RunningAHEAD - Topic: Torn Meniscus?

jck

posted: 8/18/2008 at 10:26 PM
modified: 8/19/2008 at 1:33 PM

I just got back from the PT since i have been having knee stiffness and some catching he thinks it is a torn meniscus, he suggested to get an appt with a doc and get an MRI to verify. I am kind of depressed since i was due to run my first marathon in Sept, has anyone dealt with this kind of injury and continued to run? The PT said i have some muscle stiffness and pronation issues which may have contributed to the injury, he said my shoes were not the offering the best support which makes me mad since i went to 2 different running stores and both time they put me in neutral shoes. Just looking for others who have dealt with and overcame this kind of injury Thanks

Clark 2008 Goals Run HM under 2hrs done-1:50 Run First Full Marathon Sept 14th 4:00 Finish all home projects---ya right

Crabby

Dog-Love

posted: 8/19/2008 at 3:00 AM

I tore my meniscus in OCtober 2006 and ran on it until I couldn't stand it anymore. In February 2007 I had surgury and treated it really well (no running for 6 weeks). I ran a marathon that same year in October. So life does go on and my arthroscopic surgury went really well. And my knee still feels great. Next marathon is October 2008. Good luck and I would suggest gettting it taken care of earlier than later and planning a marathon your next year

Run like you are on fire! 5K goal 24:00 or less (PR 24:34) 10K goal 50:00 or less (PR 52:45) HM goal 1:55:00 or less (PR 2:03:02) Marathon Goal...Less than my PR (PR 4:33:23)

redleaf

posted: 10/28/2008 at 11:19 AM

I went searching and found this thread. My knee has been bugging me off and on for weeks. I've listened to the physio insofar as doing 5:1s only (even though he'd rather I do nothing right now) but I've been slacking on the actual exercises. Today I went to the doc. He explained that when your knee is healthy the hard cartilage is smooth (I didn't know there were kinds of cartilage) but when you get arthritis (I'm only 35! but way overweight although on my way down) then it gets bumpy and wears on the meniscus. I had to promise to do all the physio exercises every day and I have to go for an x-ray (but meniscus is soft and won't show up on an x-ray right? so maybe the hard cartilage?) and while he would much rather I not run at all for 6 weeks (when I go back to see him again) if I'm going to I go slow (my only speed) and stop at any sign of pain. So, the thought of not running at all has me on the verge of tears. If I do all the exercises and go slow and stop if it hurts (it has never hurt while I'm running, just going up and down stairs now) will I actually be making it worse if I keep running? In other words, should I suck it up and not run and just do 6 weeks of the elliptical and swimming and bail on my 5k race on December 6th? thanks

First or last...it's the same finish line

HF #4362

runningstrong

posted: 10/29/2008 at 8:16 AM

Redleaf, the x-ray is probably to look at the contours of the joint surfaces. If the "hard" cartilage on the joint surface is wearing, it places more focused (rather than evenly dispersed) pressure on the bone below and this can be seen on x-ray as the bone deteriorates. Your knee has two good partners... a strong set of hips and a well supported foot. Work on developing hip strength, make sure you have adequate flexibility in your calves, hamstrings and hip flexors, and make sure the shoes you're wearing are supporting you well. This won't "cure" the problem quickly but it will create an environment for healing in your knee and eventually as you get the muscle balance issues fixed... it will likely deal with the underlying cause for your knee injury. Hopefully you have caught this in time to intervene! Janet

Treat the cause, not just the symptoms... http://www.runningstong.com

redleaf

posted: 10/29/2008 at 2:32 PM

Thanks very much Janet. So far it seems as though rest is the way to go for now. Just one last easy run tomorrow and then I've decided to stay off it for a while. Dead

hmmm gotta find that swimming schedule I guess.

First or last...it's the same finish line

HF #4362

Torn Meniscus? (Read 658 times)