Your meniscus is a piece of cartilage that works as a shock absorber in your knee. The meniscus fits between two of your leg bones, the thigh, or thigh bone, and the tibia, among the bones in your lower leg. You’ve got two menisci – one in the inner part of your knee joint, and one on the outdoors area. A broken meniscus is a typical sports injury, and can produce pain, swelling and a limited variety of motion in your knee.
Can I Run After Meniscus Surgery?
The medial meniscus is the one most typically torn. If the tear is little and is not located in the region where the meniscus has an active blood supply, the doctor can simply remove the broken part and sculpt the edges of the meniscus until they’re smooth and steady. This is called partial medial meniscectomy. If you have this procedure, you should simply wait on the arthroscopic injuries to recover and for the knee’s swelling to go down prior to resuming running.
So, can you run after meniscus surgery? Yes, but in a time. For the majority of my patients, this takes about three weeks, at which point they can go back to light running on a track or a soft, grassy surface area. By 6 weeks, numerous have the ability to start fairly extensive roadway running and interval exercises.
If the tear to the meniscus is large or near the edge of the meniscus, where there is good blood supply, your surgeon might choose to stitch the meniscus to hold it in place while it recovers. In this case, wait six weeks before resuming a running program.
In the meantime, avoid kneeling or squatting. By six weeks the repair work ought to be steady enough for you to begin jogging lightly on flat surfaces, and by 12 weeks you need to be able to run over any surface area, consisting of routes and rugged terrain.
How to Run After Meniscus Surgery
Runners need to recover appropriately before beginning to run once again after a meniscus surgery.
- Rest your knee for the proper length of time after your meniscus injury prior to you start to run again. Colorado-based Steadman Clinic, a sports medicine treatment center, describes that you can risk tearing your meniscus more if you do not let it recover prior to resuming your running. If your injury is minor, and does not require surgery, you can normally run once again after the pain is gone. However that might take as long as a month to 6 weeks. Surgical repair job for meniscal injuries may sideline you for a minimum of three months.
- Wrap your knee in a compression bandage, or use a knee brace that gives your joint support while you run. The Mayo Clinic explains that bandaging or bracing your knee helps keep the joint in appropriate alignment, and lowers any fluid accumulation that might take place. Your doctor or physiotherapist might suggest a specific brace based upon your condition and workout habits.
- Alleviate into your running regular slowly after a meniscus injury. Speak with your treatment providers about appropriate ranges to start running now that you’re on the fix. Immediately returning to your complete load might cause you to regress or re-injure yourself. Operate on yard or softer surface areas rather than hard pavement that puts more pressure on your knees.
- Ice your knee after running to reduce any swelling that might take place during your workout. Though your injury might not give you anymore pain, a current injury still can become swollen during energetic activity. The Stretching Institute advises icing for about 20 minutes, however suggests that you take the ice off your knee earlier if you begin to experience discomfort from the cold.
- Incorporate stretching exercises for the upper leg that benefit meniscus tear recovery into your pre-run warmup. Cigna suggests quad sets and hamstring curls, both which strengthen the muscles in your thighs and contribute to a stronger knee.
Remain on the floor with your leg straight out in front of you to carry out a quad set. Tighten your thigh muscles and push the back of your knee down into the floor. To reinforce your hamstrings, lie on your stomach and bend your leg at the knee so the sole of your foot is facing the sky. Bring your foot toward your buttocks until you feel a pull, however no pain.
Things You’ll Need
- Knee brace or compression plaster
- Ice pack
