I was doing the leg press a few days ago and the first rep of my last set my knee made a noticable pop?

Question

It did not hurt, and I was able to to finish out my 10 rep set. When I got done my knee felt slightly unstable, but no pain or swelling. Now my knee pops everytime I take a step. I had a chiropractor appointment yesterday and he looked at it for me and said that the area where the pop is coming from is the lateral meniscus and it may be sprained or torn. Since there is no pain or swelling, just an uncomfortble pop when I walk, and if there is a tear does this mean it can heal on its own? Or what should I do. I have had it tightly wrapped for a few days and I have been trying to rest it as much as possible to be safe, any help would be good.

Answer 1

I have torn my meniscus in three locations on my left knee.  Trust me if you have torn it,  there would be swelling and a lot of pain.  I would think that you might have a caught tendon that keeps getting caught when you move around.  The best thing that you can do is rest and elevate the injury.  If it lasts longer then 3 months then I would go and see your doctor.  In order to determine if there could be a tear in the meniscus you will require an MRI scan.  This is assuming the the "uncomfortable pop" is more the way you feel about the noise (mentally) and physically.

Answer 2

Ditch the chiropractor and go see an orthopedist.  A popping noise is an indication of a torn meniscus.  However, so is swelling.  I've torn my lateral miniscus 3 times (twice in my right knee, once in my left).  Usually I had to get them drained because of swelling and fluid buildup.  A tear will heal on its own, however, it will be more suseptable to tearing again.  Think of a piece of paper that has already been partly torn.  It's a lot easier to tear a second time.  If you have surgery, they will trim it down so to make another smooth edge so it won't tear as easily.  If it is a bucket handle tear, they won't do anything.  Bucket handle tears are on the inside and don't endure the tension that an outside tear does.

Answer 3

If your chiropractor tested for and didn't find any major instability (that would indicate a serious torn ligament) then this probably will heal or mostly heal on its own.  If it was me, I'd get an MRI so I know exactly what is going on.  You can probably rehab this with physical therapy, but if you are an athelete you should find out the whole story so you can be sure you come back from this as strong as you were before.