Anyone have a Meniscus Root Tear?

I've been running with one for about 5 years. It will not heal on it's own. I take an ibuprofen an hour or so before I run which keeps the swelling down. I know somebody is going to say that ibuprofen will kill me but if Keith Richards can snort coke for 50 years and still be playing rock and roll at like 80 years old, I'll take my chances.

Glad to hear from someone else who has a root tear. Is yours a partial or complete tear? Mine is only a partial one. It seems like it has definitely healed to about 80-85% over the last year and a half, but I can tell that there is still a small torn portion that pops/snaps and causes mild soreness. At this point, it seems like the remaining 15-20% that is torn is just not going to heal.

What did your surgeon say about running on it? The orthopedic surgeon I went told me to not run on it because of the altered biomechanics (I.e., the articular cartilage has to absorb more of the impact because the root tear prevents the meniscus from doing so). Has your tear gotten any worse from running on it? Wondering if I can start running 6-8 miles every day like I used to, or if I should just bite the bullet and get surgery.

bump

I have a root tear too, probably going to have to get surgery on it within the next few months. Hoping for a repair instead of just debridement.

How did you tear yours? anyone else out there with one?

Cant help, but all the best man.

Thanks Gulan

Same injury here. Not sure how it originally was injured but it actually flared up when I was getting PT for a smaller meniscus tear in the the opposite knee. Actually felt it completely "go" on an easy run a few weeks later.

Had surgery in December by Dr David Schmidt (same guy that has worked on a bunch of the San Antonio Spurs) He used to be a runner and also had a meniscus tear. His words of advice/warning to me was that in his experience of doing meniscus repair about 25% of his patents just aren't able to run again.

FYI, my treatment was a cleanup and a PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injection.

From injury/surgery/return to running was 6 months and i've been attempting to regain some form of running fitness for 5 months now and it's slow going...however the knee feels strong, but old age and 20 extra lbs are my biggest hurdle!

Good Luck

Hello! I hope you are still available... Yes, I have been diagnosed with both a torn meniscus (on the medial/posterior horn) and a "meniscocapsular tear" avulsion/detachment. (As in, the meniscus itself has detached from the bone, but you probably knew that). This happened to me in April of 2017. It's currently September 2017 and I'm still dealing with this mess. It's sooo frustrating. I, too, have tried to avoid surgery (and the two specialists I've seen have not been in a rush to perform surgery, either). I have definitely improved. But, even after months of physical therapy, I know it's still "off" and I have not been able to return to my previous level of activity. It feels terrible and I'm thinking I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go for surgery. It terrifies me, though. I really haven't heard any good stories yet regarding this procedure; and, I'm not sure I have confidence in any surgeons here in San Antonio, Texas that can help me.

:( What did you end up doing? -S*

I just had surgery on Friday, September 15, 2017 to repair my meniscus which was torn from the bone. This has been a really weird injury because I cannot figure out exactly when it happened. I have been dealing with lateral knee pain for over a year and a half. It has slowly gotten worse over time and got to the point where basic everyday activities became difficult to do with a lot of pain. I thought it was an IT Band issue based on where the pain was. The docs basically blew me off with Advil, steroid shots, etc. Nothing helped. In April, I fell down some steps in my garage and hit my shins and knee. Quite suddenly, in July, my pain grew exponentially and became almost unbearable. MRI showed torn medial meniscus at the posterior horn (I am on pain meds and may not have my terminology right). Tried physical therapy, but could not get full extension back and flexion was awful. Knee kept filling up with fluid. Went into surgery not knowing if doc could repair it or if he would have to remove some and clean things up. That is scary because the recovery for a repair is much longer and challenging.

He ended up doing a repair and I will not be able to put any weight on my leg for 4-6 weeks. My leg is in a brace which keeps it completely straight. It is definitely challenging to do even the most basic things. But, in the long run, I should be better off!

I just just had the same surgerey in 9/21/17.

I've had the surgery twice. They can't do it any more.

I am 5 days into recovery and can put a little weight on it and bend it. I ran 30 to 40 miles for about 8 years every week and it finally caught up to me. I am bowlegged which at that type of distance puts pressure on this area of the knee so I really had no choice but to get surgery. The doctor said that once I get fully healed I will be about 90% of what I was before, not sure what that means.

No specificity was given to whether this is the more common medial meniscus posterior horn root or the lateral root injury.

I think I have a meniscus tear in my left knee. I say I think because my medical insurance did not allow an MRI, but did allowed physical therapy. So I took about six weeks or more of PT, and the knee got better so that I can do racewalking and easy running. However, the knee is not right still.

I believe I originally injured it by doing squats.

Good for you! Meniscus repairs are the best way to preserve the meniscus and let it heal up. Meniscectomy almost invariably leads to osteoarthritis later on. We have a 50 yr old guy in our running club who 13 yrs ago tore his medial meniscus and opted for a meniscectomy over repair. Now, at age 50, he just a total knee replacement for severe OA of the joint.

I had a meniscus root repaired on 8/16/2017. I’m 55 years old and was fairly active before the injury. I was NWB for 6 weeks, 50% WB for another 2 weeks. Start PT at 7 weeks post op. I found that the recovery process is a lot harder than I thought. My ROM came back fairly quickly once I get on the spinning bike. But I have traveling pain from other parts of my body. At about 11 weeks postop, PT put me on the Alta G treadmill jogging at 50% body weight for 10 minutes. After that, I was limping for a week. At 12 weeks checkup, my ortho surgeon told me not to do any activity with impact. So no more jogging for sure. My knee still swell up at times if I work a little ford. Walking down stairs is still difficult at this time. My greatest fear is the repair will not work and I’m back to square one.

Hi Tona

Any updates? Did you habe to do the surgery again?

Hope everything went well for you.

Had a large bucket tear, got it surgically trimmed. Took a few months with PT but ran a marathon the following year. I wear a lightweight brace with minimal support to help with any loss of stability.

Doing nothing will likely make the tear grow and result in an even larger area to be trimmed. Unless the tear is very small and on the outside, nothing much good comes from waiting. Make sure you get a good surgeon though.