OK - brief history: about a year and a half ago, I tore my meniscus. It isn’t a big deal, it is very manageable. For a time it would swell up every time it was hit, but after letting it heal a while, this stopped. Currently it only aches a bit now and again.
My question is, if i flex my knee far enough, i.e. the bottom of a squat, i hear a pop, then some soft grinding noises. Is this something to worry about? I’m sure at some point this will need to be operated on. What I am worried about is whether I am making that date sooner rather than later.
As far as the meniscus goes, there are a few things to watch for. The many years of wrestling has worn down my shoulder and knee joints to the point that they pop and crack all the time, but it is not painful and there is no locking or catching. The meniscus is most often injured by shearing forces, so these would be the forces that you need to worry about. A deep knee squat has minimal shearing forces (as far as the knee goes). If the tear is not folding back on itself during motion (which causes the locking or catching of the joint) then there is little to worry about. The problem with the meniscus is that they have very poor circulation, so healing is either slow or will not occur. The signs and symptoms to watch for would include locking or catching, pain, or chronic swelling.
Yeah it’s not catching at all, or swelling up when it gets hit. The noise is like a grinnnnd. Pops dont worry me, i’ve had those my whole life. Does a grinding noise signify something bad?
Is the grinding inside the joint, or on the front of the knee (under the patella)? My knees "grind towards the medial and lateral jointline. If the grinding is inside the knee, or where I experience it, then it should be no big deal (with the exceptions of the previously stated signs and symptoms). If the grinding (known as chondramelatia) is more focused under the patella, this could be one of many things that is causing a tracking problem inside the femoral groove. This can be treated, but you will have to get an evaluation to dtermine the exact cause of the tracking problem. I don’t know how old you are, but as active adults continue to stay active the body tends to struturely fatigue and joint surfaces will wear down. Some degree of grinding can be considered normal. I am only 26, but the high intensity of wrestling for about 15 years has taken it’s toll.
First, the most important question is, which meniscus did you tear? Lateral or Medial? Most likely its the medial (Flap type tear), since its not mobile of the two. The sounds you hear (crepitus) are the bones with partial parts of the meniscus and the collateral ligaments grinding together, known as the “unhappy triad”.
There are 3 zones in the meniscus , the peripheral, middle and inner zones. the outer zones are highly vascularized, whereas the inner 2 zones have a poor blood supply. So, incase of tear, the peripheral zone is able to promote a healing response.
I had an MRI done recently which confirmed that I have a COMPLEX TEAR THRU THE MAJORITY OF THE LATERAL MENISCUS WITH PERIMENICAL CYST FORMATION. THE POPLITEUS TENDON CANNOT BE SEEN AND IS ALSO POSSIBLY RUPTURED.
What do I do? I don’t want surgery! My knee does lock at the extreme ranges of motion, i.e. A full leg extension and it hurts when I do a full squat. Also it locks on me when I put the majority of weight on my left knee when walking (bc the injury is the left knee).
HELP!
P.S. I originally injured it through a car accident where my knee hit the front dashboard (and I recovered and it was fine after 2 weeks) and 6 months later I hurt it doing full squats. That was in Oct 2004, the MRI was done last week.