I get the pleasure of have a meniscus tear removed (medial) in early December. Doc and I have agreed that physical therapy would be a waste of time. I can still do oly squats and actually set my PR with power squats with this rip in place. My legs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but I do get the occasional pain from the tear. PT wouldn’t really do anything for me.
I’m looking for a post surgery recovery leg program. From prior experience (I had my right knee done, same thing, a little over two years ago), I was able to retain my range of motion. My concern is with doing more than body weight in movements. Therefore, I was considering King’s Twelve Weeks of Pain, part I. I think I’m going to substitute some ham-glute raise for the leg flexions and extensions but keep the rest.
Any thoughts on using this program as a post surgery recovery?
In my experience with Meniscus tears, the best thing is to try and avoid any shear force through the knee joint. So full range exercises like squats and Lunges are the best way to minimize aggrevation and maintain strength and range.
The issue with some of the uni-lateral exercises in Ian King’s Phase 1’s is that a lot of the quad dominant exercises won’t allow for full range of motion where the hamstrings and calves make contact with each other at the end of the range of motion.
Try to avoid any situation where only partial range is achievable. As soon as you limit range at any point close to parallel depth, the femur seems shoot forward and put a lot of pressure on that meniscus.
Do a search on ‘Lunges’ in the Archives and perform stationary split squats as Poliquin and King Outline. I feel that’s the best way to start. Focus on movements that decompress the knee joint by moving through a full range of motion.