Torn Meniscus Recovery Time

One of the most common knee injuries you are likely to experience, meniscus tear can cause utter discomfort to the individual and, at times, even limit his mobility. Meniscus is fibrocartilaginous structure, located at the knee joint along with the four main ligaments, which acts as a cushion for the bones of the leg which meet at the knee. Even though this problem is most often associated with sportsmen and other people involved in adventure outings, a person can end up with an injured meniscus in simple accidents or continuous wear and tear. Absence of this cartilage at the joints can cause friction between the bones, and result in further problems for the individual. Taking all the complications into consideration, it's important to initiate torn meniscus treatment as soon as the problem is diagnosed.

Torn Meniscus Treatment

Basically, torn meniscus treatment can be categorized into two groups - surgical method and non-surgical method. On the basis of torn meniscus diagnosis, the doctor will be in better position to say as to which method would be ideal. Some of the most important factors which are taken into consideration during the diagnosis include the age of the person, the place where he has induced the tear, various meniscus tear symptoms that the person demonstrates etc. Surgery is generally opted as the last resort when the other measures don't yield the expected results. Non-surgical method of meniscus tear treatment include prolotherapy, wherein fibroblastic growth is stimulated by triggering inflammation in the affected region.

Torn Meniscus Surgery Recovery Time

On an average, meniscus surgery recovery period spans for about 4-5 weeks from surgery. If the tear is located at the center of the cartilage, repairing it by means of a surgery is very difficult, and therefore it is removed by a surgical process known as meniscectomy. On the other hand, when the tear is induced at the periphery of the cartilage it can be repaired by arthroscopic knee surgery. In this surgical process, an arthroscope is inserted inside the person's knee through small incisions known as the portals. As a part of meniscus surgery recovery the person is advised to take rest for a few days before resorting to walking or other simple exercises. In some cases, the doctor may even recommend a knee brace as a precautionary measure for any untoward incident. The patient will also be advised to avoid any sort of physical work which would put pressure on the knee, including standard for long duration. If all these precautionary measures are followed religiously, the person will be able to get back to his routine lifestyle within 4-5 weeks of the meniscus tear surgery.

Recovery Time for Non-Surgical Method of Treatment

While extreme cases require surgical treatment, less serious injuries can be healed by non-surgical procedures. One such procedure is prolotherapy or proliferation therapy. In this process, the affected region in the knee is subjected to inflammation by injecting an irritant into it. Going by this process, the recovery time will seldom exceed 4-6 weeks. The patient will have to make sure that the rehab program continues even after he starts feeling slightly better. Other than this, the person can also resort to physiotherapy exercises to treat meniscus tear. Even though the recovery will be done by a month, it will take some time for the person to gain his full strength. In the meanwhile, the patient will have to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that the problem doesn't worsen.

You can also resort to some simple measures to speed up the recovery. For instance, ice therapy and compressions are known to ease the pain associated with meniscus tear, and accelerate the recovery process.