Skiing with a torn meniscus?

[schindlerpiste]

I'm getting old. Sunday, I was playing basketball with my 10 year old daughter an tore the lateral aspect of my meniscus, left knee. I visited my orthopaedic, do plenty of leg lifts for strength and I ice it twice/day. I plan on skiing with it for the remainder of the season (which for me will be about 12-15 days), before getting it scoped in mid-April. Do any of you have experience skiing on this type injury? Am I kidding myself? Should I buy a brace?

[Tippster]

Yes buy a brace.... get a good one that is fitted to your knee by a Pro. Your insurance may pay for most if not all of it. Ask your ortho for a recommendation.

[Long duc dong]

Definitely but a brace. I tore my ACL in january of 04 and skied the rest of the year with a brace before getting surgery. My brace was made by don joy, custom to my leg. There are other companies that do the same thing. They are pricey, but I would not play around with something like this. Your knee is much more vulnerable now, I would not take any chances.

[72Twenty]

I tore mine playing football in HS. I got it scoped and couldn't put weight on it for 6 weeks. It still hurts sometimes. Hit the PT hard - ride lots of bike......... you should be fine.

[Rossichick]

Depending on how big the meniscus tear is, it may not bother you much while skiing once the inflammation calms down. The risk you run is if there is a flap of meniscus in there, it can get caught in the joint and cause your knee to lock up. If the orthopod you saw wasn't super concerned about you skiing, I'd suspect you have more of a fraying type tear. This will cause some soreness, but shouldn't prevent you from skiing.

A brace that has metal or plastic stays on the sides may help you feel more comfortable, but getting and keeping the quads strong are the most important thing.

[truberski]

Sorry to hear about the injury. I did something similar about 10 years ago and for me the issue was not stability but discomfort in the front part of the knee. My experience is that braces help with stability (i.e. ACL, MCL, etc injury) but don't help much with weighted bending, sudden motion, etc. pains with the knee. I skied once the swelling went down some but going down stairs, knee bends, etc. was uncomfortable. A stiff ski boot helped me by limiting motion and lessening pressure on the knee when bent but bumps and more variable terrain were a bitch. I lost a big piece of the meniscus so I may have had a different experience. I had it scoped/cleaned up at the end of the ski season and have had few issues since. When I did mine they didn't have much in the U.S. to effectively replace lost cartilage/meniscus but I believe it is now possible. It is worth inquiring if they find some of it is no longer connected and/or it is a large area. Good luck!

[Vinman]

I have had a tear in my lateral meniscus for about a year and a half now. I ski pretty had on it and it doesn't bother me too much. On occasion it swells some and kind of prevents me from fully flexing my knee but nothing that I can't deal with.

At this point I'm not sure when I will do anything about it. Ski season is still going ( and finally looking a bit better here on the east), I'm training for a 1/2 ironman triathlon and I have a kid on the way fro July.

I also agree that once the swelling goes down, which may take some time, and you get some strength back, you might be able to ski.

As far as a brace goes, there is really no good way to brace for a meniscal injury. Other types of braces may help some and give some psychological support but that is about it. Talk it over with your ortho, she/he'll probably tell you something similar about bracing.

[powdherb]

I tore my acl in june of 2004. The problem is tearing your meniscus might be a result of already torn acl which was the scenario in my case. Every now and again due to the lack of support from my acl, my knee would pop out and tear my meniscus a bit more. Finally in november of 2005, I was skiing up at grouse mtn in vancouver tanked and crashed. I finally exploded my meniscus after skiing on a partially torn meniscus and acl for almost two years. I charged hard on it and it held up but its just a matter of time before you completely destroy it. Now I'm sitting here about 4 weeks post acl and meniscus repair watching the snow reports from my room in seattle. My season is over but I'm already cycling 20+ miles a day and its only been four weeks. They removed 70 percent of my meniscus and there is going to be some osteoarthritus when I'm in my late 40s and 50s. As far as now goes, I'm only 20 and I'm still invincible. Hope that helps. Get the surgery, stop skiing if you want ot save your meniscus, its value and irreplaceable.

[milton]

Snapped my ACL last year. After the replacement surgey the doc said both my medial and lateral meniscus were torn...and probably were for sometime. He said my medial is almost completely gone and the lateral was beyond repair. All he did was clean up anything in way. I asked the doc about a brace and he said it wouldn't do much good. I'm skiing pretty hard on it this season, with some slight discomfort now and then. Goodluck.

[ski_rick]

I was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in high school, almost 20 years ago now. Because the tear wasn't bad, and didn't effect the motion of the knee, I just did PT for a while and kept skiing. To this day, as long as I keep my legs strong it doesn't bother me too much, although lots of fast downhill hiking will get it pretty sore (that's why I ski down). Sometimes it creeks a bit when flexing it.

[joshbu]

GIMP CENTRAL JONG!

Now then, I did my lateral meniscus in a weird wipeout in some breakable crust two years ago. I was sore and swollen for a couple months afterwards, but lots of pt and training and now I feel 100%.

On the surgery front (if you're getting scoped, I'm assuming you're considering surgery) I think you might want to consider that carefully: really the only thing they can do for a meniscus is to cut out the torn bit, and after that, you've got less cartiledge. I decided to wait and see. I felt some flapping in the first few weeks after the injury, but as I started feeling it less and less, even as I ramped up the exercise, I ended out calling off the scope even.

[Vinman]

Some meniscal tears, if they are in the right spot can heal on their own. Usually on the average of 6 weeks if they are small and near the periphery or the meniscus where there is some blood supply. If the tear is large, multidirectional or near the inner 1/3 of the meiscus there is minimal chance of it heal due to lack of blood supply.

[LIP]

Had my meniscus scoped on Dec. 9 last year, and did a 6 hour tour last weekend, and it felt awesome. No pain at all. I skied groomies 14 days post-op with minimal pain. You can ski on it as is, but it'll hurt a little. Don't know that a brace will help that much. Start with just a little neoprene sleeve to keep it really warm. You'll prolly get some pain and swelling after skiing, but you should be able to squeeze another 10-15 days out of her. Lots of Ibuloafin's are your friend.

[Tippster]

Some meniscal tears, if they are in the right spot can heal on their own. Usually on the average of 6 weeks if they are small and near the periphery or the meniscus where there is some blood supply. If the tear is large, multidirectional or near the inner 1/3 of the meiscus there is minimal chance of it heal due to lack of blood supply.

Happened to me last year. Small tear in the medial meniscus - Doc shot me up with some Cortizone and had me get a brace. Also told me to take 2 800mg Ibuprofen a day. After a month I was good as new.

[enlosandes]

Lateral is better than medial. Get glycosamin. Fill dixie cups up with water and freeze, than peel off and ice massage doing circular motion. Ride a stationary bike before and after skiing. Also, tere is a wonder drug out there at health food stores called Wobenzym that heals things quickly. Lastly, a little accupuncture will help. There, that should do it, and keep it smooth, no airs or bumps and you can still rip!

[beaterdit]

Either buy a CTiII (I hear they're up to $1800 now) or just get the scope now. If it's just a little snip-snip you'll be back on 'em in six weeks or sooner. More damage will likely result from sticking out the rest of the season.

[Max Gosey]

My dad (55) quit skiing two years ago because of the lack of a left lateral meniscus and/or osteoarthritis. TAKE CARE OF IT. TALK TO YOUR DOC AND SEE WHAT HE RECOMMENDS.

That's the only advice I can give. But my dad (an orthopod) tells me that a brace can never hurt, only help. You will not lose stability or strength of the joint in your knee after becoming accustomed to a brace. If you can afford it, I would say go for it, but talk to your doc first about berzactly what to get.

Heal up, man. Good luck to you.

[EPSkis]

Why risk aggravating the injury?
Most of the medial and lateral meniscus of my left knee has been removed.
I was recommended a brace the first time around, because I'd done significantly more damage than just the meniscus.

This time, I only had to keep it "isolated" for about a week - after that, they wanted to have me start putting as much weight on it as I could. "Promotes healing", as odd as that may sound, but a brace wasn't necessary.

There is no noticeable weakness laterally, and since the Doc cleaned the arthritic growth out during this last surgery, my knee feels better than it has in YEARS.

You'll spend a few days after surgery in moderate pain, but nothing too bad.

I'd just talk to your ortho & let him decide whether you need a brace or not. I'm guessing that since you didn't mention any ACL/PCL damage, I'd be somewhat surprised if one *was* recommended.

Good luck with it!

[schindlerpiste]

Why risk aggravating the injury?

I don't want to give up skiing for the season. The next time that I will have the opportunity to ski will be February 15. I will go for an MRI before then, and I will beef up my quads. I will get 10 days in...then a few more in March. If I am in bad pain, I will get scoped before my trip to Hintertux this summer.

My biggest concern is that when I was riding the bike on Monday morning, I did something that caused the meniscus to bend under the bone, and I was unable to straighten the leg. My ortho. manipulated it back into place. For now, it's squats, stationary bike, straight leg lifts, and ibu.

Thanks for all of the help. I know that this should have been in Gimp Central, but there are more viewers/responses here.

[taoslcl]

I've been skiing on a torn medial meniscus for over a year and it only gives me minor discomfort when I ski hard so it is totally doable. As posted above depending on the location of the tear the meniscus can heal itself so you want to give it some time before surgery. Strengthening the muscles around the knee, mostly quads and hamstrings will help a lot.

Unless you have also tore ligaments there is no evidence that a brace helps anything at all. A brace can help in your case to make you feel a little more secure and aware of your knee (more of a mental thing than anyting) but for this you only need to go to walgreens and buy a generic brace. Most of the braces mentioned above like the Donjoy are designed specifically for ACL instability and would IMHO be a wast of money for a meniscus.

Good luck and be sure to consider all conservative options before going under the knife.

[Jim S]

I'm getting old. Sunday, I was playing basketball with my 10 year old daughter an tore the lateral aspect of my meniscus, left knee. I visited my orthopaedic, do plenty of leg lifts for strength and I ice it twice/day. I plan on skiing with it for the remainder of the season (which for me will be about 12-15 days), before getting it scoped in mid-April. Do any of you have experience skiing on this type injury? Am I kidding myself? Should I buy a brace?

Big mistake.
You can make a repairable meniscal tear become unrepairable.
you are at risk for cartilage tears.


I have an M.D.
I deal with knee an joint pathology every day.

[Jim S]

really the only thing they can do for a meniscus is to cut out the torn bit, and after that, you've got less cartiledge. less, even as I ramped up the exercise, I ended out calling off the scope even.

Wrong.
Some meniscal tears can be repaired.
Repairing or resecting mensci does not necesitate cartilage resection.

Get your health care advice from trained professionals.
Heck, I could be a 7 year old bullshitting you. You don't know on the 'net.
Is your knee worth it?

[Cono Este]

Tore mine in 2001 at Mt. Rose. It didnt take much to do it and I probably didnt help it by sking 3 more runs. What can I say it was dumping. By the time I got home I couldnt stand. The doc said to try rehabing it first. I started doing a lot on the hip flexor machine that seemed to help alot. took about 2 months until I had any confidence in it.

[schindlerpiste]

Big mistake.
You can make a repairable meniscal tear become unrepairable.
you are at risk for cartilage tears.


I have an M.D.
I deal with knee an joint pathology every day.

I know that this must be good advise. After all, the license tag on your 540i does say "SKI MRI". But I'm just not sure that I am willing to give up the 15 days.

[joshbu]

Get your health care advice from trained professionals.
Heck, I could be a 7 year old bullshitting you. You don't know on the 'net.
Is your knee worth it?

I did get my advice from a sports medicine doc, and I'm not telling the story exactly as it happened I guess. My doc was involved in every decision and surgery was on the table until quite some time after my last "flappy" feeling incident.

I'm just recounting my story to schindlerpiste. I'm not at all advocating a particular line of treatment. I'm just telling him to think hard about what he's going to do, which seems like sound advice: something he doesn't need know if I have an MD or not to believe.