Another Update on the Knee – A Mild Strain
Last week I shared that my knee doctor suspected a torn meniscus in my right knee. This was very disheartening to hear, though I had my doubts when I was presented the diagnosis. I mean, a tear sounds pretty serious, and I honestly didn’t believe that this is what happened to my knee. I should know my body better than the doctor would, right?
I finally broke down and decided to go see a physical therapist so I could get some exercises to try to help heal my knee. After a thorough assessment, my therapist believes that I only have a mild strain. He checked my MCL, ligaments and tendons, and all seemed to be well except for the one area (potentially a ligament) that hurts when I squat. He was able to bend my knee and flex it in all kinds of directions without any pain or discomfort. Good news, certainly.
Although there is still a very minor possibility that my meniscus could be torn, he is doubtful because a torn meniscus usually results in the knee locking in place or producing a “popping” noise. I have none of these symptoms.
My therapist then completed some measurements on my knee, and he said that my injured knee is actually quite flexible despite the pain. He said that I have excellent range of motion and is better than an average person’s knee. That was definitely good news.
I now have a set of 6 exercises that I need to do twice a day to strengthen both my knees and my hips (since weak hips often result in knee injuries). Thankfully, the exercises only take 10-15 minutes to complete and don’t require much space or special equipment to execute. I have to do them on both legs so I properly balance out my muscles. I don’t want to be lopsided!
I go back to the therapist twice next week and we’ll reassess my knee again after that. He is optimistic that my injury should not take too long to heal; he’s being pretty aggressive in the exercises I’m doing since I am not experiencing any pain except while squatting. I’m hopeful that therapy will help me recover quickly. I’d love to be back to 100% soon.
