Yoga for torn meniscus?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#2

Hi Annabella,

This is a very complex topic and one can go crazy with information overload and varied opinions. One of the best sites for knee problems with personal experiences of people who had surgery (and those who didn’t) is KNEEguru - knees, knee pain, knee injury, knee surgery, knee rehabilitation, knee surgeon but as I said the amount of information available there is simply too much to digest. So all I will do is to relate my experience. I want to first say that I could fix my meniscus problem WITHOUT SURGERY after listening exactly to what my Sports medicine doctor and Ortho suggested. These guys know exactly what they are talking about. All you need is some patience and to follow their instructions strictly. Yoga did play a big role in my cure as I an outlining below

I got severe knee pain after I foolishly participated in a competitive tennis tournament. The diagnosis was torn meniscus in my left knee. After an MRI the Ortho (a very senior doctor who did not seem interested in making money off an Arthroscopic surgery) suggested that I do a series of muscle strengthening exercises and if that does not fix the problem, he will do the surgery. I performed these exercises religiousy for around 6 months almost everyday alongwith some asanas (outlined below) and some self Reiki. Now I have NO PAIN in the knee. I can still play tennis after which some little pain re-appears but disappears the next morning.

The focus of exercises for the knee is on STRENGTHENING the quadriceps, inner thigh (adductor), outer thighs (abductor) and hamstrings - basically leg lifts, side lifts, ball press between the legs etc. Your doctor should be able to give you a sheet describing these exercises. Or just search on the internet. These exercises really helped me.

The asanas I did regularly were the folllowing

  1. Variation of Janu Sirsaasana without atempting to touch the head to the knee but just grabbing the foot with the opposite hand and pulling back (use a strap if needed)
  2. Supta Padangustaasana - this was really beneficial
  3. Utthita Trikonaasana
  4. Baddha Konasana

In addition I also performed deep ralaxation exercises where I focussed on sending prana to my knee. I also have training in Level 1 Reiki and I used that also on my knee. Everything put together worked for me - I can’t say what helped the most but I think Reiki had a major role since it is known that the meniscus had very little blood supply and hence healing there is slow. I believe Reiki helped with the healing of the meniscus injury.

If you have the inclinatation please try the above after consulting with your doctor. Feel free to take pain medication (because we all have a life also we need to live) - I did take them during my therapy.

Best of luck

… And yes I also took 1000 mg of glucosamine daily for 6 months on the Ortho’s suggestion

#3

Hello Annabella,
Welcome to Yoga Forums. Please use the search function with the keyword, [B]meniscus[/B]. You will pull up many posts from Mukunda Stiles, the creator of Structural Yoga Therapy, and the Yoga master for whom this site was originally created. Though it is a different injury than yours, a colleague of mine, Carrie Searles, healed her anterior cruciate injury by addressing the koshas in her treatment. She was able to forgo surgery because of the work that she did. You can find her paper here: Yogatherapycenter.org : : Sharing. I think between Mukunda’s advice found here and Carrie’s paper, you have a lot to get you started. Please feel free to contact any of us with questions you may have.

I agree that the warm arnica oil massage will be beneficial for your knee. Taking a high-quality glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate supplement will be beneficial too; start those asap.

Best wishes for your recovery,

#4

Thanks for the replies, they’re very usefull! I found the knee guru site very helpfull, as well as the article on the koshas. Are there ayurvedic therapies I can apply myself? I’ve read the article, but the ACL injury seems to be a pitta/kapha imbalance, while a torn meniscus is more of a vata imbalance (am I right…?)… I’m a vata person myself as well.

I try to rest the knee as much as possible, I massage both knees twice a day with the warming oil, and I started taking the vegan glucosamine / alchemilla as well. I also started visualisation, moving prana to the knee, deep relaxation, pranayama - since I’m not sure which asana’s I can or can’t do at the moment. I think I’m just a bit scared to try, because I don’t want to make it any worse… Which asana’s are completly save? Aside from savasana…

#5

I think what you’ve listed here sounds great for your healing, especially since it has been just a week since your injury.
I know there are Yoga therapists and Ayurvedic practioners who consider each dhatu to be of a certain dosha, and will treat according to that. I prefer to look at the injury and it’s qualities, along with other personal Ayurvedic considerations, when a deciding on care. Is the swelling a concern? then decrease kapha. is there concern over the heat or fever at the point of injury? then decrease pitta. is there trauma or confusion around the injury? then sooth vata. I think it is also important to consider the circumstances of the injury. May I ask how you incurred your injury?

If you feel you are predominately vata, or presently vata provoked, and are also scared to try something out of fear of making your injury worse, then i would try to pacify that vata provocation with more of the same gentle self care and additional rest. Your doc says 3 weeks of rest and you are fearful of causing more damage; I think you have your answer for the time being. No asana is completely safe when done too early or with a rajasic (or vata provoked) mind. I have found that it is best to wait on action while you are still discerning what is beneficial for you. You are doing such wonderful things for your knee and your sweet self already that you really don’t need anything more for now.

You didn’t mention anything about foods, but our bodies love ojas-building foods such as soaked almonds, dates, honey, kitchari, etc., especially when it is working hard to heal our tissues. Listening to mantra or singing yourself while you make your meal is another way to boost the ojas in your foods.

You are doing a very good job caring for yourself.
Blessings,

#6

Thank you so much for your answers, also for the food-suggestions! I already ate a lot of kitchari, dates, pumkin soup and drank lots and lots of yogi tea. Also, I love kirtan/mantra, so now I sing while preparing my food as well. Are there more food suggestions for injuries?
I tore the meniscus in my left knee a week ago, while I was trying to catch a bus. I was running, think I made a weird move, somehow it felt as if my lower leg was standing still while my upper leg kept running. You could hear a loud pop as well. But I guess the knee was already a bit stressed, because I already felt some pain in it the same week, while in wide-legged standing or sitting poses, as well as in squats. For a few months already I’ve been running around, trying to manage three jobs, a household and a busy social life at the same time… So I think this is actually a good thing, to learn to slow down, listen to my body…
The swelling has gone already, but it still hurts (especially while walking or bending the knee).
Thanks again…

#7

you may use the intention of healing in addition to what you are already doing

stand up and hands by your side. close your eyes and become aware of your breath

after that focus when you breath in and then when you exhale feel the energy go out of your palms, do this for a minute or more

now sit in a comfortable position and lay your hands on your knee, when you breathe out, breathe out through your palms the intention to heal your knee

how well will this work, depends on your faith and concentration, its in your hands
:slight_smile:
keep the faith and good luck
seeker

#8

Hey I tore my meniscus last year. bicycling seems to keep the pain away so try cycing. if you stop it will comeback. Pain sucks. You would think everything in the body would heal but that sneaky cartilage is the exception. good luck in healing wheter you get a surgery or heal naturally.

wish me good luck too =D.

#9

Hello,

My name is Gillian and I am searching for a good set of doctors to help my boyfriend with his torn meniscus without insisting on surgery. Quoted below, I see that yogafor bliss had a good team, seemingly in New Jersey? We are in NYC and would be very grateful if you could let us know who you used.

Thanks,
Gillian

[QUOTE=yogaforbliss;7328]Hi Annabella,

This is a very complex topic and one can go crazy with information overload and varied opinions. One of the best sites for knee problems with personal experiences of people who had surgery (and those who didn’t) is but as I said the amount of information available there is simply too much to digest. So all I will do is to relate my experience. I want to first say that I could fix my meniscus problem WITHOUT SURGERY after listening exactly to what my Sports medicine doctor and Ortho suggested. These guys know exactly what they are talking about. All you need is some patience and to follow their instructions strictly. Yoga did play a big role in my cure as I an outlining below

I got severe knee pain after I foolishly participated in a competitive tennis tournament. The diagnosis was torn meniscus in my left knee. After an MRI the Ortho (a very senior doctor who did not seem interested in making money off an Arthroscopic surgery) suggested that I do a series of muscle strengthening exercises and if that does not fix the problem, he will do the surgery. I performed these exercises religiousy for around 6 months almost everyday alongwith some asanas (outlined below) and some self Reiki. Now I have NO PAIN in the knee. I can still play tennis after which some little pain re-appears but disappears the next morning.

The focus of exercises for the knee is on STRENGTHENING the quadriceps, inner thigh (adductor), outer thighs (abductor) and hamstrings - basically leg lifts, side lifts, ball press between the legs etc. Your doctor should be able to give you a sheet describing these exercises. Or just search on the internet. These exercises really helped me.

The asanas I did regularly were the folllowing

  1. Variation of Janu Sirsaasana without atempting to touch the head to the knee but just grabbing the foot with the opposite hand and pulling back (use a strap if needed)
  2. Supta Padangustaasana - this was really beneficial
  3. Utthita Trikonaasana
  4. Baddha Konasana

In addition I also performed deep ralaxation exercises where I focussed on sending prana to my knee. I also have training in Level 1 Reiki and I used that also on my knee. Everything put together worked for me - I can’t say what helped the most but I think Reiki had a major role since it is known that the meniscus had very little blood supply and hence healing there is slow. I believe Reiki helped with the healing of the meniscus injury.

If you have the inclinatation please try the above after consulting with your doctor. Feel free to take pain medication (because we all have a life also we need to live) - I did take them during my therapy.

Best of luck[/QUOTE]

#10

Gillian,

Unfortunately what you ask for is oyxmoronic - doctors who help without surgery. The two primary components of western medicine (allopathic medicine) is medication and surgery. Diagnosis is the first portion of that process however there aren’t very many good diagnosticians around these days.

There are some who practice integrative medicine but again there are very few of those in the M.D. field. So if you’re looking for non-surgical remedies you’ll likely have to turn to physical therapists or holistic practitioners who treat the body as an organism rather than as pieces.

#11

Dear Anabelle,

I’m dealing with the same thing. Unfortunately, if you don’t have surgery you might need to rest for 4 or 5 months. This is an injury which takes several years to heal. But you can speed the recovery by resting 3 weeks, starting physical therapy, or do acupuncture first, then PT. After that you can return to yoga and it may take as long as 6 more months or more, depending on severity of tear and your age, until you have full range of motion(ie. you can do pigeon, malasana(squatting pose for those who don’t know), Janu Sirsasana, anything that pertains to severe bending of the knee. Sounds like a long time but it beats being in a walker and you are young. Most people don’t have the patience and give up and have surgery. A personal choice. My sister made that choice and 5 years later woke up with extreme pain(she was great for 5 years), and is now told she will need a new knee some day(10 years from now). Hopefully you will live a long time. You should avoid surgery if possible. After 10 months you can use a trampolene(a good one, not cheap one) to strenghten knees further. I’ve had 2 torn meniscus and I’m working on a torn meniscus myself and hope I will not regret not having surgery. It took me 4 month to realize that resting is not 1 yoga class a week and one modern dance class a week. That is not resting. The sooner you get off it the faster you will heal. Also I take vegan glucosamine religiously, 4 per day, as advised, with boswella. I don’t know if this helps. I don’t know if it works as well as other sources. My dad stopped having pain with bovine glucosamine. I hope I don’t have to take that but it may work better than mine. I hate the thought of ingesting such things. I do think it helps in the long run, this glucosamine.

#12

okay,

So how is the knee now? 2010

#13

Hi there!
Thank you all for your answers and help. I haven’t checked this forum in a while.
My knee feels SO much better. It still can be sensitive, especially in the winter, but I can practice most of my asana’s daily. I just need to be careful in poses like lotus or pigeon.
I didn’t need surgery, since the knee was improving already. I took vegan glucosamine, ate a vata-reducing diet, practiced lots of restorative poses, massaged the knee daily with warm ayurvedic oil, took arnica pills and sent positive thoughts and love toward the knee. I think this all helped to get better.

#14

I’m sorry to hear about your injury, injuries can be very frustrating

#15

Glad to hear you’ve recovered. Sounds like it it wasn’t as bad as mine. you are lucky. My first torn meniscus was similar to yours. I simply couldn’t bend it well and then I recovered after 2 years but I could still dance on it and do yoga. My left knee was so different. I am, after one year, able to dance on it but I must wear ace bandages and patella straps. I tried to do without in Flamenco last night and today I have bone on bone pain, almost like reinjury but I’m hoping not that, just minor set back. I still don’t want surgery, still scares me. And I’m not afraid of surgery, just meniscal surgery. Hard to find honest doctors without dollar signs in front of their eyes. You’d think they were waitresses trying to get the tips before the bus people steal them.

#16

Dear yogis

it is difficult making the right decision, either carrying or not the operation. I have a meniscus tear and looking at the MRT it is severe. My doctor said to wait and go through 6 months healing ( which i have been doing long sessions of yoga). That involved no lotus, just hip opening. I must say it feels better and i can even now do Pada Paschimottanasana and before it was painful! These are all signs that it is getting better. I suppose.
i heard about people doing the 3 series in Ashtanga yoga, were they had done the operation, and asanas like Marichyasana B can be possible. I think, this position of the knee is one of those things at the moment for me that seems to be really impossible.
Basically, I,m interested to know if the movement of knee done in Marichyasana B can be done by someone that had a meniscus problem. Meaning, after healing or after having the operation done.

I,m still deciding if i should do the operation or not. it was clear to me it can be dangerous not to have one because it can happen that in the later years, the possibility of an infection or arthritis can come into play.

#17

Everyone is different. It may take more than 6 months. I was told after trying to do yoga for 4 months once a week with my injured knee(my idea of resting) to stop for 4 months. Then and only then did I begin to heal. I say one should do nothing for a month, if the injury is severe, and then do physical therapy exercises, they are standard. It took me a year or a year and 1/2 before I could do a semblance of Matsyendrasana. If my knees are warm and it’s summer I can get my knee on the floor. At first and still sometimes now I’m told to straighten the knee. My response is that I amd working on range of motion. You must be patient with yourself and have faith. If you’re thinking of surgery you’re still in pain. Give it a rest. Be honest about your situation, hard as that is, and then slowly give it a go and don’t push. Gently lift the knee caps when you walk or do any pose, and in Matsyendrasana draw the bottom leg’s hip back and hug muscle to bone to protect the knee. My knees take time to warm up. Therabands, rotating the foot with it lengthwise helps find the four corners of the feet. All kinds of exercises to prepare. Go online or to a PT person.

#18

thank you for your reply torn meniscus!

I am still thinking of operation because it seems to be not clear if the knee ( since already has gone through a torn meniscus) in future, would profit from the operation. Nobody can give a certain answer and i would say, it is hard to believe the Doctors that would want to profit from it.

you are right, in the winter is hard, and in the summer it feels like a living miracle.

im glad you said its about patience and time. In the beginning, I had no idea of what that felt. Actually I think its a blessing sometimes, that my knee needs extra love and care, showing in my practice the flow of the asanas and not looking for a result, which came form the everyday sun salutation. I believe, the Every-day practice help to encourage this patience that Doctors or physiotherapist that dont practice yoga, cant logically understand.
cut out all knee involve asanas in the first 4 months its a good idea. then start slowly hip opening exercises.

would you please explain this better:
draw the bottom leg’s hip back and [B]hug muscle to bone[/B] to protect the knee. My knees take time to warm up. Therabands, [B]rotating the foot with it lengthwise[/B] helps find the four corners of the feet.

thanks again for sharing!!!

#19

Hi,

I’ll try to explain. It’s great you can do hip openers.I’ve always had tight left hip and it hurts to do normal type hip openers. Therefore, when I do them, or other stuff I do the following: Pigeon, for example, if right knee forward I hug back leg and front leg energetically towards one another. I draw my right hip back, it’s in front. The muscles are tight at this point, not loose and less likely to torque knee further.
Another example: High lunge or Virabadrasana II(easier to be in modified version). Right leg forward(for example). Hug legs energetically towards one another, lifting knee caps and/or tops of thighs, gently. Also, rather than beding the front knee(in this case the right one) draw the right hip back to deepen the bend, don’t bend that knee. Let the hip drawing back bend it. In addition, you may not be able to bend knee as fully as you once did for a while. That is for when you can bend knee more. A yoga teacher who doesn’t have this experience can never fully understand your pain. I’m older so sometimes they really don’t get it. If they are trained a certain way they may be able to offer certain good advice, not discounting their knowledge entirely. I teach also. I’m well over 40 so not only have I hurt many parts of my body(African, modern dance, yoga in Gyms at first) I’ve had to learn modifications and how to use things that could become fragile–lower back, knee, shoulder.

#20

also loola, and whoever wants to know. I didn’t have surgery and it’s taken time but I do most things, or attempt them. I couldn’t the first year or so of this injury. Most people don’t have the patience. I know someone who had her meniscus removed, she said, not sure I understand that right. she said it was flapping around. my better knee was flapping and my worse one had a knife pointing at the tissues, or whatever goes on inside there when this is happening. I let it heal naturally anyway.

#21

Tore my meniscus in my left knee in two places the osteopathic Doctor that I went to said he did not feel I needed surgery that it would basically grind itself down, but I was going to be on crutches for a couple weeks first. My Family MD agreed but he added I needed to wear a rigid knee brace which I did. Both said take it easy and do not do anything to make it worse, basically I had a year without yoga or any other exercises that stressed my knee.

I a total of 1.5 years of crutches, rigid knee brace, cane, semi rigid knee brace and limping. I am now back about 90% but any yoga or other exercise that I do that will heavily stress my knee I still wear a semi rigid knee brace, which is better than a year ago when any exercise I did required a semi rigid knee brace

So there are Western Docs out there that will work with you without surgery but they are few and far between. I was just lucky I guess.

However both of these western MDs and one OMD I know all suggested for the first few months I do pretty much nothing that will stress the knee if I can avoid it

One very important thing to remember when you are dealing with a doctor, you are paying them and they work for you, so do not be afraid to discuss or completely ignore what they are saying if you do not agree. There are a lot of doctors out there and if you look hard enough you will eventually find a good one