Newbie with Existing Meniscus Tear

Hello All,

I'm brand new to GST and beginning to work through Fundamentals. Several months ago I did a CrossFit-like workout with my daughter involving box jumps, burpees, spin bike, etc and then a yoga class a few days later. During the yoga class I felt a sharp twinge in the knee which stayed painful for a couple of months. I rested and stopped working out and finally self-diagnosed it as a meniscus tear which I then confirmed with my doctor using an MRI. I realize now after listening to @Coach Sommer that my overall decreasing lack of mobility from desk work was a disaster in the making and my knee was the first thing to go in my 42 year old body. I would really like to avoid surgery because of the longer term risks of knee degradation that come from having the meniscus trimmed. Does anyone have experience living with a meniscus tear and is it possible to build up strength and mobility in the rest of the leg to help compensate. At this point I can do most activities without pain except for movements like lunges and when I ski I can't fully activate the whole knee so I can't ski as challenging of terrain as I did pre-tear. Thanks in advance for all the feedback and I'm excited to be part of the GST community.

Cheers, Christian

Hi Christian,

I don't have a meniscus tear but I certainly have a grizzling knee that has locked on me once.  Tim mentioned a knee stability routine Couch Sommer gave him and I'm wondering if that is something that would help.  I would definitely be interested in a kind of "prehab" course with GST.

Christian I'm not a professional but from my own work with physios I know the adductors are often weaker.  Unless you are a horse rider  (or a GST mave) we rarely use them these days but the outside of our thighs can get super tight (ITB).  Anything like pillow squeezes that will work your inner thighs might help.  You can try it and see if the pain eases off while we wait for the grown ups to answer your post.

But yes, would love to see the knee stability exercises and I would pay for it coach!

cheers

Rhaya

Knee (and hamstring, and hip) p(re)hab series comprises the integrated mobility exercises alongside Single Leg Squat strength elements in Foundation 1-2 They're solid gold and over time have had profound results on a lot of people  

On 5/21/2016 at 3:22 AM, Jon Douglas said:

Knee (and hamstring, and hip) p(re)hab series comprises the integrated mobility exercises alongside Single Leg Squat strength elements in Foundation 1-2 They're solid gold and over time have had profound results on a lot of people  

I'm living with a meniscus tear in my left posterior/medial horn.  My osteo said that my MRI shows it to be degenerative, not acute.  Which means I've been living with it, or some degree of it, for quite some time.  I find the GST lower leg foundation series and stretch series extremely helpful (take you time moving through them), but I have yet to attain full knee flexion in my left leg.  Its close, but I can't sit on my feet in a kneeling position (on my left).  So I've had to modify a variety of things, like, I'll stick a yoga block between my hamstrings and calves while doing the front split ankle stretches.  That said, I am able to manage.  Things like running, tumbling, and ballet (things I do for fun) have good and bad days.  Sprinting is easier than SLRs.  Weightlifting, even power lifting and plyos are all very manageable, but sometimes a string of rainy days will make ache terribly.   Getting in the habit of icing the knee regularly helps, of course.  Which is all to say, you may never return to pre-tear condition.  But you can probably manage to rehab yourself back to a place where you can do most of the things you used to be able to do.  And, if you're careful, you may find that you can make gains in other areas.  I couldn't single leg pistol squat pre-tear.  Now I can.