Meniscus symptoms

[JonathanH]

Hello and good day / evening.

Recently I was playing football and was running then my leg hit the ground in funny position and my knee gave out.

I have been told at the hospital I have a possible meniscus tear / fold or ligament damage.

I only have problems with fully locking my knee and flexion. There is very slight pain when I do this. I have an MRI scan on Monday to shed further light on the situation.

With the people I have spoken to or in forums that I've read, nearly everyone has mentioned having experienced a lot of pain. And no one has mentioned blood. Due to this and there being a small amount of pain / hindrance is it possible that there may be some different type of damage / diagnoses?

Thank you for any personal experiences that can be shared / any advice or information on the topic

 

[dish rag]

I had a good amount of pain, I did not have the locking.

 

[nkereina]

My husband tore his ACL and was not able to fully lock his knee. He couldn't bend it past 90 degrees or fully straighten it out either. He didn't have much pain, unless he really tried to do one of these motions. He tore it in August and wasn't able to have surgery until October, and he did a Disney World trip walking on it while it was torn, so that should give you an idea of how minimal the symptoms were. It was our understanding from the orthopedic doctor that ACL tears are difficult to confirm until you have an MRI, so that may be why the hospital suggested meniscus tear. That's also more common/easier done, from my understanding too.

 

[Feralpeg]

I have a torn meniscus in my left knee. I saw a surgeon, but he said it wasn't bad enough to warrant surgery unless it becomes very painful. For the most part, it doesn't bother me a lot. It clicks a bit. I also get a slight burning sensation. Unfortunately, I also have arthritis in that knee. That bothers me more than the torn meniscus.

 

[macraven]

I had a 3/4 tear of my meniscus and surgery

I waited a month before I saw a doctor
as had to see the primary doc first and get the referral

Could not straighten my leg out during this time as pain too strong for me
Never had any visible bleeding

No issues after having surgery but did a lengthy PT which helped me recover.
No complications or pain 3 months later.

 

[barkley]

when i tore mine there was not allot of pain. it felt like something was catching inside my knee, almost like there was a loose piece of something that would occasionally get caught on something else. when that happened it would somewhat lock but if i moved it a bit it would 'uncatch'. i did have times it fully locked and that did really hurt.

had to have surgery and my knee is far worse now. i was told after surgery that the damage was such that if i could hold out 5 years (due to my age) for a knee replacement it was ideal. now i'm 6 years post surgery and the criteria for knee replacement has changed (unless it's bone on bone it's not recommended), and i'm told if my injury happened today they would never recommend surgery b/c the attitude is that even torn cushioning in the knee is better than reduced.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My son hurt his knee sliding into third base when his cleat caught on a bumpy surface on a neglected base path. It was sore for a few days, then one night he felt a pop and it became quite swollen and painful. He had an MRI and was diagnosed with a torn meniscus. He underwent surgery, but when the surgeon opened up the area he said the meniscus was not torn, it was just a soft tissue injury, so he sewed him back up and sent him to PT. Eventually the pain was mostly gone but he continues to have some soreness now and then. That's our experience. You might want to have a second or even third opinion on your MRI before having surgery, or see how you do with PT first.

 

[ponyboy]

I've had 3 surgeries on my right knee for meniscus tears and one on my left for torn MCL and meniscus tears. I can tell you from experience that not all tears are the same. It depends on their location and severity.

Some are more annoyances that only hurt occasionally and others are more painful that cause what feel like locking when the flap that's torn can fold and flip upside down. Hurting when you fully lock your knee is a pretty common symptom though.

They will never heal on their own but if it's a pretty recent injury it's possible that the pain will start to go away to where it doesn't bother you much. If you're very active though there's a good chance it will keep bothering you and/or get worse.

I had a small tear in my left knee that I got diagnosed a couple of years back and it wasn't bothering me often enough or severe enough to mess with. Then earlier this year I torn my MCL and the original tear got a lot bigger and I also tore some on the outside of my knee also that necessitated surgery.

The MRI on Monday will tell you everything. Good luck

 

[Cantw8]

This is a meniscus in my world

 

[lip420]

I never had popping or locking. I had burning and pain though. Did it twice definitely want to do your research. The record for meniscus surgery is not that good. Some do fine with it and then like a year or 2 or more later get arthritis. I had a little bit of popping like when it happened. But after a few months not so. It takes a long time (or can) and there are different treatments you can look into.

Popping and locking can still happen post surgery too.

 

[wildride]

I had meniscus and cartilage problems after years of marathoning. I did have the popping & locking every once in a while if I was doing oh light jog it would lock up and down I would go on the pavement.
I had knee surgery about 10 years ago haven’t had a problem since no popping no locking no freezing. It was arthroscopic & I was back up and in the gym within 2 1/2 weeks

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I never had popping or locking. I had burning and pain though. Did it twice definitely want to do your research. The record for meniscus surgery is not that good. Some do fine with it and then like a year or 2 or more later get arthritis. I had a little bit of popping like when it happened. But after a few months not so. It takes a long time (or can) and there are different treatments you can look into.

Popping and locking can still happen post surgery too.

No lie about the arthritis! I tore the right medial meniscus 11 years ago. The swelling and pain went on for a year despite rest. I finally had it scoped and trimmed. It got better after that. Then I tore the left medial meniscus 3 years later. That tear immediately got stuck in the knee joint and was so painful I couldn’t walk or sleep! I had it scoped and trimmed immediately. I was ok for a while, but then both knees started going down hill. I’ve been in pain for the past 3 years at least. I finally went back to my knee surgeon in February. He did xrays, which showed that arthritis had set in on both knees and had totally destroyed both medial meniscus, leaving me bone on bone in both knees. Steroid injections provided relief but only lasted for 6 weeks vs 3 months. So on July 6th, I had double knee replacement at 54 years old. Recovery has been difficult, but I’m slowly getting my active life back.

 

[sam_gordon]

I hope the OP has figured out what the issue was in the last 8 months.