Torn Meniscus

[donrhummy]

Has anyone here ever torn their meniscus? How did you deal with it? Did the pain go away? What treatment options were you given and which did you choose?

[jojoma]

Has anyone here ever torn their meniscus? How did you deal with it? Did the pain go away? What treatment options were you given and which did you choose?Yes. In my left knee. Ironically, the only thing I could do was ride a bike. I could not run or squat, so I had arthroscopic surgery. That was about 3 months ago. After surgery, I went through therapy. The knee feels a little better, but I still can't squat all the way down to read a putt when I golf. I'm hoping I will continue to get better, but I might be in the 2% of people who this surgery doesn't work for.

I lived with the pain for about 10 months before having surgery. I wanted the pain to go away, and I tried many things (medication, icing, etc.), but torn cartilage does not heal because there is no blood flow to that area of the knee. You have two options from what I have been told: Live with the pain, which many people do, or get arthroscopic surgery, which is a fairly routine procedure nowadays.

[wiredued]

FWIW I've heard arthroscopic surgery is similar to a tonsilectomy back in the day it is a big cash cow for the doctors and is overly prescribed. I would first try boosting vitamin C levels to help heal it. Riding a bike at your natural all day pace for about 30 minutes or so also seems theraputic.

[timmothyoborne]

I tore the meniscus in my left knee last year quite badly. I ended up having arthroscopic surgery because I couldn't straighten my knee (bits of torn jagged meniscus catching on things). It took me about 1.5 months before I could get back on the bike because it takes time for all the muscles, ligamnets etc to heal as well. I was able to walk out of hospital which was good but I had to have physio and do some exercises fr it to heal quickly. I was also only 18 so my age may have been a factor in the speedy recoery. Good luck with your injury. Take it easy and when you get back on the bike, only do it for short amounts of time in a low gear.