Seeking Information and Advice on Knee Injury

I'm not a medical doctor, but I do research in orthopaedic biomechanics. Your meniscus is really poorly vascularlized, which is why it heals badly/slowly. Sometimes they'll try and stitch it back together, but lots of times they'll just take the meniscus out. This seems to be pretty effective (from the literature) in reducing pain at 3 years follow-up, but can eventually lead to arthritis due to the change in contact stress on the cartilage. And, if you're overweight then this will definitely exacerbate things. Larger women tend to get arthritis in their knee because of chronic overloading of the cartilage.

If it were me I would see a physical therapist and work VERY HARD at doing what they suggest. This will probably involve some strengthening, stretching, low impact exercise (I suggest swimming), and weight loss. Bicycling may be good too - I don't know how much it's hurting you right now. Give it several months to heal. If it gets really bad to the point where it's keeping you from doing your activities of daily living you can get the cortisone shot and, eventually, the surgery. For what it's worth, I would make sure that the surgeon who does your knee (when the time comes) is someone who does a LOT of knees - like over 100 per year. Practice makes perfect with this type of thing.

My husband had a complete tear about 10 years ago and waited and it didn't get any better. He eventually had surgery to repair it and once they went in to repair it, found that it was worse than they thought. Its not back to normal by any stretch of the imagination, but its better than it was.

I work with individuals for nutritional consulations and could help you with weight loss and nutritional supplements to help with muscle/joint repair as well as some pain relief programs.

I would be happy to share with you if you are interested.

Good luck.
B.

I tore my meniscus three years ago. I waited for three months and it did not heal on it's own, so I had surgery to repair it. I also did physical thearpy after the surgery. It was the best thing I have ever done. You do not realize how out of shape you are until you start exercising again. After the surgery I put on 25lbs!!! which has taken me a awhile to lose, but I feel so much better now. I have continued the exercises for my knees and I still have pain if I have been on my feet alot. Over all though I feel so much better. I also take Gluosamine Chondroitin for my joints. Ask your doctor about it, I have found it really helps. Make sure you keep up on the exercises it is a great help. Have you ever tried Weight Watchers to help you lose wait. I did for a few months on-line to help me get started. For me I have to keep my calories per day at about 1500 to maintain my weight ( I take after my mother , look at a piece of cake and put on weight). Takiing weight off can really help.
Good Luck. If you have question feel free to reply back.

Cheryl

My husband had a torn meniscus in one of his knees about 18 months ago. It took about 6 months, but eventually did heal. He did the exercises that were recommended and lost some, but not all recommended, weight.

In January I went to the dr. for pain in my knee. Turned out to be a torn meniscus in my right knee. Upon talking to others, including a friend who had the same problem, I decided to do other things other than surgery. Also, I had a baby 5 months prior to me going to the dr. and there is some research to show that your cartilage suffers during and after having a baby. Also, a friend who had the surgery did not recommend it right away. She said to try other solutions first.

While I am not overweight, I did stop exercising because the pain in my knee was so bad and it was swollen. Dr. put me on heavy doses of Ibuprofen to take down the swelling. That did work. Then he advised me to start exercising again, but lower impact. So, I have a reclining bicycle that I use. I started using the treadmill again, but that brought back the pain. Ever since using the bike, the pain has been greatly reduced. It's not gone, mind you, but very acceptable. Good luck!

I'm very fortunate. About a month ago, I went to Orthopaedic Associates of DuPage because of pain in my right knee. My doctor ordered the MRIs. Because of the location of the pain, he thought there was a possibility that it was a torn meniscus. It turned out to be "only" arthritis. I got the cortizone shot. I'm following up with physical therapy and the recommended exercise at home, and working on the weight loss.

I'm glad I got the cortizone shot. In my case (no tear), the relief was almost immediate.