Anyone had meniscus injury?

[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’m supposed to be running the London marathon in April and I’m stressing beyond belief 😢

If it's a torn meniscus you will need an op. I tore mine dancing and had an op a few years ago. An mri scan will be needed to be sure.

I tore mine just under a year ago. Consultant considered op but said to try physio first. I'm back to mostly normal exercise now and have been since about July last year. If you have private health care get on to them now as it'll be a wait on the nhs.

I’ve already requested an mri on my private health insurance. Currently waiting for it to be authorised. Trouble is, I want it yesterday! The fact the marathon is looming is stressing me. If it’s just a sprain or bursa, I can modify training. If it’s a tear then I’m going to have to back down. Very sad and stressed over it.

Did yours hurt to touch? Mine doesn’t. No swelling. Aches all over the knee now and both hamstring and calf are tight too.

I remember it hurt to touch, there was some swelling but I think a lot was internal. Yes to calf stiffness.

Hurts like a bastard if you catch it at the wrong angle, doesn't hurt when not disturbed.

They usually start with physio for 6-8 weeks as it can resolve.

Failing that, a pretty straightforward surgery as long as they don't find complications while they're in there. If a straightforward repair, it's a quick recovery.

I did mine about 5 years ago. I heard it tear when running felt like a pop in my knee. Wasn’t doing anything particularly strenuous at the time just 5k
Mine was incredibly painful at first and could not have walked a marathon never mind run one. I did physio and was advised to operate but having read about mixed results and the whole process from injury/physio/MRI/operation advise taking so long (5 months) I just stuck with physio and by about 6 months after I was running
again and touch wood no other issues since
I think if you can still run or feel like you can, hopefully the physio is right and it will be a quick recovery
Good luck with London

Thanks so much for your advice. I think the worst part is the stiffening up of it if I stay still too long. Driving is hell despite it being my left leg and me driving an automatic. It’s the sitting in that angle for too long I think.

I have run twice since doing it. Only a 1.5mile test run and a 4 mile run yesterday. Both times I strapped it up and was fine but as soon as I stopped, the pain is immense!

if I knew that running wouldn’t make it worse, I’d plough on and cope with the pain, just to do the marathon. But I don’t want it getting worse. The stiffness and ache is insane at the moment. And like you say, it’s hell if you catch it wrong!

I too felt what I thought was a sharp click right in the knee joint on the inside. I was running at the time. The pain wasn’t immense and I carried on for a couple of miles before stopping.

oh and the stiffness is getting worse despite the actual knee pain getting less sharp. Is this normal?

My DP tore his meniscus at the end of 2019 & had an op to repair it pretty much straight away. It was ok for a couple of years but never quite right & his knee would 'lock' randomly & cause lots of pain. He ended up having it removed mid 2022 and all is fine now. He was told that he might have problems as he gets older but we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. It's a relief to not have to worry about it when we're on holiday / walking in the countryside (we've struggled to get him home in the past!)

@bobby81 yikes that sounds stressful. Glad for now he’s sorted though.

Im not getting locking and I can also do stairs, albeit awkwardly and tentatively.

just wish I knew, because like I say, the marathon is looming….

Are you in London? Fortius clinic is very good if you are

Sadly I’m 6 hours from London. My claim has been approved for private mri. But been now told it’s a month wait at my local, so looking further afield!

Mmm the more detail you add the more it does sound meniscus. I too carried on running after it popped and it was only later the pain hit and I knew then I had done something quite bad.
I know I really struggled with driving too and it used to seize up really badly when I slept . I would literally have to manually move my leg and the pain was out of this world felt like someone had put a hammer to my knee. I think that was the worst bit.
Hopefully you will get an MRI soon which will confirm either way.
Its really tough though if you are like me running is my stress release from life if I can’t run I am unbearable and all that training you will have done for the marathon
Before mine was diagnosed I spent a lot of time looking at you tube videos on diagnosis and rehabilitation exercises. Might be worth checking out if you haven’t already although be careful with any exercises in case you do more damage And make sure you are icing your knee regularly as that will help. I think I was surgically attached to my ice wrap for the first month
Keeping everything crossed that this is just a minor blip and you will be back training soon

Thank you so much. You’re right, running is my tonic in such a stressful world right now. It’s literally saved me on so many occasions. And to not be able to run is really hitting me hard in all areas. I’ve been hooked to the internet, looking at anything I can do to make it better. Still wishing that one site will tell me ‘hell yeah, running is fab for meniscus injury!’ 🙄
feel so low about it and absolutely desperate for it to be ok

You need to stop running and let it heal / wait for the medical care you need. That's a fact. None of this extra strain you're putting on it is going to help, and you may do more serious long term damage.

So can you switch your focus to how you can find an outlet to deal with your stresses & need to exercise without further damage? Swimming is the classic suggestion? Or something else entirely?

Not necessarily.

I tore mine skiing about ten years ago and had surgery.

Tore the other one last year also skiing and yes it was an MRI job to confirm but the treatment plan was physio and exercise, they don't automatically go to surgery now. This was private if it makes a difference.

I was able to get back to the gym after about 6 weeks op.

@turkeymuffin I’ve always found swimming hard on my knees as I automatically do breast stroke.
Ive been on my indoor bike on zwift a couple of times but im not sure if that feels worse than running tbh.