Meniscus injury almost 3 days ago?

Question

About 3 days ago, i was playing soccer. When I ran back to play defense, this guy was about to kick the ball so i barely jumped up hoping my leg would stop the ball. Well, he kicked it on the ground and my right leg landed on the ball. With all my body weigh on my right leg which was on an unsteady ball, i got a quick glimpse of my leg going one way while my foot stayed.

I went to the doctor and he said it could be a meniscus tear. All i had done was some x-rays, but he said after about 10 days, i'll go back to see a specialist and get a possible MRI. Then, possible surgery depending on what that shows.

The soccer season just started and i'm a senior in high school. I've been waiting 5 years for my school to get a soccer team because i love soccer. It ends i think in october... I WANT TO PLAY! Please, tell me what might happen and if you think i'll be able to play. As of right now, i don't have really any pain, just some swelling that hinders my knees full movement.

Answer 1

It depends on the extent of the damage to your meniscus.

You will most likely require surgery as its most comminly the only way to fix it. If the damage is extensive, then in surgery they will completely remove the meniscus. This will mean you will most likely have arthritis problems much later in life when you are older, but it means recovery is fairly short about 3 weeks.

If the damage is not so much it has to be completely removed then it will need to be stitched up in surgery. This makes it a lot longer recovery period. I had to wear a brace and was on crutches for 6 weeks after surgery and it will probably be another 6 weeks after that until you can play sport again.

I definitely would not reccomend you play on it in the meantime no matter how much you want to play. Its important you don't do any further damage to it because you are still young and in young people the meniscus will generally repair 100%. It is a painful and long process if they repair it but unfortunately that is the best option if it is possible in your case.

Answer 2

I would push for an earlier appointment to see an orthopedic surgeon.  I'm assuming you saw a general practitioner.  GP's have very little orthopedic training, and frankly I would not put too much faith in their assessment.  You will get a much better idea of what is wrong by seeing an orthopedic surgeon.

If you do have a meniscus tear there are a couple different routes you can take.  The first would be to delay surgery until after the season.  If you are asymptomatic with no displacement of the meniscus and full range of motion, you should be able to do this.  Secondly, you could have surgery as soon as possible.  If you have an aggressive enough surgeon and you are already in really good shape, you could return to playing in as little as 10 days following surgery.  

Make sure your orthopedic surgeon knows how much you want to play this season.  I've had athletes delay surgery before in order to get through the season.  You will just need to be honest with yourself during the season and understand that there is the possibility that you could injure your knee more.