Torn Meniscus....Anyone?

[TimeOnTarget]

Anyone here ever tore their meniscus? I have a feeling that i tore mine last weekend out on the lake. Did you have surgery or let it heal? I've read you can do either in a lot of cases. If you let it heal, what was the recovery time like? back to 100%? If you have surgery, what was the recovery time like? Back to 100%?




I've got Elk to kill starting Sept 1 and I will be on the mountain, that's non-negotiable.


I've got a doctors appt tomorrow and i will go from there.

Give me your input and experiences.

 

[IlliniFIre]

My understanding is that it depends on where the tear is. There's two sides of it and one is more vascular than the other. The vascular side tends to heal better with rest than the other side. As far as full recovery, it also depends on the type of tear. If surgery is required it could be 4-5 months to get to 100%.

 

[hank4elk]

Musial meniscus for me....
I finally had both my knees arthroed after years of wear & tear/shredding/pain, about 15 yrs ago. Life changer for me. Red hot pokers in knees to no problems since...besides side tendon wear....no more clicking knees either.
1st one I did right after a deer hunt pack out of 5 mi into wilderness. Doc was pissed he didn't come with me as planned....lol
I watched,interesting, but not worth the spinal pain/headaches for two weeks after. It looked like a tattered flag it was so bad. I was back to work as soon as the stitches were out,no problemo since really.
Next one was the following year on the right knee. Knock me out Doc....I walked out after with butterflies instead of stitches & it was fast healing.
I do favor my left knee still,but that is one I shoot & glass off of now.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

My understanding is that it depends on where the tear is. There's two sides of it and one is more vascular than the other. The vascular side tends to heal better with rest than the other side. As far as full recovery, it also depends on the type of tear. If surgery is required it could be 4-5 months to get to 100%.

My understanding as well Ill. I also read that it never actually "heals" but the symptoms subside.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

Musial meniscus for me....
I finally had both my knees arthroed after years of wear & tear/shredding/pain, about 15 yrs ago. Life changer for me. Red hot pokers in knees to no problems since...besides side tendon wear....no more clicking knees either.
1st one I did right after a deer hunt pack out of 5 mi into wilderness. Doc was pissed he didn't come with me as planned....lol
I watched,interesting, but not worth the spinal pain/headaches for two weeks after. It looked like a tattered flag it was so bad. I was back to work as soon as the stitches were out,no problemo since really.
Next one was the following year on the right knee. Knock me out Doc....I walked out after with butterflies instead of stitches & it was fast healing.
I do favor my left knee still,but that is one I shoot & glass off of now.

Thanks H4E.

I've still got strength in my knee but just don't seem to have any stability in it. I certainly wouldnt go squat 500lbs like i could before but i can do body weight right now almost pain free. I have a feeling i wouldn't fair to well on the mountain with 7+ days of gear on my back right now though.

 

[50bowhunter]

Depends on how bad the tear is. At this point you would be hard pressed the get it fixed and rehab before September 1. I've torn my meniscus twice in my left knee , once in my right. 2 surgeries, let it heal once. I had arthritis and deterioration real bad , so my experiences might not be the norm. That being said, I tore my right about 8 years ago, and let it heal. Tore it again last year and had surgery. There was so much tissue loss I had to have an additional procedure.

 

[JohnCushman]

Mine was torn in Iraq after being ejected from my vehicle and had a poor landing. Mine was a medial that was torn pretty badly on top of having shrapnel in there. I had it repaired with a scope and didn't follow the aftercare properly and ended up tearing it worse a year or so later. Had it repaired again and it never healed right. I'm now looking at having both medial and lateral repaired in an open cut surgery along with getting cadaver cartilage put in. For the past 12 years I've still hunted with it torn, it just hurts pretty bad. The burning of the tear can almost bring tears to my eyes, but I understand and accept it, and drive on. Some ice and pain killers get me through. Try and get some tramadol (it's non narcotic) for pain since it's stronger than tylenol. Motrin isn't good for it since it's not an inflamation of the joint. Keep plenty of ice with you for sitting around the campfire at night. A compression type brace and trekking poles is also pretty good to get you by with hiking. It supports the joint and takes a bit of the effort of the meniscus. But, in the name of all that's holy, do what the doctor says!! Unless he tells you not to hunt

 

[Addicting]

I'm on my 3rd repair since 2000. I go in for surgery on the 18th. From experience September is doable maybe not 100% but the stability will be back and that will be worth it. I am heading to MT on Oct 16 and full expected that my knees will be good to go. The rest of me probably not so much but I would rather have it done than loose out on the whole hunt while on chrutches from a twist the wrong way.

 

[u1299]

Torn meniscus in both knees at different times when I was about 40 or 45? At times I felt no pain and other times it seemed things moved around or something and the pain was almost unbearable. Finally took the plunge and had both knees scoped and back to 100% in 4 to 6 weeks as I recall. I wouldn't hesitate for the surgery if it were me.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I had partially torn meniscus in my left knee about 6 years ago. Doctor drained fluid (had a little blood in it). After X-rays, he said he could scope it, or I could try some Glucosamine Chondroitin (over the counter), and might get some relief.
I went to Wally world and bought some Osteo-Biflex (glucosamine chondroitin), and started taking it according to label directions. Two days later, the intense pain from walking started subsiding, and within a week after that, all pain was gone. I am still taking the Gluco Chond, but a different brand than Osteo-Biflex, and have not had any recurring problems.
My situation and condition was my own, and if you have severe pain, you should get to the Doctor (you said you have an apt). Mine suggested the gluco chond, and it worked for me. Good luck, hope you get to feeling better (Hunting season is coming !!).

 

[flacowboy]

Torn 3 times, did the drain and replace with cortisone for the first one for 6 months, bc I had something I had to do, surgery recover on 2 was then 5 weeks, walking normal in like a week, training by 3. Stretching is important. The third one I tried to let heel. Literally 4 weeks off, of nothing, felt better, returned to doing what I do, and bam, back down again. I recommend getting it scoped. saves time, and plus you feel great. The drain and cort method will buy you an honest 1-2 months of pain free if you really cant get it fixed.

 

[EasternMTHunter]

Just a side note. Tramadol is mildly narcotic. If you take it regularly and stop you can go through mild withdrawl symptoms.

 

[JohnCushman]

Tramadol is NOT a narcotic. It is a schedule 4 drug due to it's possible addictive properties. It is a synthetic drug and not an opiate. Short term use wouldn't cause any issues or withdrawl symptoms. For what it's worth, tramadol has given me more relief over the past 12 years after being blown up and shot in Iraq than opiated ever did. I don't get withdrawls or any of the negative side effects of it and I take a pretty healthy dose. If I need to, I can go days without it and don't panic or freak out. It is a stronger pain relieving medicine than tylenol or other NSAIDS, but not as harsh as an opiate.

 

[elker]

Had my meniscus surgery last year, 1st week of August. I was able to hunt mid Sept., although on easier hikes. Took about 5 to 6 months for 100%. Ortho surgeon said your body will let you know when you've done too much. Glad I had the surgery though.

 

[fulldraw]

I had a torn meniscus scope surgery 6 years ago and it was a total bust so I had it done again a year later by another surgeon and it removed the pain. The down size is I no longer can run without a lot of pain( no cushion) which has been difficult for me to accept as I ran 20-25 miles weekly for probably 20 years prior to surgery. The upside is I am pretty much pain free as long as I do not do anything with high impact to my knees.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

Thanks for all the insight, Doc cancelled on me this morning so tomorrow morning it is. I'll report back.

 

[MTHunter1321]

Just found out today that I have a medial meniscus tear to go along with my ACL tear. Next appointment isn't for a couple of weeks with the surgeron. Good luck!

 

[TimeOnTarget]

Just found out today that I have a medial meniscus tear to go along with my ACL tear. Next appointment isn't for a couple of weeks with the surgeron. Good luck!

Ouch! Thats a bad deal MTH! I sure hope im not in the same boat as you are.

 

[Hatchie Dawg]

Couple of things, there are at least two different procedures being described here. Meniscal repairs and menisectomies " meniscus tear removed". They are completely different. As someone siad about 2/3s of the meniscus is largely avascular and therefore has limited healing properties. If a meniscal repair is an option the tear has to be in the more vascular outer 1/3 and then greater post surgical limitations have to be placed on the patient ie non-weightbearing for 4-6 weeks or longer and ROM limitations. Recovery from a repair is a longer process but you have a better chance of saving articular cartilage (covers bones at joints) in the long run because the force absorbing and spreading function of an intact meniscus will hopefully be more fully preserved. A partial menisectomy is removal of the tear. Typically no weightbearing restrictions after this procedure and can rehab very quickly, even a matter of weeks if the rest of the knee is in good shape and there is not much inflammation, swelling, or muscle atrophy. However in the long run the partial menisectomy can lead to early onset of osteoarthritis ( the wear and tear kind) which can lead to knee replacement. If the knee is locking, stays inflamed and swollen, and just doesn't get better you may have to consider surgery. However there is more and more data coming out that we are scoping too many knees and performing too many partial menisectomies when long term results are similar between people with tears that have surgery and those that don't.

As disclosure I am a PT so you can take this with a grain of salt but I would first find a reputable orthopedic physical therapist and try a few weeks of PT before I did much else. I have a R medial meniscus tear myself that I manage through exercise.

These are generalities but evidenced based.

HD

 

[Crazytrebor]

Tore mine about five years ago tried the heal on its own option no dr visit arthritis set in ended up with bone on bone had to full replacement 2 years later. Seeing a dr is a must learn from my mistakes