Initially, you may not feel any pain after the tear, even if you continue playing your sport. But after one or two days, there will be pain, swelling of the knee and stiffness.
A meniscus injury can take a long time to get better. A mild meniscus tear – especially for younger people – can get better in about four to twelve weeks. But for older people – and unfortunately, I'm referring here to anyone over the age of 35 – it can usually takes three to six months, but often even longer.
Your doctor might recommend: Rest. 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.
Meniscus (cartilage) Repair patients cannot do twisting, pivoting, squatting, deep knee bends or impact activities for four months.
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.
A meniscus tear interferes with the normal movement of the knee, and without treatment, you can wind up with serious, lifelong problems.
Your doctor may recommend the RICE regimen—rest, ice, compression, and elevation—to treat a meniscus tear. Resting your knee can help relieve your symptoms. Your doctor may suggest using a cane for a few weeks to keep weight off your knee and to stay away from physical activity that may have contributed to the injury.
The acute symptoms from a new degenerative meniscal tear (pain and swelling) may resolve over a few months time even though the torn area has not healed or been removed. On the other hand, when mechanical symptoms such as catching or locking are present, these symptoms are less likely to resolve without surgery.
A tear is usually labeled as severe if the meniscus has a big tear. Loose pieces may cause the knee joint to lock or catch. This level of injury may also keep you from bending or straightening your leg and can make walking difficult. Severe tears usually require surgery to repair.
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.
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.
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.
Your physician can diagnose it and will likely prescribe rest, ice and medication to relieve the pain and allow the injury to heal. However, some meniscus tears will not heal. In those cases, you may need minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery.
Meniscus tears, indicated by MRI, are classified in three grades. Grades 1 and 2 are not considered serious. They may not even be apparent with an arthroscopic examination. Grade 3 is a true meniscus tear and an arthroscope is close to 100 percent accurate in diagnosing this tear.
Your doctor or physiotherapist will give you an idea of when you can return to these activities. If you had a partial meniscectomy, you might be able to play sports in about 4 to 6 weeks. If you had meniscus repair, it may be 3 to 6 months before you can play sports.
Stiffness and pain are often reduced and eliminated as range of motion improves at the joint. By combining therapies that may reduce pain such as massage, Active Release Therapy, and Graston, we can get quicker, less painful results that ultimately result in a quicker return to your sport or activity.
If you have knee pain and have been told you have a suspected meniscal tear either from an exam or from MRI, much of the time this can heal on its own with 4-6 weeks of rest, doing some physical therapy that would focus on some range of motion and strengthening exercises and correcting any biomechanical problems that ...
A horizontal meniscus tear is one of the easiest types of tears to repair in the knee.
Knee Range of Motion:
You can fully extend (straighten the knee). To avoid placing stress on the meniscus repair, do not bend your knee beyond 90 degrees (bent to a right angle).
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. A good brace will protect your knee and take the pressure off your meniscus, allowing it to rest.