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Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery)
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For those who have torn their meniscus and opted to be conservative and not have surgery, how did your return to running feel? Been slowly getting back into running through a walk/run protocal. Notice a bit of discomfort comes and goes....wondering if this goes away with time and adjusting? Doing PT and improving run mechanics so doing all I can...
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [MadisonMan] [ In reply to ]
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A buddy opted for the no surgery method, and while he has done ok, if he misses the exercises he really suffers again and is set back. I have had both done surgically and 18 years later, knees are so solid and pain free that I would surely opt that route again, especially with the better tech now. I know it's possible, but I frankly feel that is just delaying the inevitable and putting a band aid on the issue. Hope you prove me very wrong.....
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [MadisonMan] [ In reply to ]
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Mine was a 6mm tear and I battled it for around a year, thinking it was other knee issues and I could hit some PT and get it good. Mine must have been in just the right location, because I could never get it right and one small step on a random run would set it off so I went for surgery. For PT though, I was doing a fair amount of "VMO" exercises and hip/glute strengthening to help out. It definitely did make it better, but was not the fix for me. Eight weeks out from surgery (longer than I thought!) I started running again and have been pain free since.
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [MadisonMan] [ In reply to ]
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MadisonMan wrote:
For those who have torn their meniscus and opted to be conservative and not have surgery, how did your return to running feel? Been slowly getting back into running through a walk/run protocal. Notice a bit of discomfort comes and goes....wondering if this goes away with time and adjusting? Doing PT and improving run mechanics so doing all I can...

I had a 4mm tear and PT will help some but the cure is surgery. You can fight it all you want but it will never be right again, the meniscus will not heal, it has a poor blood supply and depending on where the tear is its possible to repair it however that usually isn't the case. After my surgery I could swim and bike lightly in 7 days, run after 30 days, and I ran a marathon 5 months later to test it out. Have been pain free ever since.

Note: I'm not a MD. I'm a RN who works in the OR and I have done a ton of these kind of cases. PT is great and I really like PT's in general and what they do is awesome but there are some things that PT can't CURE. PT is very good for managing things. In this case surgery is usually the definitive fix.
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [MadisonMan] [ In reply to ]
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I'm torn on this pun intended..

I had meniscus surgery 6 years ago and it felt 100% for years. I tore it again last January and opted to do PT because it wasn't buckling.

I cycled, swam and did PT for 2 months then started running. Did full ironman in November. It felt like a stiff knee all year and even now I notice it.

Hindsight I might have just gotten surgery again, since I'm 16 months removed doing bands every other day training for another full and still notice it. But the body is weird in that my brain sort of shuts that pain receptor off.
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [bmarque19] [ In reply to ]
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I am torn as well. You can get 50% who say do the surgery and then another 50% who say absolutely not.

I am working with a very good surgeon and he said based on what he saw, we should go the no surgery route.....Just want to know at some point will be be the slight discomfort it is now or when I build mileage is the pain just going to get worse...
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [MadisonMan] [ In reply to ]
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I don't notice it when run anymore. I notice it more in the day to day stuff like kneeling with my kids, wrestling etc.

It's more just always on my mind to be careful, but with that said I was in your same boat and have done an IM, waterskii, just don't do any quick sports like soccer, bball anymore.
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [Scottxs] [ In reply to ]
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Scottxs wrote:
MadisonMan wrote:
For those who have torn their meniscus and opted to be conservative and not have surgery, how did your return to running feel? Been slowly getting back into running through a walk/run protocal. Notice a bit of discomfort comes and goes....wondering if this goes away with time and adjusting? Doing PT and improving run mechanics so doing all I can...


I had a 4mm tear and PT will help some but the cure is surgery. You can fight it all you want but it will never be right again, the meniscus will not heal, it has a poor blood supply and depending on where the tear is its possible to repair it however that usually isn't the case. After my surgery I could swim and bike lightly in 7 days, run after 30 days, and I ran a marathon 5 months later to test it out. Have been pain free ever since.

Note: I'm not a MD. I'm a RN who works in the OR and I have done a ton of these kind of cases. PT is great and I really like PT's in general and what they do is awesome but there are some things that PT can't CURE. PT is very good for managing things. In this case surgery is usually the definitive fix.

I totally agree. Fix the issue. My Doc worked on Chicago Bulls players and let me get aggressive with my own PT. Had each knee done in consecutive years. For both he made me promise no runs for 2 weeks after....which I did. Ran 2 weeks to the day with both. The second I was on the bike trainer the next day. Water ran after both 2 days later. That was 18 years ago and many, many miles and my knees have never been better. (touch wood). Get the surgery, water run for 2 weeks, then on ground and get back to training. Time is flying by and you'll never get those days back.
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [ In reply to ]
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I took pretty much a solid 12 weeks off of running. After that came back slowly. Only issue I had was a few months later teaching a nephew to snow ski. Put a hard rotation on it and felt it for a week or so.

Knock on wood I've had zero issues for over a year now. I will say if it pops up again I'll likely consider surgery. Sounds like some folks on here have had much faster recovery time with surgery than waiting it out.
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [wcb] [ In reply to ]
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When you came back to running, were you pain free or did you have to work through some discomfort at first?
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [MadisonMan] [ In reply to ]
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Generally pain free. Before laying off the full 12 weeks I would lay off 2-4 weeks and try again. If there was any discomfort I took another 2-4.

After playing that game a few times I took a full 12. Zero issues coming back slowly after 12.
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [MadisonMan] [ In reply to ]
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There is was discomfort with me but I was no run for 30 days. Not real pain but I could feel I had surgery on my first runs. No pain on the bike or swim at all.
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [Scottxs] [ In reply to ]
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I was 9 Weeks of no run. Just getting back and it is three weeks of run/walk and start consistent runs this week. A bit more sore as the run intervals increased. Just curious if the pain will go away with time
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Re: Return to Running after Meniscus Tear (No Surgery) [MadisonMan] [ In reply to ]
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surgery isn't an option in many cases. Also there isn't just one kind of surgery for meniscus tears..
so it's very much situation dependent.

see http://www.orthop.washington.edu/...meniscus-repair.html

Meniscus tears can be treated by meniscus removal (meniscectomy), meniscus repair, or in unusual circumstances, meniscus replacement. Since the goal of surgery is to preserve healthy meniscus, meniscus repair is attempted when the tear is repairable. This is usually only possible if the tear is located in the periphery of the meniscus.
Meniscectomy, removal of the damaged meniscus tissue, has good short term results but leads to the development of arthritis ten to twenty years later.
Meniscus repair also has good results, but has a longer recovery time than meniscectomy and is limited to tears which are amenable to repair.
Meniscus replacement is considered for young, active patients who have previously had most of their meniscus removed, and develop pain in the area without having advanced degenerative changes to the articular (gliding surface) cartilage.
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