Muscle Strength Exercises For A Torn Meniscus

A torn meniscus is a common injury that can be painful and make it difficult to participate in normal activities. Exercises to restore strength and mobility to your knee are an important part of a post-injury rehabilitation program. Although surgery may be necessary in some cases, physical therapy exercises can have you back on track within three to four months.

Identification

Your knees contain two pieces of C-shaped meniscus cartilage that cushion the area between your shinbone and thighbone. If you forcefully twist or rotate your knee while putting your full weight on it, it can cause the meniscus cartilage to tear. Symptoms include pain, swelling, stiffness, a popping sensation and difficulty straightening your knee.

Exercise Benefits

The basic goal of exercise is to strengthen the muscles in your leg to stabilize and support the affected knee joint. Exercise will also help control pain, swelling and bleeding into the joint and promote balance and coordination. In addition, increased mobility of the knee stimulates circulation of your knee's synovial fluid, the substance that nourishes the cartilage in the joint and lubricates its surface. Exercise is important enough that it can and should be started within three to five days of knee surgery.

General Recommendations

Aim for 30 to 60 minutes of cardiovascular activity daily, focusing on nonweight-bearing exercise such as swimming and moderate cycling at first. Then, add in more resistance and strength training as your knee grows stronger and you experience less pain. Start with ankle pumps, stretching, quadriceps exercises and hip flexion for the first two weeks, adding in hamstring stretches, knee extension, heel and toe raises, leg presses and wall squats afterward. In most cases, starting with week 12, you can begin running and sport-specific drills.

Specific Exercises

Flexion exercises improve mobility and maintain the strength in your quadriceps and hamstrings, thereby decreasing knee swelling. These are performed while sitting and involve slowly bending and extending the knee for 10 to 20 repetitions, several times a day. Heel slides mobilize the hip joint and muscles, and are also performed while sitting, as you slide your heel up toward your body as far as possible. Calf stretches increase whole-leg flexibility and are performed as you stand and brace your palms against a wall and bend the injured knee in front, while keeping the other leg straight behind you.