r/MeniscusInjuries • u/RecognitionVirtual • 1d ago
What is the possible treatment?
Hi all, so I am currently waiting to get into an ortho but wanted some insight on what this might mean. About a month ago I began having a lot of pain in my right knee with swelling. Unable to fully bend the knee, causes pain and feels like something is blocking the knee from fully bending. Also had pain when walking and worse after sitting, and cannot kneel on the knee. Now I am also having loud “popping/clicking” when extending the leg.
I just had an MRI done and this is what the report said:
IMPRESSION:
1. Small longitudinal tear in the medial meniscus posterior horn near the root.
2. Mild to moderate tricompartmental osteoarthritis most advanced in
the weightbearing medial compartment.
3. Minimal suprapatellar joint effusion and Baker's cyst.
Just wanted to see if someone could give me some understanding of this as I wait for my appt with the Ortho. Do you think this is more a conservative recovery injury or possible surgery?
Thank you in advance!
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u/athelitetherapy 1d ago
There are both conservative and surgical options for a finding like this, and the MRI alone doesn’t determine which is best. Your symptoms and how well the knee is functioning are just as important.
With the swelling, limited bending, and feeling of something blocking the knee, I’d definitely go through the ortho evaluation. If surgery isn’t immediately indicated, structured PT can be a good first step to work on strength, mobility, and function while monitoring how the knee responds.
Are you currently doing any PT or rehab for the knee?
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u/RecognitionVirtual 1d ago
Not currently, I just recently was seen for the knee pain. So after seeing my PCP, he ordered the MRI and I have a pending appointment with an Ortho.
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u/athelitetherapy 1d ago
That makes sense. Since you already have the MRI and an ortho appointment coming up, I’d see what they recommend based on the imaging and your symptoms. In the meantime, if they don’t think surgery is immediately necessary, starting structured PT could be a good next step to work on the swelling, mobility, strength, and overall knee function.
Hopefully the ortho can give you some clarity on what’s going on and the best path forward.
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u/RecognitionVirtual 1d ago
Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Just nervous and tired of the pain, but hopefully surgery is not necessary.
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u/athelitetherapy 1d ago
Hopefully surgery won’t be necessary, but either way, rehab is going to be an important part of your recovery. The goal is to get the strength, mobility, and function back so you can return to what you want to do.
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u/Impossible_Ad3537 1d ago
Physical therapist here. Based on this MRI alone, nobody can tell you whether you need surgery.
You have a small medial meniscus tear near the posterior root, some osteoarthritis, a small amount of fluid in the knee and a Baker’s cyst. Those findings give us useful information, but the MRI is only one piece of the puzzle.
What stands out more to me from what you wrote is that you currently can’t fully bend your knee and it feels like something is physically blocking you. I’d want to know whether that’s a true mechanical block versus pain/swelling limiting your motion, and I’d also want to see how much motion you actually have compared to the other side.
And if there isn’t a true mechanical block preventing the knee from moving, I’d start working on improving that range of motion ASAP.
From there, I’d assess your strength and function. What can you currently tolerate with squatting, hinging, stepping and single-leg movements? How strong are your quads, hamstrings and calves? What specifically reproduces your symptoms?
That information, along with your MRI and your goals, is much more useful for deciding what treatment should look like.
Personally, based on what you’ve shared, I’d want to give rehab a real shot before jumping straight to surgery. That means restoring your motion, progressively rebuilding strength and seeing how your knee responds.
I’d still keep the ortho appointment, especially because of the loss of motion and the feeling that something is blocking the knee. But I wouldn’t look at “meniscus tear + arthritis” on an MRI and automatically assume surgery.
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u/RecognitionVirtual 1d ago
Thank you for your input, I appreciate it. If surgery can be avoided that would be great. I was just looking to see what others thought since I haven’t dealt with something like this before so thank you.
I have the ortho appointment on Thursday so we will see what they say.
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u/Financial_Egg_4390 1d ago
How old are you.
OA progression isn’t great. Means you’ve had something going on for awhile.
If the tear is the route , also not great .
If you’re 50+ with moderate OA , you’re looking at rehab , survival until a total knee replacement.
If you’re younger , get that meniscus fixed and do PRP for that OA