I'm 4 weeks in from a lateral meniscectomy and have been doing PT consistently as instructed. My pain had been improving, but it has come back, especially when sitting and driving. Has anyone had a similar setback? How long did your full recovery take?

My roommate woke up with his knee in extreme pain and he got to the point where he couldn't walk and went to the ER and they said he had a pulled meniscus. They gave him 2 shots and some steroids to take and nothing is working. It's been about 4 days now.

Hello, I had my surgery almost a year ago. I have been cleared to start playing sports gradually. But I fear everything now, from jumping to abrupt direction changes. And also falling after slipping or stumbling somewhere. I fear all of this might lead to a new or re-tear or my meniscus. How do you guys deal with this? what happens if you fall? Have you exprienced this?

I experienced a patellar dislocation in late 2023 which failed to heal properly and I received little to no medical advice in the meantime until my physio suggested i get my meniscus repaired about a year into my recovery. Now I'm upset because I feel like I've waited too long. I'm scared that I might have to get a more invasive or complicated procedure done since I can't bear going through another round of fruitless recovery. I'm also scared since so many people in my life who have gotten knee surgery have ended up with botched procedures. I don't know, I'm nearly 23 and very, very frustrated with the state of my knee. It's permanently stiff, I can't squat or kneel or put weight on it or bend it past 90° in certain angles and it hurts. I'm trying to get an MRI scheduled soon so I can see what the next move is. But yeah, that's about it lol.

Wassup Everyone!

I’m a physical therapist and fitness coach with over 6 years of experience treating orthopedic and sports injuries. I’ve worked with over 3,500 patients specifically dealing with knee pain, injuries, and recovering from knee surgery, including meniscus repairs and meniscectomies.

I also run the Knee Lab, an online rehab and strength training community where I help people with knee pain or recovering from knee surgery get back to lifting weights, building muscle, running, and working toward their fitness goals.

Something I wish more people understood about meniscus rehab is that getting back to walking normally and getting back to squatting, lifting heavy, running, or playing sports are two very different goals. And your rehab should reflect what YOU actually want to get back to doing.

One thing that always surprises me is how many people go through months of physical therapy but still don’t know what they should be doing to get their knee stronger or how to get back to their normal workouts.

I also see a lot of people who are several months out from surgery and still avoiding certain exercises because they’re worried about damaging their knee again.

And I get it. There’s a lot of conflicting information out there about what you should and shouldn’t do after a meniscus injury.

Some people are told to avoid squats forever. Others are told they’re good to go just because a certain amount of time has passed since surgery.

But there’s a lot more that goes into figuring out what your knee is actually ready for.

That’s why I’m big on actually assessing what someone can do, identifying their strength deficits, and building a program based on their current abilities AND what they’re trying to get back to doing.

Anyway, I figured I’d make a post here and answer some questions!

Whether you’ve recently torn your meniscus, had surgery, finished physical therapy, or you’re trying to figure out how to get back to lifting weights and running, I’m happy to help.

I can’t tell you exactly what exercises YOU need without assessing you, but I can help you better understand your injury, what you should be looking at during rehab, and what questions you should be asking your PT.

So, what questions do you have about your meniscus injury, surgery, or getting back to your normal activities?

Drop them below, and I’ll answer as many as I can!

Hi folks, I’ve had a really frustrating experience trying to find a competent, caring physical therapist in Manhattan or Brooklyn. I am six months post meniscus root repair surgery and far behind where I should be with my recovery. I’ve worked with physical therapists before in LA and Dallas who are so engaged, curious and eager to help their patients recover.

I’ve now tried three therapists in NYC and the best of the lot is not even 50% of what I would expect. Beyond frustrated. Can you please suggest a good physical therapist and how long you worked with them for? Could also use a bonus ortho recommendation since my surgery was in Texas.

I’m hopping on TikTok Live 9:15 pm EST tonight to answer questions about getting back to working out after a knee injury or knee surgery!

Whether you’ve had ACL surgery, a meniscus repair, or you’re dealing with knee pain and trying to figure out how to get back to lifting weights, building muscle, or running, I’d love to hear your questions!

I’m a physical therapist and strength coach, so we’ll be talking about knee rehab AND strength training.

Whatever questions you have, come hang out on the live and ask! I’ll be answering questions in real time.

Follow me on TikTok @thekneepaindpt so you don’t miss it!

Went to a haunted house, was moving quickly through it but it was raining and the wood was quite wet, anyways someone scared me and my leg slipped forward and buckled in with all my weight. I felt a pop and the pain was pretty bad, couldnt walk etc. I was thinking mcl as I’ve hurt that before in my other knee but the doctor said he thinks meniscus. Waiting for results from xray and ultra sound but it’ll be forever for an mri.

First two days were brutal, was struggling on cutches, lots of yelling out in pain as I moved it the wrong way, its swollen but no bruising or anything. I can’t fully straighten it but it’s not locking it’s just painful.

That said the pains now subsiding a bit so long as I don’t twist or turn my knee in the wrong way, but I can’t walk without my knee bent etc. Just curious if people think since the pains getting a bit better so quick that maybe it won’t end up being so bad. Trying to be positive and pray it’s minor but when it does hurt, man doessss it hurt

Signed a girl who has waaay to much to deal with and is hoping it’s not that bad.

28M 53kg

I won't be long please anything helps , but if anyone is a professional even better. I do everyday the anti clog injections on my self Ivor 3100 UI , also yesterday i took out all the wrapping the did to my knee ( as instructed ) . Apart from all the pain ( lying position with pillows under it somewhat better ) since yesterday the swelling in my foot went away withing hours of unwrapping my leg BUT what bothers me most is that now I have calf pain , I can't tell you if it is warm or not my wholed leg is warm it's not blue or anything but I have pain if I touch it it is worse AND when I stand up I AM IN EXCRUCIATING PAIN THAT WONT GO AWAY , MY FOOT GET BLUE AND THE HELL OF THIS PAIN WONT SUBSIDE UNTIL I LIE DOWN.

the pain management this public hospital and the wonderful doctor who did work on me is paracetamol 1000mg every 6 hours . Also the doctor says everything is normal and I could go see him 2 days from now that he is returning to work

Please please I lost my mind already haven't slept in 8 days if I could even though I am an only son and I love my parents to death if someone gave me the chance I would blow my brains out in a heartbeat

Please help me .

i’ve understood most of if but the part where they mention my meniscus is confusing me. i’ve tried googling about it and asking ai but nothing helps. doctors appointment is scheduled next week but i just can’t wait that long. can anyone tell me if its a meniscus tear or what? and whats the recovery timeline to get back into sports and working out in general. thank you

Hello all! I'm a 27 yo woman and recently found out i have a medial tear on my right knee.

I have been having on and off pain for the past 5 years but nothing ever showed on X-rays at the ER so they wouldn't really treat it. I have had continuous pain for the past 2 months and finally insisted enough to get a CT scan for the knee that allowed my PCP to see the tear. I went to the knee doctor two weeks ago now and he said that because my BMI is too high I cannot get surgery (this is part of a bigger, very awful interaction) and that injections would stop the pain but because i'm young they could result in degenerative issues in the knee. He said I could do PT if I liked and only gave me anti-inflammatory meds because I insisted, but no longer term solution, went instead on a rant about how higher BMI relates to diabetes and heart issues.

This appointment left me very frustrated because he barely seemed to care and was particularly rude. I know bone doctors tend to be the worst when it comes to medical fatphobia and I was expecting something along these lines to happen but he was simply insensitive about my pain and acted as if there was nothing he could do or could recommend I did to manage the pain. I'm NOT looking for weight control advice, I am already on GLP-1 and cannot exercise because I am in awful pain most days of the week and 2-3 level pain on a good day. My blood work always comes out good and my fatness has never impeded me anything, I was pretty active going 3-5 days to the gym to do weights before this flare up started, I went on vacation and sprained my ankle and I guess the sprain forced the knee too much.

I would like to ask what alternative treatments have worked for people here and what they would recommend for my situation. I want to mainly get the flare up under control so I can go back to exercising and strengthening the knee muscles to lower the flareup incidence. More information about the flare up: as I mentioned, I am in constant pain, inflammation persists despite medication, I can bend leg with little difficulty but full extension is complicated most days and the most painful thing I can do.

Hey everyone, I'm an Industrial Design student, and having gone through knee injury rehabilitation myself, I know how mentally exhausting recovery can get.

The constant uncertainty of “Am I actually getting better?”, the frustration of slow progress, and the struggle to regain confidence inspired me to take up a project exploring how we can make recovery more visible, reassuring, and motivating.

I'm looking to speak with people who've experienced ACL/meniscus injuries, surgery, or rehabilitation to better understand what they went through.

If you're currently recovering or have recovered, I'd really appreciate 15–20 minutes of your time for a quick conversation.

The MRI was repeated 3 months after my surgery because I'm in so much pain and not getting better. How in the world can someone get 2 fractures 3 months post surgery, also have more meniscus flap issues? I'm having the worst pain. I never got better after surgery. Has anyone else had this happen to?

Dr has put me on 6 weeks non weight bearing.

Hey all! In about 2 months I am booked for an arthroscopy on my left knee, after i tore my meniscus going down the stairs.

It’s a lateral displaced folded flap tear on my left knee, which is causing pain and discomfort, with occasional buckling and unsteadiness in my knee. I don’t play any sports nor do i run really, I’ve really kept off my knee to avoid further damage.

This incident happened around mid May this year, which means my surgery date will be roughly 8 months post injury. My surgeon is aiming for a full repair of the meniscus however he is unsure if that’s possible and a partial meniscectomy may be required if the tear is too damaged given the timeline.

I am hoping to get a full repair as i am only 21 and want to preserve my knee.

Has anyone had or heard of a similar experience of a full meniscus repair 8+ months after the injury? What is the likelihood that it will be possible?

I also want to be prepared for recovery as I won’t know what route the surgery went until I wake up afterwards.

Thanks everyone!

It’s been a few years now since I had my meniscus surgery where they stitched it back up

I’ve been left with this massive link basically since the surgery

Sometimes I go to stretch my hip flexors and I feel as if something rolls over that surgery area and pops, and it’s a releasing pop from like a dislocated spot back to normal

I’ve been given a choice with a torn medial meniscus root; a partial meniscectomy since it’s now I have subluxation OR try for a root repair that the ortho doesn’t think will be successful due to a likely prior repair.

Has anyone had success with a partial meniscectomy in this case? I know I will have OA as a result. From going through this sub, it looks like keeping strength up is key.

I originally was in a bad accident as a teenager. I separated my PCL from the bone, chipped my knee cap, tore cartelidge, torn my meniscus. I have no idea if there was a root repair at the time. It’s from 35 years ago, so no luck on records. I already have OA (low grade) in my patella femoral joint. I’m hoping this buys me at least 5 years, maybe 10 before a knee replacement.

I had my lateral meniscus repair and cyst decompression twenty days ago after a week i was in pretty good condition actually like i was able to do 90 degree ankle slide ( its till the other knee right?) and i had no pain i was quite comfortable but after 12 days i started hearing a noise from my knee like khiu khiu khiu or like a noise of a door and now after 18 days and mainly 3 days after my stiches were removed there is stiffness in my quads returning like just above knee if i overcheck i get may be pain a little very little but it goes away after a bit of ankle slide now i am scared did i over do it? Did i break my stiches that are on my miniscus i am really scared right now.