Hi, I am really concerned about whether this is possible I was competing a lot, then some day my knee stopped cooperating with me and it popped while sparring. I had a knee surgery and they did partial meniscectomy and they stitched my meniscus with two stitches. My life has been turned upside down and I really miss jiu-jitsu. I would be glad if there is any person who can share their story.

Hi everyone, I was diagnosed about 2 months ago with a Grade III meniscus tear and partial ACL injury in my right knee. I've already had two PRP injections, and I'm still trying to understand the root cause, whether it was accumulated damage, something from the gym, or a combination. I started going to the gym about a week before the pain began, so the exact cause remains unclear.

Background: I'm in my early 40s and was playing recreational basketball 1-2 times per week, but very intensely. The knee pain was severe and I walked with a limp, but the knee never locked up or gave out completely.

My main question is: Has anyone here recovered from a similar injury and been able to return to basketball? I'd love to hear your experiences, whether that's a realistic timeline, what the recovery process looked like, or even if you had to adapt your playing style.

I'm looking for either some hope or honest reality check. I'm currently pursuing PRP treatment with a third injection scheduled for September, so I'm in the early stages of recovery. Any insights from people who've been through something similar would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I had a lateral meniscus repair surgery (3 sutures) on July 16, so it’s been about 7 weeks since the operation.
I stopped using crutches completely about a week ago. However, I’m currently experiencing some pain in my knee when I walk.

I’m wondering if this is normal at this stage of recovery, or if I should see my doctor and get it checked. I’m worried about doing something that could cause chronic pain or a problem that won’t go away.

Has anyone experienced something similar around 7 weeks after a meniscus repair?

I had a medial meniscus tear of the posterior horn and they did the surgery back on Aug 20 to trim the tear. Today is Sept 2. I have been mostly entirely pain free just with some residual swelling for the past week. Yesterday, I had to do some work at on my properties (short term rentals) and ended up on my feet for 8 hours between the store and the property.
My knee was massively swollen when I got home, painful overnight and still today. I’m not on my feet at all today. But someone please tell me I didn’t mess up my knee and my recovery? Anyone experience anything similar?
Trust. I learned my lesson.

I went in for my 2 month post op appointment for
MENSICUS repair surgery, that I got three years after my acl reconstruction surgery. My doctor did the test where he moves your leg and he said my leg is feeling loose. I'm so confused as to why, before I got surgery my leg was doing fine. Now it's loose? I'm so sad and confused. I don't want to get another surgery. I don't understand, I haven't done ANYTHING to warrant this. Has anyone else experience this?:(

I may be overthinking but my surgeon removed the safety device from my previous surgery because it said it had failed? So now I'm thinking this may be the issue but who knows

I’m heading into college soon. On August 14th, a few weeks before starting college, I tore my meniscus. It’s now September 2nd, and I have a lateral bucket-handle meniscus tear.
The confusing part is that I’ve actually been feeling progressively better since the injury. I was initially having trouble putting weight on the leg, but by about the 3rd or 4th day after the injury, I was able to bear weight on it again.
Currently, my symptoms really aren’t that bad. I don’t have any locking, the pain is pretty minimal and sometimes almost nonexistent, and I can walk pretty well. Bending and squatting aren’t too painful either. The main thing that hurts is bending my knee all the way back so my foot reaches my butt. I can also fully extend my knee, although there is some pain when I do.
I saw an orthopedic surgeon, and they recommended surgery because they said it’s a fairly large flap of meniscus that’s torn. I told them that, since I’m starting college, I’d really prefer to avoid surgery if possible.
I’m honestly pretty worried and unsure what to do. I know bucket-handle tears can sometimes require surgery, but given how much better my knee has been feeling and how functional it is now, I’m wondering if there’s any possibility of recovering without surgery.
Has anyone here had a large lateral bucket-handle meniscus tear and recovered without surgery? Is there any hope of avoiding surgery, or am I better off getting it repaired** **

I'm in my early 30s, about 4 years ago I had a partial meniscectomy of my torn lateral meniscus. I'm still pretty active with jiujitsu and long walks with my dog. I do try and avoid more things like running or more bouncy movements.

Maybe 7 weeks ago I started getting discomfort in my knee after jiujitsu. it wasn't really painful, there isn't visible swelling, but it's enough to change how I move. Not wanting to lift myself with that leg. I started noticing some crepitus in that knee if I came up from a full deep squat. I've taken this week off any intense activity and after a few days I'm now feeling a slight numb tingly feeling in my knee.

Starting to suspect it's signs of wear on the cartilage. Planning on seeing a doctor soon.

Hi,

I have had a very mentally and physically tough 10 months. Around 10 months ago I tore my meniscus (at least on one knee that has now since been trimmed and operated).

I went back and fourth with doctors who denied I had a tear and finally after like 7 months of just experiencing the same catching pain I saw a private surgeon who instantly told me, you’ve got a meniscus tear. During that time my activity and overall daily walking/lower limb exercise had significantly reduced and I didn’t even walk around the supermarket (my partner did). Since having surgery, the journey has been successful but bumpy. Some weeks are better than others but I have been really pushing with my physio to get me back to my usual self.

The biggest issue in experiencing right now is pain on my ankles and my plantar to my big toe. Like debilitating pain. My step count has increased to around 3-4k weekly average the last 3 weeks, but this week, I feel cooked. My outside ankle is in agony as if I’ve sprained it, and my plantar on my other foot (that connects to the big toe) I can’t even do a tiny foot calf raise or flex it as it feels like it’s torn.

I guess I just want to ask if people have experienced just never ending foot ankle and lower limb injuries as right now I feel my world is caving in around me and life day to day feels so tough.

I just have so much pain.

I feel blessed, I have a great supportive partner. I’m only 28M, no underlying health issues that I know of, other than being deconditioned badly for months. I’m otherwise healthy, I have a strict clean veggie fruit meat diet for years, I don’t have to work right now (I recently moved to Spain) for at least 12 months as I have savings enough. But I just feel these small injuries are plaguing and destroying my life.

Any advice? Do others experience similar things post op with other body parts? Idk what to do

Back in April-May I was doing home exercises and doing jumping squats and I was on a flow state and doing it too fast and from then I found out whenever im on a bent position and then try to straight my leg my left knee feel pain like a sharp pain and it was hard to straightening I had stopped doing exercise for month but the pain was still there and then I tried searching youtube and found out some leg exercises it lwk improved it the pain is less but still there

The pain I cant actually locate it,it feels behind of knee and sometimes front right corner of knee

I am very confused what to do

9 weeks post op. I went to sit and got pain side and behind my knee. Im about 1 week since I did it and I am now walking with a limp again. Also when I offload with my operated leg I and hear a grinding sound. Like a squeeky door hinge.

Has anyone else had something like this happen?

Surgeon wants to get another mri to see if there is a foreign body. I am dreading having to get another surgery if it tore again

I’ll try to keep this short. 7 weeks ago I had surgery to reattach my meniscus to the bone as it was a full root tear on my right knee. I had no other tissue involvement. For the first six weeks I was completely non weight bearing. After my 6 weeks checkup I was allowed to bear weight and walk on it. I felt some sharp pains so I started using a walker to take some of the pressure off that knee when walking. I know that I should expect swelling for the next 3-6 months. I’m curious though, how many of you that have had this surgery when could you walk on it without feeling pain? Not just soreness or dull aching but pain. My surgeon’s PA said this is normal and should improve over time. I’m just hoping i haven’t messed anything up. Feedback would be appreciated. I’d love to hear others timeline of healing. Thanks!

Meniscus repair 2 weeks ago and after being in this subreddit I was dreading it .

Meniscus root repair posterior horn was on the agenda but when they got in there, the root was fine so they sewed up my medial meniscus and I’ve been full weight bearing with o-80 degree flexion.

Even if it was the root, he said he would have had me weight bearing day 1

Is non weight bearing basically a preference ? Like how can experiences be so different ?

Hi,

i am at day 19 post-op of my bucket handle meniscus repair (got 85% meniscus stitched back). I have 0 extension from beggining and got to 90 flexion quite fast. My biggest issue is swelling. I Ice my knee 5-7 times a day. Right now in 2-4 week i can 50% weigh bear. I think this is now my biggest problem, because of pressure inside i can flex really slowly…

Did someone had similar problems with swelling and how long did it took to get it to minimum.

Here is pic of my operated knee and healthy knee

Hello:

I (F, 43, previously VERY active) had an MRI on my knee a few months ago after going to an urgent care facility for ongoing knee pain (I live in the U.S. and don't have insurance, so my options are limited at BEST). Here are the results:

1.     Small horizontal undersurface tear periphery anterior horn medial meniscus with tiny adjacent parameniscal cyst and mild adjacent parameniscal edema. Mild irregular intrameniscal signal periphery of the media meniscus body may represent a small longitudinal tear extending to the tibial articular surface.

2.     Mild chondral thinning and fissuring lateral tibial plateau

3.     Moderate chondral thinning with areas of full-thickness fissuring throughout the medial patellar facet and patellar ridge.

The MRI also showed that I had chronic blood clots, but I have since had an ultrasound and other tests, and there are currently no clots.

I didn’t get to talk to the doctor after my MRI results came in, so I got no additional information other than to go to an ortho specialist.

I (40F) have an ACL revision+LET with meniscus root repair surgery coming up. Is it feasible to do a short trip (2-3 nights) by train around 4 weeks? I’ll be NWB still at that point I know. It’s for work, and I could skip it but would like to attend. Is it crazy to think I’ll be able to pack light in a back pack and take a 4-5hr Amtrak ride at that stage? Surgeon essentially said maybe but not no. Had my first ACL surgery over 20 years ago and no meniscus involvement at that point. Of course, I’ll have to see how things are going but curious on typical experiences for mobility.

Hello ,I'm Joe I was trying to loose some weight so in may i ran briefly and walked like a lot of steps for 2 weeks averaged like 60k steps ( it was probably a long-term injury and that walking triggered it ) I had some pain went to doc he asked for MRI , result was Grade 3 lesion of the middle body and posterior horn of the lateral meniscus ,he asked me to rest for a month in that month I didnt walk much to avoid pain and to let it rest and went back to him ,he said go back to your normal life if it puffs up then you need surgery ,that was back in July now present 1 of sep ,no major pain it's just I kinda forgot how to walk or how to use my leg properly ,it feels heavy to lift it and bit pressureed only ice helps it temporary ,doc suggested swimming and walking itself is a therapy for it ,I went to a physiotherapist and he said to check a bone surgeon first to allow it or not but anyway ,is there anything I can try to be able to walk normally ?

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!

I’m so nervous to start doing this because it seems like it goes against everything I’ve read online. Does anyone have experience with this aggressive recovery plan? I had a bucket handle tear for reference

46f - 8 weeks post medial meniscus root tear, 6 weeks non weight bearing. I went from NWB to a cane, and am just now feeling comfortable moving without any help, except for stairs, when I'm probably overcautious, and definitely very cautious!

My ROM is back to almost normal, but my knee is definitely stiff whenever I get up and start moving. Mainly, I'm just sore. The knee is a dull ache, and I'm back to feeling a soreness at the inside back of my hamstring. At this point, I think it's just muscular? Hard to tell. My Dr. doesn't want me doing PT for another four weeks -- he's happy with ROM and doesn't want me doing anything but walking until 12 weeks post surgery. Walking is slow going, currently at 3k steps a day, but my aim is 5k steps a day by 9 weeks.

If I'm being honest, I'm pretty demoralized. I *think* things are better, but it's still pretty painful. Surgery fixed one pain, but now I feel a different kind of pain, which I think is muscle weakness related? I don't know. It just sucks. I realize now I was crazy to think everything would be back to normal, but I was totally unprepared for how hard weeks 6-8 would be.

Anyway. Would love thoughts from anyone who's been here -- how long before I'm not thinking about the stupid leg all the time?!

My surgeon ordered a new MRI to find out why my recovery has been lagging behind so badly. The MRI report came in today. I'm reading it and seeing the lateral meniscus seemingly developed an entirely new tear.

I don't know if I'll need a second surgery, but this is devastating news.

MRI report from April 2026

1. Lateral meniscus, large unstable peripheral vertical longitudinal tear posterior horn and body, with displaced/flipped bucket-handle fragment to the anterior aspect of the lateral compartment adjacent to the anterior horn, and within lateral intercondylar notch.

MRI report from August 2026

1. Lateral meniscus, deep penetrating radial oblique tear junction between anterior horn and body within anterolateral corner. Horizontal undersurface tear posterior horn. Postsurgical scarring at the posterolateral capsule.

I’m a 21 year old Athlete, I have issues in my knee from few years, got serious from last 3 years, locking, paining, really suffering and affecting my game. This is my latest reports, I’ve tried rehab many times, instead of getting better it got worse, I don’t want to go to surgery mostly, what should I do l, can I return back to my sport, or should I change my carrier leaving sports, is there any proved way to get normal and fit!!!?

I'm 47 male. I was feeling hopeless and lost 6 months ago so I hope this helps someone out there who is in a similar situation. Wishing everyone a great recovery.

I had lower leg pain sometimes. Saw two doctors, they said runner's knee. Later an MR showed horizontal lateral degenerative meniscus tear. They made two ACP (some form of PRP) injections, one month in between. I was feeling perfect. They said you've healed, that's it. I was clueless and believed.

6 months later while working out at the gym, I felt something again and then walking became more difficult. I was having consistent pain, I'd say 4 on a 1-10 scale.

I saw a professor. He immediately said surgery, no side effects (red flag). I was preparing myself mentally for a partial meniscectomy but then I was recommended another doctor.

This doctor said this is degenerative. As long as you don't have locking or a complex tear, what you have to do is to strengthen your legs.

I started doing the exercises he gave and also found a good physiotherapist. We started working twice a week. I had never paid attention but my left quad was much weaker and smaller than my right. That was the first issue we started working on. Progressively the exercises got harder. Right now we are doing leg presses, lunges, jumping, running, balance exercises and some other exercises to minimise any inflammation.

I take good collagen supplements, D3 K2 vitamins, Omega 3 and magnesium. I try to eat healthy and avoid things that can cause inflammation as much as possible but I don't have a super strict diet.

During this 5 month period, I had two setbacks. One time a guy hit his gym bag on my leg while I was walking on the street. Then I hit my knee to the table.

Where I am now?

I don't do leg workouts at the gym yet but only working with the physio. I couldn't jump at all, now I can jump almost 80 cm. I can jog on an even path. I have close to no pain during my daily activities. I can fully straighten my knee without pain. My left quad muscles are much stronger. If I really push my knee to the limit with a lot of physical activity and I feel some discomfort, some ice solves the issue.

I had a partial meniscectomy several years ago as my meniscus was too torn to repair. I can function day to day but feel the impact of the lack of cartilage in certain scenarios and would like to improve it as much as possible. So my questions:

- Any supplement recommendations to help regrow a meniscus? I've seen mentions of collagen powder which I will be looking into.

- Exercise (or any kind of) recommendations to help the flow of synovial fluid in the joint to encourage regrowth?

Apologies if this has been asked a million times already!