Anyone with experience of meniscus tears?

[Oatcakesandmarmite]

Injured my knee 9 days ago. Had tight leg muscles generally at the time but warmed up and went for a run, only to feel a pain in inner (medial) knee area.
Since then I’ve had no swelling but pain and stiffness remains.

in addition an area of pain a few inches below my knee on my shin (which I had before I ran also).

physio thinks pinched meniscus plus bursitis probs. But the more I read online, the more it seems to be a torn meniscus.

anyone had this? And what was the pain/symptom journey?

I’ve got a massive sporting fixture in a few months that I need to be tiptop for and I’m stressing beyond belief 😢

I tore mine along with my ACL jumping into a swimming pool while drunk. I don't know what a meniscus tear would feel like alone but I do know the surgery to remove it was incredibly painful!

I tore mine a few years ago. Foot stayed planted and knee turned while playing sport. I felt a pop/clunk in the knee - imagine opening the lid on a jam jar and that's what it was like. I ended up having surgery to remove the torn bit. But really, there is no way of knowing without an MRI to see what's going on. I ruptured the ACL and MCL on the other knee last year but even the consultant wasn't expecting the MRI to show that based on the lack of swelling and knee stability. I hope yours is minor and settles down soon.

Edited to add - both were painful but not excessively so, not very much swelling either. However my Mum did her ACL and it swelled up loads. So I think it really does vary a lot.

All you can do is get to the doctor and find out. If it is, then it's unlikely you'll be competing in a few months. I've had a tear mended in one knee, and the meniscus removed in the other. One op was sore and swollen after and took a while to get over. The other was much easier. It took a while for the knees to feel back at full strength though, and to be honest about a year before I could kneel on the floor without feeling a strain in my knee.

Meniscus tears can repair themselves without intervention. Mine didn’t but I had them for quite a long time before I had surgery. Try RICE and physio.

I’ve torn meniscus in both knees. It’s so bloody sore and stiff. At some point the knee gets stuck as well and you think it’s never going to go back to straight. One knee had surgery to remove it and that knee is now my good knee (arthritis in it now I’m old) my bad knee is the knee I’ve recently torn. I’m currently chewing painkillers and using ice packs and foot up. I’m hoping it repairs itself so I’m not going to see about it for some time. I left my other one for about 6 months before giving in and getting it done.

Only if they are very minor (less than 1cm).m and it very much depends on whether there's adequate blood supply. I've had three arthroscopies for damaged menisci and two ruptured ACLs and am going in for a full knee replacement next week. Honestly the arthroscopies gave minimal relief and I'm really not sure they helped that much but if you've a bad tear, having meniscus flapping about can be extremely painful so you're in a bit of a catch 22 op.

Thank you for your replies.

mine has no swelling. But is insanely stiff and the calf muscle is really tight too. Touching my quad is tender. It’s like the entire leg has become a part of the injury now.

Im wondering if it could be pes anserine bursitis as my physio said I had this too.

waiting for a private mri now. Should hear a date tomorrow but even private is a bit of a wait now.

I couldn't walk properly for weeks after tearing my meniscus. Go to your dr and get a scan.

I had one and didn't even know about it until I had a scan and x-ray. My knee just hurt.

I had arthritis in the knee as well, so I have no idea how much of the pain was due to the tear and how much due to the arthritis. I've had a partial knee replacement and it's really not much better than it was before.