Possible Torn Meniscus

[CycloneSoftball22]

My 14 year old DD had an MRI yesterday for a suspected torn meniscus. What should we expect as far as therapy and recovery time? Also , she was expected to be the catcher on her middle school team this year. Games start around first week of March. Will she be able to catch? Should she? I appreciate any feedback

 

[tjintx]

I had my meniscus scoped in 1982. Needless to say it was leading edge technology back then. I walked out of the hospital the same day and began exercising it 2 weeks later. I'm sure there have been major advancements since then. I would think March/April is very do-able if she gets it done right now. Good luck! I'm sure you will get a lot of feedback on this.

 

[jinjet95]

My DD had a tear in her meniscus at 14 as well. Not all meniscus tears are candidates for surgery, nor is surgery usually a first choice in an athlete that young. You should follow your ortho doctor's advice and possibly get a second opinion. My DD did quite well with physical therapy and a PRP shot. PRP stands for platelet rich plasma and helps the torn area heal. Whether it's helpful depends upon where the tear is. One side of the meniscus has more blood vessels and is able to heal better than the other. It also depends on whether it's a flap tear, where the flap gets caught in the joint.

I wish your daughter well no matter how her injury is treated. Let's hope for the news that there's no tear.

 

[coach james]

I dont even know where a meniscus is...
But I'll shoot a prayer your way that your dd is okay.
Good luck, James

 

[RubberBiscuit]

I had DD "damage" her meniscus and tweak her MCL about 2.5 weeks before she was to pitch the opening game of the hs season last year.

We chose to jump head first into physical therapy (same day as the injury in fact).

DD pitched all season without issue (except for a bit of a psychological hesitance to test her knee).

BUT like JJ says, it wasn’t a “flap” that can click and get in the way of the joint and cause continuous re-inflammation.

BUT catching is a whole nutha world in knee stress. The bend angles of catching could completely negate the optimism I am trying to project…..

My advice – get the PT going asap and reevaluate after the initial swelling and initial injury pain go away.

 

[fusionmom]

My DD tore her meniscus pitching a couple of years ago, with the tear being large enough to cause a portion to flip up and "catch and lock" her knee. It was repaired in February and PT started that same week. No playing until the end of May and no pitching until the end of July. Her meniscus tore again this last fall and the torn portion removed as it was not fixable. Started playing again within two weeks. All depends on what her surgeon says/advises. A fix is supposed to help with mobility and to stave off arthritis at later ages, where a removal creates a higher potential for problems later on in life.

 

[jinjet95]

I dont even know where a meniscus is...
But I'll shoot a prayer your way that your dd is okay.
Good luck, James

Your DD must be one of the lucky ones that hasn't had an issue. It's amazing the information I get from the internet when my DD has an injury.

The meniscus is a disc shaped piece of cartilege between the bones that form the knee joint and sits behind the knee cap. It's a common injury in athletes, especially females.

 

[SoGASoftball]

I'm certainly not a Dr., but my wife has had a torn meniscus in both knees. On one, the disc of cartilage was only torn on the outside. Very simple orthopedic surgery and recovery was very quick. PT started within a couple days if I remember right, and she felt like normal within three or four weeks. But, on the other, the disc was torn in the center like a donut, and the Doc basically said there was nothing he could do and she would be limited to low-impact exercise. He did mention that if she were an "athlete", they could insert a donor meniscus... You may want to save any worry until they read the MRI and/or scope it.

However, if she has surgery, insist on them prescribing you one of the icing machines to send home with you. On my wife's second surgery, she had one of those things (don't want to be a commercial, but it was made by Game Ready), and it kept the swelling down and pain down big time. I did keep the local ice machine in business for a week or so, but it is well wroth it.

Best of luck - hope it is minor!

 

[Hoover's Dad]

My nephew tore his meniscus mid season during his junior year of football. He played the remainder of the season and the week after playoffs he went to Birmingham and had it fixed. 3 weeks later he was going at it in the weight room as hard as any other kid on the team.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

We got the results of the MRI today and there is no tear of the meniscus. She has something called Hoffa's syndrome. Physical therapy 2-3 times a week for 4 weeks and she should be fine.