Meniscus Injuries can take a long time to heal. Making good rehabilitation decisions whilst at the same time avoiding potential aggravating factors can make a huge difference in recovery time.
Use the 8 evidence-based tips in this article to heal your meniscus injury in the quickest time possible.
What is a meniscus?
The meniscus is the structure that is situated in the knee and whose job is to provide shock absorption for the knee. It is made up of two C-shaped cartilages one on either side of the knee.
It also provides the congruency of the joint working to distribute the pressure evenly across it. It helps with the movement of the femur (thigh bone) across the tibia (shin bone).
How is a Meniscus Injured?
The menisci are tightly attached to the tibia (shin bone). This makes them more susceptible to injury with twist-like mechanisms. An example of this is where the foot is planted in the ground and the upper body twists around. This can cause damage to the meniscus. This is an example of a traumatic meniscus injury.
Meniscus injuries can also come about when they wear down over time. This is called a degenerative meniscal tear. These types of tears commonly occur in the older knee. They can also be worsened by twisting-like injuries because as we age the meniscus dries out and becomes more brittle.
Meniscus injuries heal slowly because the blood supply is poor making correct management vitally important.
Let’s look at the 8 tips to help your meniscus heal in the fastest way possible.
Tip 1 – Avoid Twisting
As we saw earlier twisting through the knee can lead to meniscus injuries. They can also worsen an injury that is already present and can also set back recovery time if repetitive twisting motions are taking place.
This is bad news for my golfers and anyone involved in sports that have a twisting element to them such as tennis or racquet sports. These sports should be considered off-limits as the knee is healing in the initial stages of the injury.
You should make a concerted effort to remember to pick your feet up when turning around. Try not to pivot on the affected leg at all, especially within the first 3-4 weeks of the injury or symptoms starting.
Tip 2 – Continue Walking
In Tip 1 we saw that twisting activities were not good for meniscus injuries, however, walking would still be a good option. It will help to improve the weight-bearing tolerance of the kee and to keep it from stiffening up.
Care should still be taken not to overdo things. Uneven ground should be avoided in the first few weeks of injury if at all possible.
With some meniscus injuries, you’ll be able to walk almost pain-free whereas with others pain and inflammation will prevent you from walking comfortably. Start walking when the pain and inflammation have settled sufficiently that you can comfortably walk around the house or for short distances pain-free.
Tip 3- Keep the Knee Moving
To help mobilise the inflammation and to bathe the joint with healthy synovial fluid, make sure that you keep your knee moving.
This can be as simple as bending and straightening your knee 20 times every hour that you are awake.
In the initial stages, make sure to avoid full flexion (bend) and full extension (straightening). This can pinch the meniscus and make it painful. You’ll find that as the knee starts to settle, you’ll feel more comfortable taking the knee into these extremes of ranges of motion.
Tip 4 – Keep the Quads and Glutes strong
Performing strengthening exercises for the quadriceps and gluteal muscles can help with meniscus tear management.
By restoring and re-activating this muscle strength you will improve the integrity of the joint and potentially help with the load managemnt when you stand or walk. Muscle weakness can cause excess load to travel through one portion of the knee rather than the load being spread evenly. This should be avoided.
It can also help to reduce pain.
Exercises should be matched to the stage of inury. Acute, painful, swollen joints should be iced and rested for a few days, focusing on keeping the knee moving. But when this stage has settled, basic strengthening exercises which avoid full flexion and full extension should be started.
Let pain be your guide. Start slowly with a few repetitions and build up from there. Avoiding taking the knee into extremes of pain if you can.
Tip 5 – Maintain Flexibility in the Quads, Hamstrings and Calves
Pain will restrict your range of mortion within the knee joint. The joint starts to become stiff which can make your pain worse or even lengthen your recovery time.
Starting with mobility exercises such as knee bends and straightens, progress onto more complex flexibility work for the quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles. These are all the muscles that cross the knee joint. Remember not to take the knee into fully bent or fully straightened positions too soon.
You will be able to push the boundaries of your flexibility work slowly over the course of a few weeks listening carefully to your body so as not to push things to hard too soon.
Tip 6 – Sleep with a Pillow Between your Knees
If you are a side sleeper you shoulder consider sleeping with a pillow between your knees. This will prevent your knees from twisting with the weight of your legs during the night.
If you sleep on your back you should also consider placing a pillow underneath your knees in order to prevent the leg from locking out and placing the meniscus under strain.
Tip 7 – Knee Braces for Acute Injuries/Symptoms
Knee braces can help reduce your symptoms and make the knee feel more comfortable.
If your knee becomes painful and swollen, the knee can often feel as if it wants to give way even though structurally it is not at risk of doing so. A brace can help to reinforce a sensation of stability as well as helping to reduce pain and swelling.
By managing your symptoms appropriately you wil be able to move and strengthen the knee sooner which will help with the overall recovery of the knee.
Tip 8 – Use Ice and Heat at different stages of the injury
I talk about icing in more depth in another article that I’ve written and you can read that here if you’d like to.
A meniscus injury will need both heat and Ice in order to promote recovery.
I advocate the use of Ice in the first few days post injury to help to control the pain. After a few weeks I recommend switching to heat if the pain is well managed.
The heat will help with joint stiffness and joint mobility.
Conclusion
Unfortunately meniscus injuries are a common occurence. Symptoms can include pain, inflammation, stiffness and instability.
They can take a long time to recover and require careful management to achieve this. In some cases a satisfactory recovery may not occur and surgery may be needed.
By following the 8 tips in this article, you stand the best chance of obtaining a good recovery.
Follow them all, be diligent with your rehabilitation exercises and above all be patient. If you think you’ve given the knee long enough to recover and it hasn’t, give it a little more time.
Good luck with your recovery!
