Medial meniscus rupture and surgery: what to expect?

Hey everyone, I have a quick question.

About two years ago, I took a pretty hard fall while rollerblading. The next day, I was at the Mayo Clinic getting some scans done, and they told me I had a medial meniscus Rupture
and that it wasn't anything serious enough to require surgery.
However, lately, whenever I squat down and stand back up, my knee pops quite a bit—it’s actually even slipped out of place a few times. I'm wondering what my best move is now: should I push for surgery or just leave it alone? Thanks for any advice! 🙂

Look, here’s my two cents. If you aren't dealing with actual pain or your joint is locking up—meaning you can't move normally—then don't bother with surgery. In that case, if you *do* have those issues, get the arthroscopy done ASAP. But since you didn't mention any pain, just that clicking sound? Honestly, just ignore it. As long as it doesn't hurt and isn't stopping you from running, leave it alone. Why am I telling you to skip the arthroscopy? Because I learned the hard way. I tore my medial meniscus—or more accurately, I crushed it, which the doctor confirmed. I had a partial meniscectomy (arthroscopy) about a year ago, and since then, I've developed patellar chondromalacia in my left knee. It’s a nightmare to fix, and anyone on this forum who’s been around long enough knows exactly what I’m talking about. I used to be a serious track athlete, running the 10 and 12 miles, hitting competitions, and honestly, I was pretty damn good. But I couldn't make the comeback. Anyone who truly knows what real running feels like understands how incredibly hard it is to walk away from it. My knee is okay now—occasional aches, nothing crazy—and I can still go for recreational runs, but the days of racing and 31 miles a week are long gone. Bottom line: don't go under the knife if you aren't in pain. Good luck!!

I had a medial meniscus rupture too. Now I'm just sitting around waiting for my call for arthroscopy... though honestly, I've been dealing with the pain for two months already. 😢(

Hey there! Look, it’s really not as bad as it sounds. Given the kind of knee damage you're dealing with, the actual surgery isn't going to be painful—you won't have much pain at all once it's done. They basically just go in and clean out the junk inside (those little fragments causing all the trouble). You'll be in the hospital for maybe two days, and then you're headed home. In the beginning, you might feel like you'll never walk again, let alone run, and your knee and muscles are going to look a bit swollen and messy right after the procedure. But don't sweat it; within about two months, everything levels out and your knee—and your gait—gets back to normal. You'll definitely deal with some discomfort for about a year, but honestly, it's nothing major. I'd call it more of an annoyance than anything else; it shouldn't stop you from getting things done or living your life. If you play sports casually, you should be good to go back to doing whatever you love in maybe 3 to 4 months. If you're playing professionally, though, that's a different story—it depends on how you recover and if you can get back to your old peak performance. That part is entirely up to you and your mental toughness. Personally, I haven't been able to get back (at least not yet), and I'm worried my track career might be over. You absolutely HAVE to do physical therapy—and if you can afford it, pay for a private therapist! Stick with PT for at least two months, then hit the gym to strengthen your quads, hamstrings, and core (if you have the willpower). Once you feel like your muscles are pumped up, you can ease off the heavy lifting. Your final phase should be cycling (don't skip this!) to further stabilize everything and build up your calves. Keep riding; it feels great and helps maintain all the muscle needed for a healthy knee. Everything is going to be fine, just remember that all the hard work you put in will pay off big time. Good luck!👍👍

Thanks for the input... how long were you on crutches for, and how many days after surgery did you manage to head out on your own? Even if you still needed the crutches...

I didn't even touch a pair of crutches! I was up and walking around my house—well, shuffling, anyway—within three days. But look, all of this depends entirely on how bad your knee actually is and what your real diagnosis turns out to be. You won't truly know the deal until after the arthroscopy is done, since that's used for diagnostics just as much as treatment. Plus, age and weight play a huge role here. Some people end up using crutches after a simple meniscectomy, which sounds insane to me, but it happens. And don't even get me started on how fast the weight piles on after knee surgery... ugh!🤷

It’s pretty much what everyone else is telling you: if you can avoid knee surgery, do it. Once you let a surgeon cut into that joint, it is NEVER going to feel the same again.
What does that actually look like in practice? Sure, you'll deal with some pain for a few days, and there will be a period where the knee feels shaky or tight. You might get back to walking normally after two or three months, but—and I mean this emphatically—it will NEVER return to that state where you don't even notice your knee exists. When a joint is healthy, you walk smoothly without a second thought. After surgery, that disappears. There will be those moments—maybe after sitting too long or making a quick, careless turn—where you suddenly feel "something." A bit of tightness, a dull ache, or just a nagging sense of instability.

The other issue is the procedure itself. I personally loathe when they call it a "cleanup." In reality, they are trimming away part of the meniscus, which means you're reducing the actual surface area that supports your body weight. By shrinking that cushion, you're essentially accelerating the wear and tear on the joint. Every time someone undergoes a partial meniscus resection, they're basically fast-tracking the chances of future degenerative issues in that knee.

Man, I feel you! I’m 100% with you on this. After ten years, my knee just doesn't feel the same at all. My uncle actually told me about his experience too—he had part of his meniscus removed so things would be easy for the first 10 years after surgery, but now he's dealing with massive issues because of it. 👎

So, what’s the move here? My knee is killing me, and I'm stuck using Voltaren and wearing a compression bandage every other day. I actually trashed this knee playing volleyball sixteen years ago, and they were already suggesting surgery back then. Turns out my meniscus was torn, and after taking a fall during my fifth month of pregnancy, it finally gave out completely. Things aren't getting any better. Honestly, I’d love to dodge the operating table, but I don't think time is on my side this time around. It feels like I've hit the point of no return with this meniscus, and there's no more stalling. Even standing in place for a minute or two has become a massive struggle. I'm only 31, which is way too young to just accept that my knee is shot. I still want to stay active, though mostly just watching from the sidelines now, but at this stage, it's impossible. And honestly, swimming isn't exactly my idea of a perfect lifestyle.
As for my weight, I'm about 5'7" and hovering around 117-119 lbs. I'm pretty lean, so I assume recovery shouldn't be an issue due to my weight. I'm just stuck on how to strengthen my quads before surgery. How am I supposed to do that when my knee barely functions? People keep telling me it's essential. Anyone have any ideas?

Stop waiting around for that arthroscopy! If you're in this much pain, the surgery is honestly your best bet. Hold off on the heavy training for just a little longer, then once the operation and initial physical therapy are done, start hitting those quad exercises hard—basically what I told you before. Having a solid, pumped-up quad is the absolute key to a smooth recovery. And look, don't even stress; I'm 100% sure you'll feel amazing after the procedure. If I'm wrong, you can come find me and slap me across the face! Your knee won't be exactly what it was before, but it'll feel way better than it does right now, and you'll be back to playing sports without any issues.😂

Sure, sounds like a plan... I played volleyball back in the day, so my spike is actually pretty decent 😁
Yesterday was just one of those days where nothing went right. I tossed some rollerblades in the car thinking I’d go for a quick thirty-minute cruise, but life had other ideas, so I'm definitely hitting the pavement today. I've never actually fallen off them—not once since I first put them on—I only ever wipe out when I'm just walking 😢🤣🙏🙏 Even if I do take a tumble, it shouldn't do much damage to my knee; besides, any issues can always be fixed with an arthroscopy 😂😂

I’ve gone under the knife five times for one knee and three times for the other... meniscus issues. Basically, instead of actually fixing the meniscus from start to finish, the doctors just trimmed bits away... leaving the rupture to keep happening... now I’ve had both medial menisci dealt with... and after a year, I’m finally going to try running again. My previous attempts at straight running failed because the tear just keeps coming back...
Everything feels pretty decent right now... I'm cycling... walking fast without any trouble... etc... Having meniscus surgery isn't the hard part... it's the waiting around for the surgery while you're in pain that sucks...
The second a meniscus tears, you need surgery immediately... because if that piece detaches, it starts slicing right into the cartilage...
I’m honestly disappointed in some of the knee specialists here in America. They just lop off a piece of the meniscus instead of shaping it anatomically so it doesn't tear again. They just cut out the cracked bit, and instead of a smooth elliptical shape, you end up with this weird curve... which creates uneven pressure on what's left... so my advice: reshape the meniscus to look like an actual meniscus... unfortunately, doctors in America rarely know how to do that... it takes a little bit of artistry during surgery...

I honestly can't believe you’ve had eight different arthroscopies!!! Seriously, is there even any meniscus left at this point? Which ones did you actually get fixed? Which doctors were even operating on you? And more importantly, can you actually live a normal life, hold down a job, or just function without pain?😕

Bradley Miller6 said:I honestly can't believe you’ve had eight different arthroscopies!!! Seriously, is there even any meniscus left at this point? Which ones did you actually get fixed? Which doctors were even operating on you? And more importantly, can you actually live a normal life, hold down a job, or just function without pain?😕

Well, I had to... and I was right every single time I went through with it....
I've got half an inner meniscus left in both knees........

I walk for an hour and a half every day, bike almost professionally..... and swim....

Thinking about starting to run now, but I have to get past the fear....

First, I saw a doctor at a hospital... in Miami...... when I came out, it felt like nothing happened... he just trimmed the edge where the Rupture was visible, but missed the fact that the whole thing was torn....
Then I went to some big-name specialist in a major US city who also didn't seem to have the touch for it... after that surgery, a little piece of meniscus was just floating around my knee causing issues:.......... bad luck and zero skill..
The same thing happened to the other knee, full length meniscus tear...

Eventually, I went to a doctor at a hospital and watched him perform surgeries, suggesting what needed to be done🙂)) everything is pretty decent now... just a bit of a tickle in one knee, and the other is fine.. maybe a tiny, distant ache once in a while.. very, very minor and distant.....
In my opinion, if you're fixing a meniscus, you should smooth out those torn edges too...

Long story short, I've become a knee expert..............

Really miss running..... I'll try.....

Can't quit now

Man, if you only knew how hard it is for me to deal with this situation, but whatever, it is what it is. I’m still holding out hope for a better recovery before I even think about getting back to real training. Once, I twisted my ankle during a soccer game—hit the bone so hard—and it took me 25 days just to get back on the field. Then there was that issue with my shin where it took a whole month before I could train at full strength again. When I tore my groin, I was sidelined for three months while recovering. With all those injuries, things eventually went back to being totally normal, just like before. But this knee? That’s a completely different story. It’s been a year since the surgery and not a single day goes by without it hurting! So yeah, it turns out with this specific injury, it's tough to even walk normally, let alone run!!😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

no surrender here....

Bradley Miller6, thanks for the great chat and all the support..................🙂)))

So, hollowdrifter93, what was it like when you went out for a run? How did it feel?

Bradley Miller6 said:So, hollowdrifter93, what was it like when you went out for a run? How did it feel?

solid move😉

Quick question for the group. What’s the move when you need to replace part of a meniscus that’s either ruptured or been cut out during surgery?