Another update for me. I had an appointment scheduled with an orthopedist but had to cancel because of work. I have rescheduled, and will see an orthopedist next Tuesday.
I did pick up my MRI results and the report and there is no meniscus tear. The report says there is a “trace amount of effusion.” I looked it up and effusion seems to mean inflammation and/or swelling. It also said there is “mild ill-defined hyperintensity at the lateral femoral condyle which suggests a mild bone contusion.”
It also said all ligaments are maintained, articular cartilage is preserved, and lateral meniscus is unremarkable. Then it says “tiny area of increased signal associated with the posterior horn of the medial meniscus but no evidence of a tear.”
I apologize for the long post. I have no idea what any of this means, but I will see my ortho next week. In the meantime, do any of you medical guys, or others, have any thoughts or translations? There was never any trauma, so I don’t know what the effusion or contusion would be from.
well, to revive an old thread. I did get a minor tear in meniscus. After a long wait and trying to convince the doctor to give me an MRI a few times I finally had one.
The advice they gave me is to not have surgery, since the tear is a small one. Operating would mean a solution to the little bit of pain that I have. However, 10 to 15 years later I’d probably experience arthritis and degeneration of the knee because there is less meniscus to protect the knee. I don’t want to become an old man with a knee replacement.
However, I have to give up jumping and basketball, two big passions of mine. I refuse to give up squatting, since I do not experience pain when doing that (sometimes mild irritation).
I’m considering going back playing american football as linebacker or defensive end. What do you all think, possible with a small meniscus tear?
PS don’t trust PT tests for the meniscus. They all came out negative with me, but I still had a tear.
[quote]ilyttoddll wrote:
recently tore my meniscus, wondering if any of you strength athletes have been in this situation. the idea of not squatting/pulling leaves me pissed but wondering if anyone can offer any advice. doc says upper body is good to go. just a vent. thanks [/quote]
i tore mine real bad in nov of 06, had operation, then retore it again in feb of 07, had another op in april. the last op took forever to recover, didnt train legs again till oct of 07 and did my 1st P/L meet in dec of 07.
listen to the docs, dont rush it or you will do what i did and that sux. if i would have listened the 1st time, i’d b way above were im at now. watch out for scar tissue after the op if u have one, fukin hurts. i also train knee wrap free, and knees are strong.
[quote]ilyttoddll wrote:
recently tore my meniscus, wondering if any of you strength athletes have been in this situation. the idea of not squatting/pulling leaves me pissed but wondering if anyone can offer any advice. doc says upper body is good to go. just a vent. thanks [/quote]
i feel your pain i tore my meniscus playing football the beginning of my senior year. i was able to play through the pain though and just got it fixed in july. aint no big deal if your all right with working with a little pain.
According to my orthopedist unrepaired meniscus tear will destroy your joint over time. It is because part of meniscus will irritate other joint structures and degenerate them over time.