation, however, this will vary from patient-to-patient.
Full recovery from meniscus surgery usually takes somewhere from a few weeks, up to a few months. Meniscus repairs take longer to heal than meniscectomy.
To reduce swelling, elevation is very helpful. Elevate the knee above the heart level (“toes above the nose”) for 30 minutes every 2 hours for the first 2-5 days after surgery. Moving your ankles up and down on a regular basis helps circulate blood from your legs to help reduce swelling.
You may be able to return to most of your regular activities within a few weeks. But it will be several months before you have complete use of your knee. It may take as long as 6 months before your knee is strong enough for hard physical work or certain sports.
This pain is mostly noticeable during the first five days after surgery. As your body heals, symptoms like pain, swelling, and stiffness begin to improve. However, if your procedure also involved meniscus repair or ACL reconstruction, recovery may take longer than four to six weeks.
General Guidelines/Precautions: Patient will be placed in a hinged knee brace locked in full extension immediately post operatively. Patient will be non-weight bearing for 6 weeks immediately following surgery unless otherwise directed. Progress to partial weight bearing with brace at week 6.
Top Ways to Heal After Meniscus Surgery
Keep your operated leg elevated at a minimum of a 45-degree angle. Prop your leg on cushions or pillows so your knee is at least 12 inches above your heart for the first three to five days after surgery. Keep your leg elevated if your knee swells or throbs when you are up and about on crutches.
However, athletic activities may reproduce pain and swelling. Sometimes even activities of daily living such as going up and down stairs or getting in and out of cars may produce pain in a knee with a torn meniscus.
Knee Immobilizer: Meniscal Repair patients are to wear the knee immobilizer full time for the first 3 weeks to protect the repair for the first phase of healing. This includes while you are sleeping. It is to be removed only for physical therapy directed exercises and showers.
If a meniscus suture is performed, the operated leg may only be partially loaded for a few weeks to allow the meniscus tear to heal. Depending on the shape of the tear, forearm support crutches should be used for 4-6 weeks.
Understand exactly what surgery is planned, along with the risks, benefits, and other options. If you take a medicine that prevents blood clots, your doctor may tell you to stop taking it before your surgery. Or your doctor may tell you to keep taking it. (These medicines include aspirin and other blood thinners.)
Arthroscopic meniscus repair is an outpatient surgical procedure to repair torn knee cartilage. The torn meniscus is repaired by a variety of minimally invasive techniques and requires postoperative protection to allow healing.
KNEE WALKERS/KNEE SCOOTERS ARE PROHIBITED UNTIL AFTER THE FIRST POST OPERATIVE APPOINTMENT. You should use crutches, a walker or a wheelchair during the first two weeks post operatively.
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.
Most people are able to walk without a walker or cane about six weeks after knee replacement surgery. Recovery is different for everyone.
Climbing stairs engages various muscles in the lower body, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calf muscles. These muscles provide support and stability to the knees. Regular stair climbing can help strengthen these muscles, reducing the load on your knee joints and improving your overall knee function.
1. Sleeping on Your Back with Elevation. Lying flat on your back and elevating the affected knee can help promote proper blood flow, making it one of the best ways to reduce swelling after knee surgery.
How soon you can return to work depends on your job. If you sit at work, you may be able to go back in 1 to 2 weeks. But if you are on your feet at work, it may take 4 to 6 weeks. If you are very physically active in your job, it may take 3 to 6 months.
However, certain exercises can help speed up recovery. They include standing heel raises, mini squats, and hamstring heel slides. They can also make it less likely for the injury to return. People with a torn meniscus should discuss exercising with a doctor or physical therapist to ensure it is safe.
Most meniscus repair surgeries require two to four weeks on crutches with a knee brace for the first six weeks. Physical therapy starts right away to help the knee regain range of motion.
Strengthening the thigh and leg muscles and stretching the knee, thigh, and leg can help to restore the full range of motion to the knee. Low-impact exercises such as stationary biking may reduce your level of pain, improve mobility, and restore function to the area around the meniscus tear.
“Failure of meniscal repair occur in up to 25 % of patients.
Failure later than 2 years of repair show re-tear or degenerative processes in the meniscus. . . Secondary meniscectomy is a treatment for failed meniscal repair.