Have you seen a sports' doc?
Have you seen a sports' doc?
I have tight hamstrings too, and tore my right meniscus. I asked my doctor the same question. His opinion was that tight hamstrings, glutes, and quads are more likely to cause knee issues relating to IT Band, tendonitis, bursitis, etc. and not likely a contributing factor to structural damage like that of a meniscus tear. He attributed my tear to general wear and tear.
Yes I saw a sports doctor... I just had my 3rd surgery. Just trying to find the possible cause of my meniscus tears or meniscus tears in general. Wear and tear is certainly a possibility, but can't do much to prevent that unless I stop running. Tightness and muscle strength are things I can work on if that could be a contributing factor. However, I am pretty strong with good muscle tone.
This thread demonstrates the danger of seeking medical advise on a massage board. One guy confused the meniscus with a ligament and another guy posted an article about articular cartilage repair, which is not the same as a meniscus. You also have people repeating the old wear and tear wive's tale.
Internet advice is often worth just what it costs: nothing.
I'm just so frustrated. Thought there may be a few serious runners on here who had multiple meniscus surgeries/similar meniscus issues that could offer their insights on a possible cause/prevention.
I've had one meniscus surgery along with a microfracture. I'm still in rehab with the goal of running again. Lots of people have given me the "don't run!!!" warning. My doctor and pt are not among them and are fully supportive. So I'm giving it my best shot and will enjoy every mile I'm able to run for as long as I'm able to do it.
My rehab has involved lots of stationary biking and weights given to me by my pt. My advise is to find a great doctor and pt who are supportive of your goals and follow their advice to the t. Don't seek or listen to conflicting advise from others. Stay focused!
Thanks for sharing... doing all I can to "Stay Focused!" A big part of that focus is trying to figure out how my three meniscus tears occurred so I can try to prevent them from reoccurring when I get back to running. Just stumped. Good Luck with your continued recovery!
Sorry to hear about your meniscus problems. I think it is very likely that wear and tear (degeneration) of your meniscus could be the cause, and not a directly result of tight hamstrings. For many high mileage runners, meniscus tissue frays/weakens over time. As you continue high mileage training the fraying and weakening eventually gives way. Chances are if you get back into running it may tear again. Not sure if you can do anything about it. I'd be interested in knowing who on Letsrun has overcome repeated meniscus tears and what they are doing now to stay healthy.
JPRaider wrote:
Sorry to hear about your meniscus problems. I think it is very likely that wear and tear (degeneration) of your meniscus could be the cause, and not a directly result of tight hamstrings. For many high mileage runners, meniscus tissue frays/weakens over time. As you continue high mileage training the fraying and weakening eventually gives way. Chances are if you get back into running it may tear again. Not sure if you can do anything about it. I'd be interested in knowing who on Letsrun has overcome repeated meniscus tears and what they are doing now to stay healthy.
i've had two meniscus surgeries in the same knee. one for a small lateral tear, second one 11 years later for a more significant medical tear (and some other clean-up)
for the original poster, i doubt that the tight hammies directly caused the meniscus issues, but i also think they could be a contributing factor.
i'm still running and feeling no knee pain as long as don't do any really fast speed work. that's the one thing that causes knee discomfort.
i take a glucosamine/chondroitin/msm supplement. (both my surgeons suggested it - years apart - both said it might help and certainly won't do any harm.) i also try to eat a bit of gelatin regularly.
most importantly, is i've strengthened (and balanced the strength in) my quads.
Thank you for the info! Appreciate it!
asdfghjkl wrote:
This thread demonstrates the danger of seeking medical advise on a massage board. One guy confused the meniscus with a ligament and another guy posted an article about articular cartilage repair, which is not the same as a meniscus. You also have people repeating the old wear and tear wive's tale.
Internet advice is often worth just what it costs: nothing.
I didn't confuse the meniscus with a ligament. I said that ligaments tend to weaken as you age, which is why they become easier to tear, not some nebulous "wear and tear". The same thing happens to the meniscus. Something is causing these structures to be loaded incorrectly, which might well be the hamstring. Since you're at increased risk of tears as you age, it's important to address imbalances.
Marathoner3 wrote:
I'm just so frustrated. Thought there may be a few serious runners on here who had multiple meniscus surgeries/similar meniscus issues that could offer their insights on a possible cause/prevention.
Did you also have an X-ray that would show if the distance between femur and tibia have decreased from what would be considered normal? At the start of the process I went through, and x-ray suggested that I still had a relatively normal looking joint through an x-ray, which was a good sign in being able to run again. The MRI found no other damage, another good sign, and finally at surgery, they found no damage to other surfaces within the knee. I have had no other problems since (knocking on wood), although it took about a year post surgery for it to feel normal. No pain, just did not feel like the non surgical knee. Couldn't really put my finger on how to describe what different was. It just was.
Ted Underhill wrote:
I have had no other problems since (knocking on wood), although it took about a year post surgery for it to feel normal. No pain, just did not feel like the non surgical knee. Couldn't really put my finger on how to describe what different was. It just was.
same for me after my 2nd surgery. actually took me about 19 months to get where i didn't even think about it any more
much of that was the time it took to figure out the quad imbalance (weak VMO) and fix it to get rid of a patella tracking issue
Doctor said the spacing between my knee joints is very good, cartilage between joints is very good, especially for the mileage I have on my legs, but problem is the weakening of the meniscus tissue. He did say I could certainly run again, but could experience another meniscus tear. As I mentioned previously, trying to figure out how I can avoid that when I start training again.
I've had 2 tears and wondering the same thing. Have any of you had multiple meniscus tears and if so what do you believe to be the cause or causes of the tear? Wear and tear, muscle imbalance/tightness, high mileage, old shoes, etc...????
has anyone ever felt a significant "pop" or releasing of the sciatic (or somewhere in the deep groin area) while deep stretching the hamstring in PT.........was suffering from a severe pain in sciatic nerve and emanating from the glutes (deep in right side) and while being stretched a crazy sounding pop happened and was curious as to if it's possible that the feeling was the sciatica being "pressure relieved"??? no bruising no noticeable tears but the lateral meniscus LCL area is now feeling it (also a life long runner and have had ACL MCL and PCL repair and previous meniscus repair) and to note that the knee has been "loose" for a while so not sure if im feeling lactic acid or ??? ......... just looking for any guidance if anyone has experienced
Resurrecting this old thread b/c the same thing happened to me. I think the complex of tight hip flexor on one side, and over compensating tight hamstring on other side ==> causing medial meniscus pain, is more common than we know. A chronically injured hamstring will shorten, effecting the way the knee tracks while in motion. Non-runners likely never really notice this but for us runners...this is a recipe for a serious injury...i.e., a torn medial meniscus.
There's just nothing like the tremendous forces we place on our anatomy during running. For example, jump rope skipping is no problem for my knee but running at a snails-pace 12 min mile is a no-go.