Had medial meniscus tear surgery 12 years ago - trimmed off ~10% of meniscus
No issues since
Mid-December, in the spot of the surgery, a small vertical tear developed- during a run. Apparently, it’s so small that the MRI report did not include dimensions.
Doc said it was small enough that it would probably heal on its own with TLC.
No hitches, no catching, no joint instability - just swelling and hurt like the dickens at the time.
I have taken 5 weeks completely off (no swelling in 4 weeks) - definitely getting better day-by-day. Only have pain with hyperflexion (trying to touch heel to bum when doing quad stretch), squatting motion, and a little discomfort going down the stairs if I don’t hold the railing.
Question: do I risk damage by getting back into some easy riding on the trainer and using pain as an indicator (eg, stop when it hurts)?
Seems like I remember when I had surgery the first time I was allowed back to light activity during the healing process.
I would prefer to let it heal on its own rather than have surgery.
It really does depend upon the nature of the tear. I have a medial tear that I am getting fixed in a couple of weeks but my tear is severe and comes on the heels of an ACL, MCL and lateral meniscus fix about 8 months ago.
The risk you run is it tears more and then catches in the joint - you won’t be able to let it heal at that point.
If I was in your position I would get it fixed. The recovery is 4-6 weeks and you’ve already taken that much time off.
Had medial meniscus tear surgery 12 years ago - trimmed off ~10% of meniscus
No issues since. Mid-December, in the spot of the surgery, a small vertical tear developed- during a run. Apparently, it’s so small that the MRI report did not include dimensions. Doc said it was small enough that it would probably heal on its own with TLC. I have taken 5 weeks completely off (no swelling in 4 weeks) - definitely getting better day-by-day. Only have pain with hyperflexion (trying to touch heel to bum when doing quad stretch), squatting motion, and a little discomfort going down the stairs if I don’t hold the railing. Question: do I risk damage by getting back into some easy riding on the trainer and using pain as an indicator (eg, stop when it hurts)? Seems like I remember when I had surgery the first time I was allowed back to light activity during the healing process. I would prefer to let it heal on its own rather than have surgery.
Well done giving it 4 weeks of protection!
21-year-old patient of mine (a dance instructor) had a similar tear 7 weeks ago. She modified her dance program and substituted light cycling for 1 month without knee pain or swelling. She returned to regular dance classes last week and reports no pain.
It really does depend upon the nature of the tear. I have a medial tear that I am getting fixed in a couple of weeks but my tear is severe and comes on the heels of an ACL, MCL and lateral meniscus fix about 8 months ago.
The risk you run is it tears more and then catches in the joint - you won’t be able to let it heal at that point.
If I was in your position I would get it fixed. The recovery is 4-6 weeks and you’ve already taken that much time off.
Concur. Just had my meniscus tear repaired last week. Once you tear it you are in greater risk of making the tear worse depending on the position of the tear. The tear may also be less likely to heal depending on its position and location. Additionally if your meniscus has calcification, which can be observed in a MRI, you will also be at greater risk. I went through several periods of stop and go training and adjusting the type of training and finally gave up on it healing on its own. Sometimes it just isn’t going to heal on its own.
The reason your doctor let you back into light activity after the surgery is because the tear was removed and the location smoothed out. It was explained to me that post surgery limiters after that type of surgery are mainly the swelling associated with the surgery.
Just diagnosed with complex medial meniscus tear, some floater bits on the other side, and a ruptured ACL. I’ve been heavily cycling since I had the injury last november. First week was stiff and painful and took it easy . After seeing a doc and before todays MRI I was advised I could cycle as long as it didn’t cause pain or swelling. After seeing the doc for the final diagnosis he doesn’t see any issue with cycling while I weigh the options for repair.
tl:dr: I’ve been doing it for 4 months no additional grief caused.
I can tell you the road back from repair of a significant tear, actually repair x2, is excruciating! I am 3 months into it, and still have issues with pain, swelling and instability. I had major tears on each side of the joint aka I was screwed. I am following the Dr.s orders, already done 5 weeks of PT, and am just light cycling. Even that irritates it, and I have to take a day or two off after each session.
Bottom line: DON’T PUSH IT AND MAKE IT WORSE. If you get as bad as I let mine get, count on being out of action for at least 6 months, most likely a year by the time I am done with all this and can get back to training
I am an athletic trainer and have rehabilitated hundreds of meniscus tears and had many debridements of my own.
Bottom line is the position of the tear. The meniscus is mostly non-vascular – meaning no blood flow. Meaning it will never heal. The outer horn, or edge, is nice and juicy and can heal. Anything inside = unlikely.
Yes, riding through can cause more damage. Consider the tear a door. Sometimes it’s nice and closed, smooth to the wall. Sometimes it decided to pop open, and when it’s open it can get caught in your joint line.
No imagine if it’s open, and gets caught in your joint line, then comes off the hinges, or just one hinge. Then it sort of floats around with nowhere to go – and you get the infamous meniscus clicking, popping, etc.
I am never one to rush someone into surgery. However, if the tear is in the inside, it will never go away. It might go back into it’s door hole for a while, but can come back any time. These days, you can get a good debridement, walk out of the doctors office and be on your indoor training (first part of your rehab) the next day, and riding out on the street in a few weeks.
Just diagnosed with complex medial meniscus tear, some floater bits on the other side, and a ruptured ACL. I’ve been heavily cycling since I had the injury last november. First week was stiff and painful and took it easy . After seeing a doc and before todays MRI I was advised I could cycle as long as it didn’t cause pain or swelling. After seeing the doc for the final diagnosis he doesn’t see any issue with cycling while I weigh the options for repair.
tl:dr: I’ve been doing it for 4 months no additional grief caused.
I had ACL and medial/lateral meniscus tear in March 2012 and then surgery in late May 2012. I was able to ride with only swelling but the week before my surgery I had to move laterally on the knee and did more damage. Apparently part of the medial meniscus flipped on itself and locked my knee up. It was incredibly painful. I guess what I’m saying is be really careful. I was generally pain free between the injury and the surgery but with the ACL ruptured there is no stability in the joint and you could injure it worse.
I agree with the advice to be careful, especially if you also have instability. I rode without an ACL and a probably torn meniscus that would catch occasionally for quite a while, including one especially big ride (117mi/12k climbing) with no issues. However, my meniscus flipped (while bending my knee to the side in bed) and “locked” the knee, necessitating fairly urgent surgery. Prior to that, though, it wasn’t bothersome at all while riding. After it flipped and caught in the joint I kept riding lightly for a week while waiting for surgery, but that may not have been the best idea… My OS said “Nobody’s ever torn their ACL from riding.” Getting off suddenly or crashing are not part of “riding”, though.
One thing some may consider is stem cell and PRP therapy–it has worked wonders for some with isolated small meniscus tears. Didn’t help me much, but ACLs don’t magically re-grow. I can say that after the 2 months of immobility I’m happy to have had the surgery–having an intact knee is worth all the pain and boredom!
My OS said “Nobody’s ever torn their ACL from riding.” Getting off suddenly or crashing are not part of “riding”, though.