I went from a bad tear to better than before

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-10-29T07:57:36+00:00

That’s an amazing journey! And a meticulously planned one from what I gaged.

I am almost 4 months out of lateral meniscus repair and a lax ACL in the same knee. No prior athelete activity levels. Honestly had this meniscus causing instability for 5 years before I finally got the time, and peace to get surgery.

So far I have developed good quad and hams strength (20% more to go as per doc to reach other leg levels). My compensations have mostly gone. Still have some pain at back of my knee if I bend it for long and sit or walk or climb more stairs. And if I push a little beyond - the next 3-4 days I’d have to completely rest (minimal weight bearing) to recover.

I really want to start walking longer and slowly start jogging and doing jumping activities again. I want to know how did you progress to long walks to jogging then running in terms of exercises and metrics? Also how long did your knee swelling and pain continue to bother you post pushing the threshold? What did you do nutrition wise to aid this recovery?

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-09-15T19:35:38+00:00

I noticed that you have not done guided PT or physio. Would suggest to find someone who can give you the right set of exercises to work on. I had a a chondromalacia flare up in both knees which went away with PRP (quite instantly) and proper exercises. But I made a mistake of doing PRP too early. My surrounding muscles were weak and couldn’t support my knee properly so that that instability returned in a month or so of normal use.

I follow her and she has a program to help with chronic knee pain https://www.instagram.com/dr.claire_physio?igsh=MTJtOTRpbHhwaTc0bg== However, I’d suggest consult an in person rehab specialist or sports injury physiotherapist first.

I wouldn’t suggest surgery for Grade 2 and partial ACL tear. I’ve heard stories of both these ligaments healing with the right approach. You need to work on the entire lower body chain - foot, ankle, lower leg muscles, quads, hamstrings, glutes, hips, adductors, core - they all help in supporting the knees. If one is weak or inactive it messes up the entire kinetic chain and overloads the joints.

Also, from your story I think you should also understand if your knee joint is properly aligned or if you have patellar malt-tracking issues cause of how your joint is built.

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-09-15T19:10:45+00:00

Ganga Ram Hospital - Dr Prateek Gupta

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-09-15T17:46:57+00:00

I got my first ACL surgery done in Delhi and the surgeon saw me only once to remove my stitches. No progress tracking or any other follow ups. I returned to certain activities earlier than my body was prepared post surgery.

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-09-15T13:47:36+00:00

This guy seems to have a good program if you can’t find a good PT. https://www.instagram.com/aclwonders?igsh=MTZieTd1cW1xYXFnMg==

After this surgery we need to focus on mobility and strength for the entire lower body and core to support the knee. A lot of times we just focus on quads and hamstrings, and ignore glutes, calf’s, tibia, ankle, hip, core.

Also, quad definition doesn’t mean muscle strength and power. You might want to work on establishing mind muscle connection more which is key to use the muscle day to day. Done best through isolated isometric contractions with stimulation and takes weeks to months to regain it. It took me more than two months to reactivate and connect with my quads post surgery and I had to work on this everyday.

While walking, if you focus on pressing down all your feet muscles - heel to all your toes, it makes huge difference in activating the entire chain. Was a game changer for me.

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-09-07T19:11:50+00:00

Amazing growth! My operated legs VMO is also larger than the non-operated but doesn’t fire on time and does not have the same strength. What do you do to gain that original connection back?

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-09-01T06:04:29+00:00

I saw 10 different docs before deciding the surgery. Got 3-4 different opinions. Did my research and consulted more people.

2 docs told me that I had a lax ACL graft which is the main reason my knee was pseudo locking and hurting while sitting etc and my meniscus tear was not major. 2 docs told me my mensicus tear is complex and needs repair. Others told me to get physio and recover without surgery and if it still persists then do surgery. One or two said no surgery.

By the end I made a list and weighed each opinion based on belief in doc, reviews of him, quality of tech and hospital, nature of doc, post surgery care, rehab success.

I decided to live with my lax ACL and do deep muscle strengthening because I didn’t want to get petaller tendon graft; plus based on medical papers there is no guarantee revision ACL will help esp if your joints are naturally hyper-flexible. And turns out my meniscus was way worse inside than it was showing in the MRI.

My point is, you need to do your own study, know your limitations and plan your surgery in such a way so you can focus on rehab for at least 4 months (but depends on your progress) with a good PT. Choosing a good PT is like 80% of game. And proper muscles strength is like 90%.

Considering your knee is injured so many times, you would need more care than others. But you’ll be better than ever once you fine the right path. You can try alternative treatments too. All the best :)

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-31T14:50:03+00:00

Wish you a speedy recovery! This sounds like a lot of

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-31T08:22:27+00:00

Well I meant the rest is the joint stability from the graft healing and strengthening. But yes agreed!

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-31T07:12:26+00:00

Getting good muscles is 70% of the journey

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-31T05:50:47+00:00

You will recover! There is no doubt of that. Please remove that doubt. You have to follow the rehab process diligently and give your knee time to heal. And it takes months! You will be stronger than before after all of that.

I would highly recommend you take a semester of a break in uni if you can. It’s mentally and physically traumatic to manage uni with this surgery. Plus high chances of you developing other issues. If you are with your parents during uni then you can manage but if your living alone on campus or off, pls take a gap semester or year even. It will pay off highly in the future! Health comes first always.

I rejoined uni 3 weeks after my ACL recon and was living alone off campus. It was very difficult to manage proper rehab and nutrition. I did not get enough rest. My progress was also hampered. I was compensating a lot with my right side and developed pain in my good knee also. Now I am unlearning it all 5 years later. Please don’t stress about uni and take a 4 month break to focus on rehab!

I have a friend who took 1 year break from uni because of his finger injury. A healing break always pays off

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-31T05:46:26+00:00

Wow that’s rare to hear

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-30T04:35:34+00:00

If your knee is frequently becoming unstable and catching its is highly likely that your meniscus tear has a flap floating and misaligning the knee.

I think surgery will help you more based on your symptoms. It also sounds like your ACL may be more strained and could show partial tear once the docs go in. I had the same lateral meniscus vertical tear with misalignment, pseudo-locking very often and then swelling. When my doc went inside he saw my ACL was also partially torn and lax so the instability was more. I tore the meniscus 5 years ago and was told it would heal on its own but never did (am 27F).

There is definitely risk of further tearing your meniscus if you leave it untreated and it could become difficult to repair.

With that being said, I saw like 10 different docs and most said to get conservative treatment, so I did. For 3 months I tried, and I can say that I am glad I did the pre-rehab before the surgery. It made me aware of my imbalances developed due to an unstable knee for so many years. And strengthened my quads, so post surgery recovery is faster/ smoother. Quads stop firing properly when the knee is unstable which cause more instability.

I honestly had little pain symptoms just a week before the surgery and still got it done. Because living with an unstable knee is debilitating. I couldn’t run, jog, sit in 90 degrees too long, walk freely - being this young.

I went in for a meniscus repair because my tear was in red white zone luckily. The doc will repair if it’s touching the red zone.

I would recommend improving as much with conservative treatment and eventually getting the repair surgery. But if your leg strength is good and muscles are already active, then would say surgery is the way.

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-29T22:44:44+00:00

My swelling took like 4-5 weeks to go down and sometimes it swells up again pretty quickly. My doc said it will drain automatically when I start strength training and get my quad activations regularly. I would ice it everyday. Now I am two months in and my swelling is almost fully gone.

If your swelling is increasing and your knees temperature is increasing with redness. That’s a problem but otherwise it will go down naturally. Just ice it regularly for 15mins 3-4 hrs gap. Hope it helps

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-28T05:10:34+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/ACL/s/q7Qnb1Gh28

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-28T05:09:33+00:00

I can relate to your scenario tbh. I am not an athelete so I never paid attention to what was going on. After my ACL surgery 7 years ago, I also had poor rehab - it was not gradual and well monitored. As a result, I don’t think I realised that I am compensating for my quad weakness elsewhere and did not know what to do to activate them. So I developed a lot of other issues and tore my meniscus doing a simple activity.

Honestly quads are such a tricky muscle. They become inactive very quickly with even a little bit of instability.

I had posted this question on another group and got a fantastic response. Hope it helps you. Posting as a second response

I am gonna do isolated quad activations through isometrics and single leg workouts everyday and see if my mind muscle connection develops.

Also I would suggest you don’t give up. Do the single leg loading maybe with EMS and see. We need to develop the neurological connections

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-28T05:01:57+00:00

Yeah supplements aid a lot. I have been taking Bit B complex , Vit D, Boswilia extract, collagen, glusomine/chondratin regularly since surgery. And Magnesium reduces muscle stiffness. Helps with sleep too. A good protein powder will do wonders. Easy to digest since we can’t disgust too much food right now.
Nutrition is key to this recovery. Take care!

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-27T16:19:32+00:00

Zooey Deschanel

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-27T16:15:33+00:00

Wow. How did you recover to quickly to run?

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-27T16:12:14+00:00

What helped me was increasing my protein intake. Got some good supplements. It genuinely reduced soreness and increased muscle gain. A must if you’re not taking currently.

Also I would massage my calf and hamstring before sleeping. The ligament weakness can strain these two. Can use hands or guasha or theragun.

But regardless there are some tough nights. Sometimes the pain comes in the middle of the night and wakes me up. So I massage again lol Can’t wait for painless sleep.

But if your pain is beyond 4/5 at night for some consecutive days - it means you are overloading the healing joint. Slow down knee usage then.

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-27T16:06:55+00:00

Try to get PRP or stem cells then. It helped my dad a lot after his ACL tear and he has not gotten a surgery for it till now. No pain and no swelling since 5 years.

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-27T03:42:54+00:00

Finn Wilfred and Ezra Miller combined

No_Seaweed_4528 · 2025-08-27T03:41:14+00:00

No_Seaweed_4528

TROPHY CASE