LincolnsDogFido@lemmy.zip 6 days ago
Preface: the American healthcare system is a broken racist, inefficient, and profit driven mess of ineffective care.
Take: Meniscus injuries are very difficult to identify in some cases anyway. Even if you were in a healthcare system that works well, it might not have been identified. The special tests for meniscus tears are not very reliable. The best ones rely on a patient’s own subjective assessment of stability. So as a clinician, I have to rely on subjective information in the special tests and my own subjective opinion on the signs and symptoms a patient provides. The gold standard for diagnosis is MRI and due to limited resolution I’ve had multiple patients with torn menisci not have anything show up in MRI results.
Now, if you correctly identify a torn meniscus, surgical interventions aren’t great either depending on location, extent of damage, and type of tear. Sometimes the best thing the surgeon can do is remove damaged tissue and clean up the area. The lack of blood flow means that reparability of tears isn’t great. Sometimes you’re fucked if you do and fucked if you don’t. Fortunately, there have been advances in outcomes lately and hopefully that continues. But for now, sometimes the best option if you’re not overly active is delaying surgical intervention until a knee replacement is a viable option.
There’s no American Healthcare System - there are numerous medical systems, insurance approaches, etc.
I say this as someone who’s used numerous healthcare insurance models.
The worst are HMO. Those are the kind of systems most people rail about.
If you have PPO insurance, getting something addressed is much easier as those doctors are independent and not beholden to a bureaucratic system, so can operate as scientists, not party-line holders.
Yea, I’ve been thinking about when it could have happened, and I still can’t figure it out. I probably tore it and didn’t know. However, I’ve had a minor knee pain for a couple weeks and the pain just started ramping up a few days ago
Can confirm.
I had a minor medial meniscus tear. One surgery (small trim, not repair) and almost 2 years of post-surgery PT later and my pain is finally on a path of improvement. My ability to walk long distances was very limited, but finally it’s back. I am in my late 20s.
MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 6 days ago
Sad to say I agree. I had a serious knee injury this year (ruptured patellar tendon) and after a few months I started getting sharp pains in that knee. The consultant said it was probably a torn meniscus - “It might get better, it might not.”
I’m 73, so yeah, it might not. I can walk unaided though, so I’ve got that going for me.
LincolnsDogFido@lemmy.zip 5 days ago
Word of advice. At 73 you might not want to be too patient. If it starts to affect how active you are, address it. At your age, once mobility is gone it doesn’t like coming back.
The saying I’ve heard from the ortho I work with is, “if they roll in(in a wheelchair or walker), they’ll be rolling forever.”
It’s not just strength that goes, it’s the will, balance, and neuromuscular function.
MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
Yes, thanks, I’m aware. I’m very active, fear not (mainly walking, rowing, swimming, gardening, DIY). Healing takes significantly longer. But I’m not sitting around waiting to get better - the reason for the torn meniscus was doing the post-surgery exercises a bit too vigorously. It does seem to be healing ok.
LincolnsDogFido@lemmy.zip 5 days ago
You sound like awesome! I hope to be as active as you at 73 and beyond. Already a pretty tough road for me going forward though. 30 years old and 2 knee surgeries in, but thankfully I’m in the health field and can manage my own rehabilitation. Keep on rocking!