Meniscus Melodrama

[El Presidente]

Has anyone on FOH had success recovering from a Meniscus strain?

I damaged mine back in January walking along soft sand. I generally walk 15000 steps a day or thereabouts and have done so for years. Got back from a soft sand walk and it was painful as hell. Meniscus. 

Rested it and good after a few days. Walk again, back. 

5 months on, go to NY/LA....no real walking. It felt 100%. Rest assisted no doubt. 

Back this week. Normal walk routine and it is back and as painful as ever. 

Do these things ever heal? Has anyone had any success? 

Yes.....I will head to a specialist in the coming weeks to look at it but I was wondering of member real world experiences as this is pissing me off no end. 

Gracias in advance 

[Puros Y Vino]

I tore my meniscus back around 2001/2.  Had arthroscopic surgery and it went well. Doctors said I'll get another 15/20 years of good use out of it. It was a simple procedure for me. Surgeon just shaved down the troublesome piece. In terms of pain, does it feel like you have a pebble between the joints? if so, you may need surgery. That's a tear or twist.

[El Presidente]

3 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

  In terms of pain, does it feel like you have a pebble between the joints? if so, you may need surgery. That's a tear or twist.

No pebble. Dull pain that goes away with rest (2-3 days) and then can be fine for a day or two of good walking before returning with a vengeance. 

[Puros Y Vino]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

No pebble. Dull pain that goes away with rest (2-3 days) and then can be fine for a day or two of good walking before returning with a vengeance. 

Could be the start of a tear. Mine was something like that. Pain came and went until one day, I squatted down to tie my shoe, my knee popped and I rolled over in pain. An MRI might see what's going on in there.

[BlueWS]

Rob, you'll need to get an MRI and even then they can't see everything. If it's torn, depending on where the tear is, they go in and either cut it out or suture it up. There's parts of the meniscus that do not get blood supply, so they just cut it out vs sutures and no weight bearing for 6 weeks and all that fun stuff. I've had ACL and meniscus surgeries on both knees 15 years apart. I've had this conversation with 3 separate orthopedic Doctors over the years. I did so much damage I didn't know which part was hurting, but I've heard just a meniscus tear itself is really painful. The worst tear is called a "bucket handle tear". You can think of the meniscus as two U's joined together and it can tear in the middle which is the skinniest part of the cartilage and it flaps around. I'm sure that's not your situation, but I'll never forget the doctor telling me about that type of tear. That's the area they can stitch back together and it's a longer recovery. Knee pain sucks, but back pain is worse!

[GARYF]

Look into this King Brand healthcare products , the heated knee wraps solved my meniscus problems. My orthopedists suggested this instead of surgery. I've used their products for several years on my knee and shoulder with great results.

[Drguano]

Agnes tore her meniscus and an MRI shows it is torn. The first surgeon to look ant it advises to have the surgery. Agnes says, “If it hurts, see a specialist!”

[JohnS]

My wife, Eleni tore her meniscus in January this year too. It's slowly getting better but she's made an appointment with a specialist in the meantime.

[Fuzz]

3 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Has anyone on FOH had success recovering from a Meniscus strain?

I damaged mine back in January walking along soft sand. I generally walk 15000 steps a day or thereabouts and have done so for years. Got back from a soft sand walk and it was painful as hell. Meniscus. 

Rested it and good after a few days. Walk again, back. 

5 months on, go to NY/LA....no real walking. It felt 100%. Rest assisted no doubt. 

Back this week. Normal walk routine and it is back and as painful as ever. 

Do these things ever heal? Has anyone had any success? 

Yes.....I will head to a specialist in the coming weeks to look at it but I was wondering of member real world experiences as this is pissing me off no end. 

Gracias in advance 

Probably need to do an Arty and get your legs hacked.

[Li Bai]

It does get better once one finds out what's going on.

First thing to do is have it checked of course, in the meantime I would keep the knee warm at all times (above all avoid wearing shorts when it's cold and/or windy).

[HP2]

Rob

The meniscus has no blood supply, therefore it cannot heal on it own. Given you are now once again symptomatic I would recommend an MRI to check the integrity of the meniscus. The results of the mri will tell you next steps. Usually, a meniscectomy is required. They can sometimes stitch them up but I don’t recommend. I am a health care professional. Good luck. 

[Chibearsv]

My experience with my knee is that it only got worse until it got fixed. By the time I went to the surgeon, I couldn't straighten my knee. There was no meniscus left to save, just shreds to be removed.

[westg]

Terrible designs knees and shoulders. Sounds like you have a stain and you continue to aggravate the stain. Every time you aggravate it...it takes a little longer to heal. And so becomes a little easier to aggravate.

Remove any exercises or movements with resistance that cause pain. One really good exercise if you have the patience is to sit on a rowing machine. Use your bad leg only! Do not grab the handles to row. Slide back and forward on the rower with only your bad leg. This will give you full movement of everything above and below the knee without putting any direct resistance within the knee joint. If this movements hurts, it's not good. If it doesn't sit for five your knee will recieve a tonne of circulation. Go to the beach. No beach walks as the simple movement of sand spreading underneath your feet is enough to strain. Your meniscus are basically shock absorbers so no more leaping from tall buildings.  

[Drguano]

On 5/9/2025 at 6:36 PM, westg said:

Your meniscus are basically shock absorbers so no more leaping from tall buildings.  

No more arse kicking either. Give your meniscus and your staff a break.

[El Presidente]

On 5/10/2025 at 9:36 AM, westg said:

Terrible designs knees and shoulders. Sounds like you have a stain and you continue to aggravate the stain. Every time you aggravate it...it takes a little longer to heal. And so becomes a little easier to aggravate.

Remove any exercises or movements with resistance that cause pain. One really good exercise if you have the patience is to sit on a rowing machine. Use your bad leg only! Do not grab the handles to row. Slide back and forward on the rower with only your bad leg. This will give you full movement of everything above and below the knee without putting any direct resistance within the knee joint. If this movements hurts, it's not good. If it doesn't sit for five your knee will recieve a tonne of circulation. Go to the beach. No beach walks as the simple movement of sand spreading underneath your feet is enough to strain. Your meniscus are basically shock absorbers so no more leaping from tall buildings.  

West, gym is fine. All resistance work is fine bar woodchops (abs/obliques). 

The problem is walking long distances and that is heart and soul to my daily practice as I make all my calls when I walk to and from gym. That walk is just over an hour daily. 

I will swap the walk for a rower for a few weeks to see if I can take the strain off the meniscus. 

...I hate the rower 

[Puros Y Vino]

12 hours ago, El Presidente said:

West, gym is fine. All resistance work is fine bar woodchops (abs/obliques). 

The problem is walking long distances and that is heart and soul to my daily practice as I make all my calls when I walk to and from gym. That walk is just over an hour daily. 

I will swap the walk for a rower for a few weeks to see if I can take the strain off the meniscus. 

...I hate the rower 

If you love walking and walk to give your knees a break, then cycle. Far better cardio benefits and easy on the joints. Sudden stops by large vehicles and trucks are the one big downsides though.

[Cestis4]

Assume nothing. Get an MRI of the knee then proceed on the results. Have your GP order one beforehand so you can take it with you to your orthopaedic specialists appointment and save yourself a second visit. You can always negotiate a cash price if there’s a wait to get the MRI. 

[ha_banos]

Any more news on this one? I've got a scan next month for my shoulder. 

Ageisjustanumberageisjustanumber...

[El Presidente]

2 hours ago, ha_banos said:

Any more news on this one? I've got a scan next month for my shoulder. 

Ageisjustanumberageisjustanumber...

It has come good in the last week. It has taken 5 months. 

If there is a relapse, then I will go to a specialist. Outside of rehab, it is surgery. 

[Webbo]

Had surgery on a meniscus tear last year and it has taken almost 11 months to really feel like it was worthwhile. Like you Rob the start was pain after walking, all other things were fine. Gradually got worse until a MRI showed the damage. The surgeon said it’s partly an age thing (I’m 60 this year) and partly years of cricket and football, post op recovery time is luck of the draw. Glad I had it done as it was unlikely to improve otherwise but bloody frustrating it took so long. Good luck. 

[yuppie]

Glad you're on the mend.

[HP2]

6 hours ago, El Presidente said:

It has come good in the last week. It has taken 5 months. 

If there is a relapse, then I will go to a specialist. Outside of rehab, it is surgery. 

If it’s a meniscus tear, rehab will be of little value or help. Remember, no blood supply means no chance of healing. You’re just strengthening the soft tissue around the tear. You may buy yourself a little time but eventually you’ll be on the table. I see this weekly. Best of luck to you. 

[Ken Gargett]

you really need to have a specialist have a look at it. i have had a dud knee for years. apparently no cartilage where there should be cartilage. pain varies a lot. not so bad last few years but there were times when i could hardly move it without screaming. told years ago to have a replacement (not by an expert) but still going. mine from years gone past - hockey goalie but even worse, a wicketkeeper. not sure that there is anything in sport worse for knees. i am fortunate in that my uncle is a senior orthopod and quite a few mates are also orthopods so they can keep a bit of an eye on it (but they do insist on x-rays), but in the end, it will need replacing. while it is not too bad, i'm okay with it. my days of marathons are long gone.