Bucket tear meniscus

Pain & Rehab Forum [Moderated]
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Hi,

I have read a good portion of the meniscus related information you have and other posts in the forum, however was hoping to get some commentary on my own specific circumstances.
I tore my lateral meniscus around 12 years ago, and had it repaired as it was locking often and causing pain crossing my legs, with no real improvement for >6 months of regular training. Since then I have continued to lift. The knee never felt the same post surgery, and quite often clicked and popped without any real pain.

Recently I injured my knee falling off a skateboard, and my knee swelled up. I had to alter my training until I could do things without it swelling, as of right now that means using a hack squat machine. I have not barbell squatted for some time now. Physio pushed to get an MRI, and it has come back with a bucket handle tear. The Ortho I saw explained that the tear has flipped over and is sitting ‘in’ my knee, and recommended surgery to remove it. I asked if I could just live with that piece sitting in my knee where it is not suppose to, and was told yes, however I should not climb a ladder, or squat with a barbell as I would be risking the chances my knee would lock up at that moment. It does catch sometimes, but has not locked on me, unlike the first time I tore it. Training is pain free, my knee often feels better having trained. I guess my question is, is leaving this piece of meniscus where it is (not suppose to be) considered not a good idea?

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weberck,

Thanks for the post and for joining the forum. Sorry to hear about the issue with your knee.

We’d need more information and follow up to comment on what you should do here, which is more appropriate for a consultation. You can contact us at support@barbellmedicine.com if that’s something you’d like to pursue.

Generally speaking, I would first consider conservative management meniscus tears that don’t produce locking locking and gradually get better over a month. If it’s been longer than that with little to no improvement, and/or if there’s severe movement limitation, surgical consultation is reasonable. Not sure on your exact timeline here and how long you haven’t been able to squat, or what would happen if you tried squatting in some fashion, e.g. tempo partial squats for example. I suspect our Pain and Rehab team would be very helpful for this situation.

-Jordan

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Here is some additional information on the topic. Agree with Dr. Feigenbaum that a consultation with our P&R team would be worthwhile.