When could you run post Meniscus tear anthro

I injured my medial meniscus on March 5, 2019, freak accident---not running related at all. I had my lower leg folded under me as I leaned back on the couch. I felt something give but didn't think anything of it. The next morning, my knee was twice its size. MRI revealed that it was some type of complex meniscus tear + sprained MCL. The doctor said let's try to let it heal on its own awhile before we do anything else.

After 4 months, the swelling went down but never went away. I could cycle and row, sometimes pain-free and sometimes with pain, but running even very slowly caused irregular but very sharp pain. At that point, I had the scope on July 8th. This is important and could be how we are different---he removed my torn meniscus instead of trying to repair it. Did you have it removed or repaired? He told me that repairs take much longer to heal. He also said that he had removed about 30% of the meniscus' thickness from the medial side, and that I should be able to return to full activity, no limitations. He even predicted that I'd be able to fully squat down again which seemed impossible leading up to the surgery.

Anyway, I was rowing on the Concept 2 within a week. Just had to be careful on the stitches. I was cycling and running easy by the one month mark after surgery. I coach XC so I was hoping I'd be able to jog the course with the team at the first meet, late August. I was able to do it, albeit slowly. (So that was about 7 weeks after the operation).

I built back up slowly and had no setbacks. By 6 months after surgery, I was able to fully squat down again, pain-free.

I am 62 now and my running is limited due to foot issues totally unrelated. But I can still jog the XC courses with my team and can go 6 miles on my own. No knee pain of any kind. I cycle every day and still row several times per week.

I am sorry for your knee problems and hope you recover soon.

Depends how old you are I think. As a 20 year old I long jumped 6 weeks post surgery.

I am 32 years old. They ended up doing the repair which was longer but I thought I would be running or close to it by now

Wouldnt they tell you not to run for __ weeks?

I had an arthroscopic meniscus tear cleaned up/removed September of last year. Prior to the surgery, I had spent months trying to run on it until finally throwing in the towel and recognizing that it wasn't going to heal on its own.

The morning after the surgery, I was elated. The doctor told me I had no restrictions, and the pain was pretty much gone. I ran 7 miles the day after that, and then another 7 miles the next day. It hurt pretty bad, so I ended up taking a couple more weeks off and slowly ramping up. Apparently, it's pretty normal to need some time to recover.

I gotta say, it's been 10 months and I've been getting in 30 to 50 miles per week, but that knee is still not 100%. It doesn't "hurt" outright, but it feels "weird". I don't fully trust it, but at the same time, my lack of fitness is slowing me down more than it is. I went to base level fitness prior to the surgery and gained 30 pounds, so that may be part of my struggle. Things are definitely getting better, but it's taking more time than I would like.

At any rate, 12 weeks is not a long time to heal from something relatively traumatic, particularly if you are older. I'm 48, which is not crazy old, but may account for some of the time it's taking me to get back to normal. I recall when I broke my ankle at 27, it took more than a year to feel kind of normal and never fully recovered (if you can truly call it recovered) until I had the hardware removed many years later.

Hang in there and give it some time. I don't think there's any reason to panic at this point...unless you think your swelling is due to a festering infection. If that is the case, get a doctor who will treat it!

I had two surgeries, one on the left was lateral, the right was medial.

I spent about two months rehabbing the left, and I was able to start jogging around a soccer field within 90 days. I was able to actually run within 4-5 mo. It wasn't that bad. The lateral knee only deals with like 15% of the impact, so it was an easy come back.

Now, the right knee was a medial tear. It took me 8+ months to get back to jogging. That has had long lasting effects. I still hurt when I run. I have had to start using some Supartz injections to help with the lubrication. I have lost a good amount of ROM and that has lead to a loss of power in my stride.

Just keep at it, keep rehabbing, don't get crazy and do too much too soon.