How to heal the meniscus?

[Girlinthewindow]

I started lifting weights several years ago, and more recently (around February) I started doing a Starting Strength workout where I was aiming for strength gains through low-rep, high weight workouts.

I did it for around 6 months until I injured myself. Unfortunately I do not have health insurance so I cannot go to the emergency room or a PCP as this has gotten slightly better over time any way.

So I started squatting a** to grass at around 155lbs for 5 reps around February, and after the 6 months I was at about 245lbs for those many reps. The problem is that I took about 3 weeks off because I was studying for finals and such for summer classes, and when I got back to the gym I still felt strong and such and actually ended up squatting 260 on my day back for 4 or maybe 3 reps.

That night my knees started killing me with pain. I have not been to the gym in probably 2 months, and have lost nearly 10 lbs of presumably muscle. My knees do not hurt so much when I walk or stand, but after prolonged standing they end up hurting. The pain mainly comes when I am laying down in bed or sitting and driving for a long period of time. Also my knees simply do not feel secure when I am walking or going up/down the stairs.

I'm thinking it's a meniscus tear. I know that you can't tell these things without an x-ray, but I'm 99% sure that's what it is.

What do you recommend that I do to help heal my knees? I am 25 years old and male. I am 5'9" and weigh about 153 at the moment. Surgery is not an option.

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[noyceguy]

go see a doctor

 

[jblil]

OP - the meniscus is poorly vascularized so generally it won't heal, or will do so very slowly if it's indeed a tear. We don't give out medical advice, so going to see a dr is your best bet. Aren't you in Pharm school? Your school should have a Student Health Center for things like this.

 

[NewTestament]

See an orthopedic physician, not a general practitioner. You might need surgery.

 

[hawk777]

An x-ray won't show you much. You'd need an MRI to know for sure the extent of the damage. An ortho doc is the way to go.

 

[Girlinthewindow]

Update:

So I decided that I should go to the gym to at least retain some upper body strength/size. I decided that I wasn't going to do any impactful exercises on my knees, so I did the elliptical for about 10 minutes, and then lifted weights and targeted the shoulders, back, and arms. I was sore the next day around my legs and such but my knees stopped feeling unstable and there is no pain -- well 98% of the pain is gone, there's still something, but mostly gone.

Why do you think this is?

 

[DesertPT]

If you didn't know, it is against the policies of SDN for posters to give out medical advice.