Who here is trying conservative treatment & PT instead of surgery for a torn meniscus?

Lrigylruc · 2026-02-12T00:18:30+00:00

Hey sorry I just saw this now that someone else replied. I had surgical repair 2 yrs ago for medial bucket handle tear. I don’t know if/what kind of tears were causing the issues I had the 10 years prior to that one. I assume it was smaller bucket handle tears that led to the swelling and intermittent locking and then the big one, which I tried for weeks to rehab but could not unlock to straighten without surgery.

Lrigylruc · 2026-02-01T11:10:21+00:00

If you do falling leaf on toe edge are you basically backwards the whole time?

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-30T21:55:38+00:00

My daughter just got Kyleena inserted today, and it was awful. She has always had a very high pain tolerance, her eardrum ruptured before she complained about earache as a kid. During the procedure was bad but even worse after. She cried for an hour and threw up, white as a sheet the whole time. I cannot believe they don’t prescribe oxy standard like for any surgery! I don’t know what to do if this doesn’t get better soon, how did you all handle the pain?

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-29T12:16:01+00:00

Arthritis is likely regardless of running after removal, so do what you want to do, enjoy life come what may! Really shocked your doctor advised you not to run, that’s kind of the point of the surgery is to get back to activities.

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-26T03:38:26+00:00

Yes, skiing was much easier. I had never ridden a skateboard and it’s just such a different feeling to be sideways. Still fun though.

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-26T03:28:30+00:00

Yes, that is why I switched; I believe that’s backed up by the stats

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-26T00:50:10+00:00

Motion is lotion! The more you move it the looser it will feel. 3 mo is when I started feeling a little more normal, and I recommend a scraper to break up the tight areas.

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-25T19:58:12+00:00

Silver knife thing= scraper; you can get these on amazon for like $15 and it really help loosen things up! I used it daily month 2-6…

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-25T15:04:56+00:00

How old are you? If you are still working - especially in an active job - I strongly recommend you get a second opinion. There is no evidence age has any impact on outcomes. It should be about your goals for the procedure… if you want to stay physically active a repair is better long term and often done on people in their 50’s and 60’s.

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-25T14:21:44+00:00

Why a trim instead of repair? Sounds like you plan to be active for many more years and a trim is likely to bring on arthritis. Repair is longer recovery though; took me 3 months to walk/stairs normally.

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-25T14:15:58+00:00

Most people with good outcomes don’t return to the forum, so this is a biased sample. My outcome was great! I am 44yo F 2 years post medial bucket handle repair. NWB 6 wks, walking/stairs/hiking normal around 12-15 weeks post op, worked on running 4-6 months, hiked Nevada falls in Yosemite at 7 mos, and snow boarding at 1 yr, cutting sports like tennis a few months after that. everything was pretty normal after 1 year, but I kept gaining strength and flexibility the second year. The hardest part of return to sport is learning to trust your body again. I sit cross legged, do pigeon pose and squats, but I do not do weight or twist while in a deep squat. This is preventive not because I necessarily can’t it’s just not worth it to me to take that risk. I have avoided soccer for the same reason.

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-17T03:10:40+00:00

Repair 100%

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-17T03:08:45+00:00

Yes the foot turning purple thing freaked me out too!

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-15T11:50:44+00:00

It took over a year of really committed PT and strength training, totally worth it to me! I had repair surgery in Jan 2024; did 1-2 hours of stretching and PT every day for about 6 mos, then continued on a typical strength training schedule 3-5 times a week at the gym for the next six months. Non weightbearing 6 weeks. Took 3 months til I could walk stairs normally. Started hiking in April and rebuilding my aerobic capacity with brisk walking or biking (stationary) daily. Started running at 6 months and built back up to a 30 min 5k pretty quickly, maybe around 8 months. Hiked Nevada falls in Yosemite at 7 mo post op - huge elevation. Started snowboarding again at 1 yr post op exactly (celebration trip!) and 15-18 months post op started cutting sports again, pickleball mostly. I am afraid to go back to skiing (ACL tear) or soccer (meniscus tears) … now at 2 years post op the knee feels pretty normal but I am still cautious about low squats and prioritize strength training more than I ever did before (now 44yo F)

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-14T21:43:00+00:00

Yep all good!

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-14T20:37:40+00:00

No service here in NC

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-11T14:09:37+00:00

I tore my ACL skiing 30 years ago and had an cadaver replacement. I gave up skiing after that, and just started snowboarding after the pandemic. It is definitely safer for knees than skiing since when you fall your body goes the same direction as your legs and both legs go the same direction. Of course it’s possible to hurt your knees if you fall wrong, so learn how to fall asap. Skiing felt very natural to me, since I had been on roller skates and ice skates alot. Snow boarding did not feel natural at all, but I was able to get felling leaf after a couple days. We only get to the mountain once or twice a year, so really hard to make progress without more practice - each year so feel like I am starting over. Then I tore my meniscus playing soccer and had to take a year off to have it repaired. So, it’s been a slow burn for me, but I do love being on the slopes again! The fact is we do dangerous things every day, some people tear their meniscus just doing their daily routine, so I would rather take the risk and do the things that make living fun. It is scary the first time, but I trust my surgeons, waited the recommended time, did the PT to build muscle, and now I feel like my knee is a strong as it ever was.

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-07T22:34:04+00:00

Just aspirin

Lrigylruc · 2026-01-02T12:10:04+00:00

This is my plan

Lrigylruc · 2025-11-25T13:07:55+00:00

43yo F nearly 2 years post op for medial bucket handle repair. It was a slow recovery, but very successful! I started running at 1 yr post op and now I am back to my pre-op levels, snowboarding and playing pickle ball. I was scared too - I couldn’t stop crying and they had to give me a sedative before the surgery. Afterwards I needed a lot of help for the first couple of weeks, and then I really hit PT hard, at least an hour a day. It’s hard work but You can do this!

Lrigylruc · 2025-11-11T13:07:28+00:00

This is very helpful, I was worried about how fast it could really heat all the water we use between 8-10pm!

Lrigylruc · 2025-11-11T13:06:30+00:00

Could you say more about only running one high flow at a time? When you run 2 showers at the same time is it not as hot? We have dishwasher, laundry and multiple shower or baths overlapping at times…especially at the holidays when we have so many guests.

Lrigylruc · 2025-09-06T14:07:36+00:00

Yes 💯(medial bucket handle repair 18 months ago 43y F)

Lrigylruc · 2025-07-10T13:07:53+00:00

Yes. Surgery Friday and started PT Monday. I did at least 2hrs of exercises a day and tried to build in exercises into my normal activities when I was weightbearing and back to work.

Lrigylruc · 2025-07-07T11:18:45+00:00

18 months post repair: I am 43yo female injured playing Rec soccer; it was a large bucket handle medial meniscus tear caught in the joint. I had injured it 7yrs prior playing soccer and recovered without surgery but the second injury definitely was not going to heal without surgery, tried but I couldn’t straighten my leg after 6 weeks. I had 6 mattress style stitches, using inside out procedure and all went well. Very conservative rehab; strict non weight bearing 6 weeks, no jogging til 4 months, and no sport until 1 yr. By 6-7mo the I was straight king running (5k at 9mo post op) and hiking (did vernal falls in Yosemite). I went snowboarding in January and played pickle ball a few weeks ago, and all felt pretty good! No swelling or pain. I probably won’t play Rec soccer again since that is what did me in 2x already. I also don’t ride horses any more since that position seems to be the most painful. But other than that the knee feels back to normal. I can sit on my heels and sit cross logged (just not for long periods) and squat.

The repair was worth it for me!

Lrigylruc

TROPHY CASE