Meniscus
Posted: May 27 2023 8:08 am
About two weeks ago I sprained/strained my left knee when I went off trail. It let me know an hour later while hiking downhill.
It only occurred to me last night to do some research about what I might have damaged. From what I can tell, I had an inflamed meniscus.
(Conventional Wisdom says that when you step downhill, you're putting 5-7x load on your knee. That would explain why it was tender walking downhill.)
It hadn't swelled up (that I could see) and I was wearing a knee brace at the time. So my knee was already stabilized, but I didn't ice it. After that, rest seems to be the number 1 remedy. Which I've been doing.
Today I went for a short hike (an hour, 1.5 miles) with 20 lbs on my back. A little bit of down. Seems fine so far. (No pain.)
It only occurred to me last night to do some research about what I might have damaged. From what I can tell, I had an inflamed meniscus.
(Conventional Wisdom says that when you step downhill, you're putting 5-7x load on your knee. That would explain why it was tender walking downhill.)
It hadn't swelled up (that I could see) and I was wearing a knee brace at the time. So my knee was already stabilized, but I didn't ice it. After that, rest seems to be the number 1 remedy. Which I've been doing.
Today I went for a short hike (an hour, 1.5 miles) with 20 lbs on my back. A little bit of down. Seems fine so far. (No pain.)