If you're stuck in the cycle of "my knee hurts, I rest it, I re-start activity, my knee hurts again" then you need to take 2 minutes and absorb this information.
You are far from alone in dealing with this type of pain. There could be a million reasons why your knee hurts, but ending the pain has one solution.
1) Find the underlying cause (hint, it's not your meniscus tear).
2) Make it behave normally again and stop hurting.
Truly it's that simple but it's not always that easy. Here's why; your knee is a strong and stable joint. There are big, strong muscles around your knee that create motion (think bending and extending your knee) and that limit motion (these same muscles working in a manner that prevents your knee from hyperextending or twisting). The problem is these muscles don't always remain balanced. On top of that, there are a lot of muscles and they create and control a lot of motions. Identifying the exact problem is impossible to guess, even though it's your own body. Let me explain a bit further.
If your inner thigh is tight and your outside hip is weak, this imbalance can limit your knee muscles ability to stabilize your knee, creating awkward and painful motion. On the surface it may not feel like your knee is twisting but the small amount of uncontrolled motion that does occur may be driving your knee pain by irritating your meniscus, MCL, IT Band, or the muscles themselves. As your knee absorbs your squat, running stride or sometimes just going down the stairs, it needs to feel like it has your body under control. If it doesn't, the pain alarm goes off and your knee let's you know it's not able to handle that motion. An imbalance = a lack of control.
The even bigger problem? As you rest, your knee gets weaker. The more you avoid the pain, the more your knee becomes unprepared to handle future stress. Hence the cycle of "knee hurts, rest it, re-start activity, knee hurts again."
If you want to know exactly what muscle imbalance is causing your knee pain, there is a simple solution readily available to you! All you need to do is call our office, schedule an hour long evaluation and come in. On day 1 you will leave with a clear understanding of why your knee hurts and a plan to fix it!
You can reach us at 469-626-7254. We hope to hear from you soon!