You can still walk if you tear your meniscus although walking with a torn meniscus can be painful and may be difficult.
A torn meniscus can feel like joint or muscle pain in your leg when walking and cause swelling and stiffness as well.
When walking with a torn meniscus you may also feel a block to your knees motion and have trouble extending your knee fully.
To do a self check at home for a torn meniscus you can do so by doing a seated twist.
While sitting start by placing your heel on the ground, lift your toes, twist your heel inwards and outwards and if you have pain in your knee while twisting in or outwards it can indicate you have a torn meniscus.
If your knee is painful when you turn your heel inwards then the outer meniscus is torn.
If you leave a torn meniscus tear untreated it can result in the frayed edge of the torn meniscus becoming caught in the joint which can cause swelling and pain and can also result in long term knee problems like soft tissue damage and arthritis.
You might need surgery to repair the torn meniscus and restore full knee function and left untreated the torn meniscus can lead increase in size and lead to complications.
A meniscus tear will not always heal on it's own but the meniscus tears can sometimes heal on it's own although the meniscus has a limited ability to heal on it's own due to the limited blood supply it has and the meniscus tear can get worse if left untreated.
If you have a meniscus tear you should seek medical attention as most meniscus tears require surgery to repair correctly but some cases you may not need surgery if it's not too severe.
Meniscus tear repairs may be performed “all inside” with small meniscus repair devices to pull the tear together, or “inside out,” in which sutures are passed across the meniscus tear and through the knee joint capsule and then tied through an incision next to the tear (usually for larger meniscus tears).
A meniscus tear can sometimes lead to a knee replacement if a small piece has meniscus has been removed then the stress on your articular cartilage increases 3 fold and can cause osteoarthritis which can lead to a knee replacement.
The risk of getting osteoarthritis increases when you have a meniscus tear.
You can sometimes walk on a torn meniscus unless the torn meniscus has locked up your knee.
Most people who have torn their meniscus do still walk, sit, stand and sleep without any pain.
The pain with a torn meniscus is worse when you squat or twist.
The easiest meniscus to repair is a horizontal meniscus.
The hardest meniscus to repair is the radial meniscus.
A meniscus injury will feel like pain at the center or side of your knee depending on where the meniscus injury is and there is most often sharp pain when you twist or squat with a meniscus injury.
You can know if you tore your meniscus by the signs and symptoms of a torn meniscus which include a popping sensation when the injury occurs, stiffness or swelling, pain that occurs especially when rotating or twisting the knee, difficulty fully straightening your knee and a locked feeling when you try to move your knee.
You can make a meniscus tear worse if you're not careful to avoid any movements or activities that can put pressure on the torn meniscus.
Activities that you should avoid with a torn meniscus are swimming using the whip kick or frog kick, jogging, operating clutch pedals, rising from seated position, climbing stairs, repetitive bending, pivoting or squatting.
With a meniscus tear you should avoid any activities or positions that place any excessive pressure on your knee until the swelling and pain has gone down.
If you don't fix or treat a torn meniscus it can sometimes lead to part of the meniscus coming loose and slipping into the joint.
If this happens then you will usually need surgery to restore the full function of your knee.
Meniscus tears that are left untreated can also increase in size and also lead to other complications like arthritis.
A torn meniscus or meniscus tear takes around 8 weeks to heal on it's own without surgery.
The best position to sleep in with a torn meniscus is on your back with your leg elevated slightly.
Keeping your leg elevated slightly but not bent while you have a torn meniscus can promote healthy blood circulation that helps keep swelling down and pain down.
With a torn meniscus you will feel the pain at the center or the side of your knee.
The location of the pain with the torn meniscus will depend on where the torn meniscus tear is.
Most often you will still be able to walk with the torn meniscus and swelling will most often increase slowly over a couple of day and also might make your knee feel stiff and limit bending.
Also with a torn meniscus there is usually a sharp pain when you squat or twist.
The supplements that are good for meniscus tear are oral cartilage supplements such as glucosamine such as Osteo Bi-Flex, Puritans Pride and Spring Valley Joint supplements that has been shown to repair worn out cartilage.
You must also avoid any excessive pressure on your knee although you can still do your usual exercises.
You should wrap your knee with a compression bandage if you have a torn meniscus as it helps reduce swelling.
You should also use an ice pack on your knee for at least 20 minutes several times a day to help speed of the healing of the torn meniscus.
The kind of brace you wear for a torn meniscus is a hinged knee brace that can be either rigid or soft and also provides adequate levels of compression which promote the healing process of the torn meniscus.
The hinged knee brace for a torn meniscus is the best, especially for anyone who has previously injured their knee.
The 3 signs of a meniscus injury or meniscus tear are.
A locked feeling when you try to move your knee.
Difficulty fully straightening your knee.
Pain, especially when you twist or rotate your knee.
Other signs of a meniscus injury are swelling or stiffness and a popping sensation when the injury occurs.
Arthritis of the knee is not the same as a torn meniscus.
The arthritis of the knee is inflammation of the knee joints and a torn meniscus is an injury where you tear your meniscus which is a C shaped piece of cartilage which acts as a cushion between your tibia or shinbone and femur or thighbone.
A meniscus tear can result from a forceful twist or rotation of your knee.
A Grade 1 meniscus tear is a small meniscus tear that does not extend to your articular surface or the top of your meniscus.
A Grade 2 meniscus tear is a larger tear in your meniscus which also does not extend to the surface of the articular.
You can test for a torn meniscus at home with the help of a friend by doing the following test for a torn meniscus.
To self diagnose a torn meniscus at home you should lay down on your back with your knee bent.
Then have someone rotate your foot to the inside of your leg and then extend your knee slowly.
If you feel any pain or are not able to extend your knee then this can be a sign of a torn meniscus or a meniscus injury.