Complaining only makes it worse, and, people around you then feel bad...especially if you're bitching about it. Just remember ICE:

Ice
Compression
Elevation
That will help with swelling, may not do much for the pain though.

 

Raja that sir. Have to do something soon though. Trying to get in shape for the little bit of running I'm going to have to do with this job application.

 

Two tests you can do to determine meniscus:

McMurray's Test: Lay supine and have someone else flex hip to about 30-45 degrees and bend knee to about 30 degrees. Flex knee and externally rotate and then repeat with internally rotated. Pain or popping will indicated pain and tears in the medial and lateral meniscus.

Aplys Test: Lay prone with knee bent to 90 degrees. Use one hand to stabilize the femur against the table and the other hand to internally and externally rotate the tibia on the femur with compression (indicated meniscus pathology) and with distraction (indicates ligamentous pathology).


Pain and swelling on the anterior medial knee could mean several things, not just mensicus. There are several bursa around the knee, tendinitions, sprain ,strain, etc.

How exactly did you hurt it? Menisicus tears usually happen with a loading and twisting action on knee. Meaning, were you planted and tried to turn sharply? etc

If its torn, surgery is the only way to fix it. Easy, scope operation though. If its only partially torn, its up to you and your doc to determine the course of action

 

Thnx for the tests, I will print this and show them to the DR.

How exactly did I hurt it? Ok. Sitting at computer desk I picked up my right foot in hopes of putting it on my left quad. When my ankle was placed on my thigh the right knee "rotated" or moved down just a little bit towards the floor. Heard/felt a slight click or pop. After doing some fast walking on the treadmill later I had pain the next day. Now, if I stand just on my right leg and try to squat down I make it about 30*-40* and get pain on the interior and front of the kneecap. MRI showed no damage. Doc said three more weeks of light duty and some PT.

 

Doesn't sound like a meniscus esp since MRI was negative. Meniscus would hurt everytime you bent or straighten your knee because the piece of meniscus (fibrocartilage) would get "caught" and pop/hurt. Now the MCL inserts just below the knee. Around the interior knee cap there is bursa that is under the patella, pateller ligement and all around. Could be some pateller tracking issues or friction syndromes. When you go to PT ask to finish the session with IFC (interferential current), its pain relieving modality that has tremendous results in reducing pain temporarily (3-4 hours) in the clinic. Also ask the PT about ultrasound/IFC combo.

 

Excellent, thank you. On the PT sheet he did check ultrasound therapy. You've been a great help.

 

Ok, I had the first arthroscopy in January and the results were:

1) Very small tear in medial meniscus
2) Stage 3-4 arthritis in knee. Both heads of bone has discoloring and are quite soft.
3) Doc said pain was from arthritis and not the meniscus tear. Never thought arthritis was this damn painful!!!!!!

Well, got it somewhat back to normal and the pain just never went away. Then in May I knew I had my PAT (physical assessment test) to do at work. I was worried and was really really sweating it. Long story short, while trying to take it REAL EASY I felt a "click" then heard a "pop." Following that I saw stars (those that have felt real pain know what kind of pain that is when you see stars.) but finished the run. Back to the DR I go and second surgery to fix my now completely torn medial meniscus. Arthritis still there. Doc says we are gonna try the Hylagan shots (chicken shots) first because I am to young for total knee replacement surgery. Tired of the pain, tired of not being able to walk or light jog without pain.

 

Sorry about the arthritis...I know exactly how you feel. Several of my friends had the SynVisc shots and it helped them for quite some time. My shots helped me all of three days. I got through a year with three cortisone shots. Knee replacement most likely will be waiting for you down the road, but the good news is that the implants are lasting longer, so younger and younger people are having TKR's. I know somebody who is 35 and had a TKR.

Best of luck to you.

Tim C.

 

Thnx tim. The cortosone shot did NOTHING for me. Lets see what the other shots do.

 

I went through it a few years ago. At my advanced age they did a cadaver replacement for the ACL and stitched the meniscus. The Doctor actually tried to talk me out of ACL replacement. He said I'd never miss it unless I wanted to ski, play tennis, or raquetball. I decided to do it anyway. Almost as good as new and the recovery was short and relatively pain free.

My son (18) just walked in the door from getting an MRI. Torn meniscus for sure, and waiting two days for the results of the MRI to see if there is ligament damage. He has very little swelling, and we've used very little icing. The recent thought on icing is not to use it or over do it because it slows blood flow to the areas most needing it by as much as 60 percent. We iced his knee the first few hours after the injury to minimize swelling, but not since.

 

Update: Well, shot four of 5 is completed. I'm almost pain free, but I know the knee will never be the same again. For kicks n grins I tried to light jog with the dog the other night and no problems. Still have a hard time squatting down all the way, but that I'm just going to deal with.