The meniscus is a piece of cartilage in your knee that works as a cushion between your shinbone and thighbone. You can sustain a torn meniscus if your knee is forcefully twisted, such as pivoting quickly while playing basketball or landing awkwardly from a jump. It can cause knee pain, stiffness and instability, which can be alleviated with physical therapy.
Mild meniscus tears can often heal on their own within approximately two months. More severe tears may require surgery that can take between six and nine months to fully recover from. Regardless of whether you need surgery, physical therapy treatments can accelerate your recovery timeline and help you get back to your everyday activities.Â
3 physical therapy treatments to speed up meniscus tear recovery
Your physical therapist will determine which treatments will be the safest and most effective option. They’ll consider the severity of your meniscus tear, your medical history and your overall wellness goals. They will create a personalized treatment plan that may accelerate your meniscus tear recovery, which can include:
- ExercisesÂ
Your physical therapist will guide you through stretches and strengthening exercises. They’ll focus on improving the quality of the supportive muscles around your knee joint to improve its range of motion. Possible exercises include straight leg raises, quad sets and heel raises.
Even though there are exercises that can help your meniscus tear recovery, you should only perform stretches and strengthening exercises that are shown to you by a physical therapist. Some exercises can put too much stress on the meniscus tear, which could potentially worsen the damage and pain.Â
- Joint mobilization
Manual therapy refers to physical therapy treatments that involve the therapist using their hands directly on the affected area. For an injury that affects your knee joint, like a torn meniscus, your physical therapist may use a manual therapy treatment like joint mobilization. It involves them gently moving the joint in repetitive movements. This can break up tissue and improve the joint’s range of motion.Â
Joint mobilization can boost blood circulation to the knee. An increase in blood flow can help to heal the damaged tissue for a faster recovery.
- AcupunctureÂ
Your body has natural healing abilities that can be triggered with the proper treatment, like acupuncture. Your physical therapist may use acupuncture to complement other techniques, such as manual therapy. Acupuncture involves using needles as a way to accelerate recovery from a knee injury by opening up your energy flow.
At REPAIR SI, our physical therapists will use their expertise to determine the best treatments for your torn meniscus. With techniques like therapeutic exercises and hands-on modalities, we can help you return to your everyday routines.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.