Is my meniscus getting worst?

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anita81
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 12:29 am

Is my meniscus getting worst?

Post by anita81 »

Hello there,

I have been reading the post about meniscus on this forum and I find them very helpful, specially the one on the Prolotherapy option instead of taking on surgery. which I started to consider and already started to do research on it.

I tore my meniscus jogging, but i only realized it when I started yoga. I can walk , jump, but I don't jog anymore. A year ago, my physiotherapist looked at the MRI and said to wait the meniscus can get better, and that I am still young but i have to take care of it if not I would need surgery to avoid arthritis. Anyhow, I want to avoid surgery at all causes, specially when I hear that people only get surgery when they can't even walk. not my case.

I guess my concern is: I am scare the knee will give up on me. so I visit the knee specialist, who told me i should get surgery, even when the tear is small. I am having a hard time trusting his decision. For a year, i have been doing hip openers, and caring it with oil, and felt much better, but a week ago, for the first time I had to put ice on it, and it scared me, I thought my knee is getting worst? I don't know if I should give up and do surgery. I read comments of people here in the forum feeling better afterwards and feeling "normal", regenerated.


PS: I am curios if other yogis with meniscus have the same problem. So far I haven't met anyone in my environment with this problem: I still think it is all on the hips, but is it possible to adjust a half lotus position, putting the ankle on the groin? it depends on the hips right? i learn from my body immensely through my knee problem, analyzing the possibilities of rotation without putting stress on the knee, off course.

thank you for reading this.
Anita
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Is my knee getting worse

Post by Bernie »

Hi Anita

The title of your post and the tone of your writing is the question: is my knee getting worse? If you are experiencing pain, then the answer seems to be obvious - yes. Pain is usually a signal that the body is not right and ignoring it doesn't help heal the body. How much worse it could get, of course, is something only you can decide.

If you have read all the posts on this topic you will know that I did have the surgery and that I did not wait until I couldn't walk any more. I waited until I tried almost everything else, was not pain free, but was not disabled. My experience with the surgery was positive but i continued to work to open my hips almost daily (with no stress to the knees!) and did the exercise described in the article on knees in a Newsletter (if you haven't read it yet, you may want to.) I also use an earthing band every night around my knee as I sleep to minimize inflammation (see this article for more about earthing.)

Until you get the problem resolved, I would not do any hip openers that stress the knee: no lotus or even half-lotus! Why risk further damage? There is nothing magic or important about being able to do Lotus. Many yogis will never be able to do Lotus and they are very nice people regardless! Try Butterfly with blocks under the thighs, try Sitting Swan or Wall Swan (also called Wall Eye of the Needle) to see if these work your hips with no stress to the knees.

Good luck!
Bernie
anita81
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 12:29 am

Post by anita81 »

Hi Bernie,

thank you for the reply! You do have a point there, if you tried everything and it didn't solve the pain, maybe it was time for the operation. In my case, i had this weird pain now, and I have been putting ice on it , and it seems to be getting better, but will see, maybe not.

Getting an OP it's a difficult decision, and I find that the cons and pros are equal on both sides. If I dont operate, it can tear more and the operation can be later riskier, then again it could heal and have less chance of Arthritis. On the other hand, if I do operate, and I dont take care of it, there will be a larger tear. But if I am careful, then the pain is solved. I hope I got that right.

I started to practice putting the stick in between my knees and I only feel pain on my calf. what would you recommend? I tried with different diameter and with all It is not comfortable, even sitting on two blocks. :-(


I put the question about the lotus, not as the lotus itself would have significant relevance, but rather I am more interested in the perspective towards the Art of movement of the knee with a tore meniscus. I suffer from it, its normal that I question and explore it. knowing our limits. Because if they ask me, what I most ponder of my practice is in my vinyasa.

Blessings
Anita
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

meniscus

Post by Bernie »

The doweling is painful when it presses into the calf: if it is too much, back off - try sitting on an extra cushion (total of three or four!)

If you can live with the discomfort for a few more years, there are some very interesting advances in the field of artificial tissue scaffolding that may make it possible to regrow cartilage. (See this article for example.)

Cheers
Bernie
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