medial meniscus tear from bowling!!!!

[UCSMiami]

Went bowling a few weeks ago. Nothing unusual. That evening left knee was swollen.
Swelling goes away after 1 week or so. Start squatting again after 4 weeks. Notice Ieft knee gets tight at below parallel and going deeper to atg is extreme discomfort. Have MRI and result is as in title. Cannot believe it. Specialist says 3 to 6 months of light training involving stressing the knee. Surgery not yet considered. There is a fragment flipped over which apparently is causing the discomfort when squatting deep. This truly sucks. I am very depressed. Love running, spinning, rucking, etc. no more cannot even do fast paced heel to toe as knee is sore the next day.

 

[botk1161]

Did the initial injury hurt allot? Does the knee “bite” with pain when you move around? I am a 58 yr old powerlifter who still squats deep and heavy every week and has had lots of knee “injuries” (small meniscus tears) that amount to nothing after a month or so of proper rehab.
I have had multiple knee surgeries over the years for tendon detachments. I have very little meniscus left. The knee is highly adaptive. I still don’t use wraps or sleeves.
I would highly recommend ball squats where you hold at the bottom for 10 seconds and then wait at the top for 10 seconds. Do at least one set of 10 minutes every day. If you can warm up the knee with heat before starting or do some light biking. Start to parallel and then after a couple of days and after your 1/2 done a set, go below parallel. It’s light and easy and really helps the knee find its way back very quickly. And seated single ham string curls with a band for high reps 20-40. And light to moderate biking. Give it ice if it get inflammed at all (I would recommend putting it behind the knee when seated). Use a massage gun to get the quad / calf moving and bottom of foot. No reason why you can’t be doing light squats after a month of this. It will be a while before you can do quick foot work (maybe introduce in 6 weeks slowly and softly). You need to lay the foundation first. These things clean up pretty quickly if you spend about 30 minutes a day rehabbing. The worse thing to do is to wait for it to magically get better. You will be fine. No worries.

 

[UCSMiami]

I felt nothing until swelling the next morning. I have since OP done swimming ten 50yard peddling back strokes-no issue, slow paced 1hr walking over soft sand, basically a very uneven surface,-no issue. Have home spinning bike so set seat high and minimal resistance and no issue. Live in a three story townhouse and have two flights of stairs to transit several times each day-no issue even at quick pace. Did a 7.4mile heel to toe 2hr walk on rubber and cement and knee sensitive next day. So I found my limit for now and basically nothing high impact or dynamic for next few months.

I can do warmup barbell squats to parallel-60 reps at 6x10reps. Deadlift unaffected. Still have not tried farmer's walk. Can do leg press-horizontal or incline with moderate weight if I do not compress knee to chest or nearly so. Same with weighted kick backs and standing calf raises.

Fed my MRI scan and report into Chatgpt and received more thorough info than with my specialist who spent 20minutes with me vs. 3+hrs of back and forth questions with Chat. Assessment is I should return to normal or nearly so in a few months of progressive exercise. Apparently fragments round off their edges and embed so as not to present a doorstop type of block. I like the chat attitude of treat the patient and not the MRI scan. Being fit and active apparently lessens the effect of what one would assess compared to viewing the MRI scan alone.

Funny Chat said the same as my specialist Dr except was far more detailed in the analysis of the Whys.

I am no longer depressed and treating this as a new challenge to overcome.

Thought I was a goner as believe mobility is life and speed the cherry on top.