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[QUOTE="Doctor Hoop, post: 3638267, member: 6845"]
Thanks to [USER=1414]@HuskyHawk[/USER] for tagging me.  So, here's the deal.

Meniscus tears VERY rarely heal on their own; MCL tears almost always do.  If you do PT for a meniscus tear what you are shooting for is to avoid surgery by having the knee become asymptomatic, not for the tear to heal as if it were never torn.

So at this point, 5 months post injury, it's likely that's the only ongoing problem.  And if it's still symptomatic I'd be talking to my patient about scoping the knee.  At age 64 it's not likely a "repairable" tear, that is, the doc wouldn't be putting stitches in it to get it to heal.  They'd most likely be removing the torn portions, preserving as much meniscus as possible, and cleaning up any other issues they encounter while there, such as small areas of joint cartilage damage.

The good news with that is that you can walk on it right away, and be off crutches as soon as you feel comfortable doing so.  Early weight bearing and early range of motion - treating the knee like a normal knee - is best.  There's a low but present risk of blood clots (DVT) and infection.

Now, if the MCL needs to be repaired or reconstructed ... :eek:
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