Your torn meniscus and mine

I have a “shredded” meniscus. (The meniscus is the cartilage in your knee that serves as a shock absorber in your kneed.) I’d been having pain when I bent my knee certain ways. My chiropractor said my tibia and fibula were misaligned. He would re-align the bones, but it made no difference. I finally had an MRI, which showed the meniscus tears. In my case, the pain was caused by the fluid that accumulates as a result of the irritation and inflammation.

My treatment, so far, has been cortisone shots to the knee—two of them, three months apart. They have helped quite a bit. The orthopedic surgeon who treated me believes surgery is a better solution. I question that. 

At least five different high-quality randomized controlled trials show that meniscus surgery is next to useless. Nevertheless, about 400,000 middle-aged and older Americans a year have it. The thing is, there is no clear relationship between knee pain and meniscus tears. In fact, most people over forty have a meniscus tear and most do not have pain. I’m pretty sure my left knee, which doesn’t hurt, is probably just as bad. When people undergo the surgery and report feeling better, the result is due to the placebo effect.

When I suggested to my doc that he drain the fluid, he said it would just come back. I think he's right about that. But I could do it myself! I have discovered, on YouTube, people who do such things--stick themselves with needles to drain the fluid! One man, who has had his knee drained twice by a doctor, starts with three shots of tequila. See for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPhBE1bscpE  I recommend skipping the tequila-drinking portion. Actually, you might want to skip the whole thing. EEEW!

My knee pain isn’t all that bad and it doesn’t hurt to walk. For me, it helps to know what was causing the problem.

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