Torn Meniscus Recovery Time

Meniscus is fibrocartilaginous structure located at the knee joint along with the four main ligaments. It acts as a cushion for bones at this joint. One of the most common knee injuries, meniscus tear can cause utter discomfort and at times, even limit the person's mobility. Even though this problem is most often associated with sportsmen and other people involved in strenuous physical activity, a person can end up with an injured meniscus in simple accidents as well. In fact, continuous wear and tear is one of the most-cited causes of the same.

Absence of this cartilage at joints can cause friction between the bones and result in further problems. Taking all the complications into consideration, it's important to initiate its treatment as soon as the problem is diagnosed.

Basically, there are two methods of treatment: surgical and non-surgical. After undertaking a diagnosis, the doctor will be in a 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 symptoms, etc. Surgery is generally opted as the last resort when other measures fail to yield expected results.

As for the non-surgical method of treating this tear, it involves stimulating fibroblastic growth by triggering inflammation in the affected region in a process referred to as prolotherapy.

On an average, the recovery period spans for about 4 - 5 weeks after 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 process, an arthroscope is inserted inside the person's knee through small incisions known as the portals. Post-surgery, the person is advised to take rest for a few days before resorting to walking or other 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 standing 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 surgery.

While extreme cases require surgical treatment, less serious injuries can be healed by non-surgical procedures. One such procedure is prolotherapy or proliferation therapy, wherein the affected region in the knee is subjected to inflammation by injecting an irritant into it. In this case, 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.

Besides this, the person can also resort to physiotherapy exercises to treat meniscus tear. While the recovery will be complete in a month's time, 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.

Additionally, the person can also resort to simple measures, like ice therapy and compressions, to ease the pain associated with meniscus tear and accelerate the recovery process.