Physical Therapy After Meniscus Surgery

Physical therapy after repairing a torn meniscus is important to ease your knee back to full recovery to handle daily activities. Work with your doctor to design a rehabilitation regime that includes physical therapy and home exercises.

Meniscus Tear

• A meniscus tear is a common knee joint injury that usually occurs while taking part in sports activities when the knee is twisted while it is partially flexed and the foot is firmly planted on the ground, says Yahoo! Health. The meniscus is a rubbery tissue that acts as a shock absorber between the femur and the tibia, evenly distributing the weight put upon the knee.

Postsurgery

• Immediately following surgery, your doctor may suggest that you stay immobilized for two weeks, not moving your knee more than absolutely necessary. After this two-week period, limited range of motion actions can be started to prepare your knee for your its daily workload. Activities such as running, tennis and basketball that put a high level of stress on the knee should be avoided for at least a couple months after the surgery.

Physical Therapy

• The goals of physical therapy are to improve your mobility, relieve pain and restore overall fitness of the knee. Incorporating physical therapy into you postsurgery regime is said to accelerate the rehabilitation process by immediately bringing the knee to full rang of motion and allowing it to bear weight, according to a study in The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery.

Exercises

• Some exercises to consider when trying to accelerate the healing process of a torn meniscus after surgery include quad sets, straight-leg raises, hamstring curls and shallow standing knee bends, says Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH.

  Quad sets consist of sitting on the floor with injured knee laid straight out in front of you, with the other leg laying loose. Attempt to press the back of your knee into the floor and hold for 10 seconds.

  To do straight-leg raises, take the same initial setup as in the quad sets, but after pushing the back of your knee into the floor for 10 seconds, raise your leg roughly one foot off the ground and hold for five seconds. Repeat this about a dozen times.

  Hamstring curls have you lying on your stomach with your legs extended out straight. Raise your injured leg toward your buttocks and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat this a dozen times.

  To perform shallow standing knee bends, stand straight up and, using a chair or countertop to balance yourself, slowly bend the knees and squat down, making sure your knees don't pass the plane of your toes. Hold the squatting position for two to three seconds and slowly raise yourself. Repeat a dozen times.