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Menisus - pain, anti-inflammatory medication, and exercise (NSAIDs - Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can be used if required to help manage your pain. The use of ultrasound in conjunction with NSAIDs can greatly improve the effect of this medication and can help to heal your meniscus injury quicker. However, NSAIDS aren't recommended for long term use, as they can cause gastrointestinal difficulties, trigger other side effects and even inhibit the body's natural ability to heal itself. Some health professionals have also recommended natural supplements such as Glucosamine, MSM, Chondritin, or Hyaluronic Acid to help strengthen your injured tissue. Once the initial inflammation has decreased, you can provide pain relief and improve your knee function by alternating a cold and hot compress to increase the blood flow to the area. Gentle massage around the injured knee area or small flexing or extending knee movements (if not painful) will also help increase blood flow, oxygen, nutrients, and will prevent stiffness.  To increase your comfort and prevent further damage you may want to use a compression or stability knee brace, which will help support the area and reduce stress on the injured tissue. These braces can be used until the injury is gone or during contact/active sports for additional stability. However, they should not be worn at all times, as they can limit muscle development, cut off circulation and impede healing of your muscle tissue. If pain and inflammation persist, you can see your physician to investigate cortisone/steroid injections or topical medications, which may help reduce swelling and inflammation. However, these should be used with caution and never in conjunction with ultrasound therapy. Physical Therapy is a beneficial way to help decrease pain in the soft tissues, restore atrophied muscles and improve knee and leg strength and mobility. The type of physical therapy and the duration will be dependent on the extent of your meniscus injury. Once your pain starts to diminish, a physiotherapist will also set up an individualized knee and leg strengthening and stretching exercise program for you to perform at home or in the gym. This will be based on your needs and abilities, and will help you return to performing your normal routines. Individuals will often exercise or lift weights on their own to try and build up their strength; however in doing so, they can do more damage. It is extremely important to strengthen your muscles properly, as they may have weakened during the period of non-use. A trained therapist will help to ensure your rehabilitation process is effective. For best, long-term results use ultrasound in conjunction with physical therapy and an exercise program. 
Rehabilitation for meniscus injuries that receive conservative treatments often adhere to the timeframe noted below, however they are specific to the individual:
 Evaluate how you use your knee in daily activities to determine if you can decrease stress on the injured tissue. This may involve changing your technique, using correct or supportive equipment (proper shoes, knee braces) and/or implementing ergonomically-sound structures to help you perform your tasks more effectively and safely (prevent you from squatting or bending your knee as much). Taking more frequent breaks during your work or activities can also alleviate stress on your knee joint. Speak with a professional in the specific activity or work setting to get the proper information. Your progress will be observed for approximately 2 - 3 months; if no symptoms are experienced after this time, no surgery is generally required. BFST™ - Using Your Body's Natural Healing System Your body can heal itself! In fact, your body starts healing itself the moment you are injured and it's the blood in your body that makes it all happen. Your blood is the transport mechanism for everything that is good inside you. It carries oxygen, nutrients, water and antibodies. Proper blood flow is essential to healing. Unfortunately, when you injure your body you stop moving and the swelling sets in. That means your vital blood flow can be reduced to a trickle! If you want to heal quickly, you need to keep your blood moving and that's where Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™, or BFST™, comes in. Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™ promotes the flow of blood through the injured area without the need to exercise your already damaged tissue. You can really feel it work. Within moments of applying an Inferno Wrap™ you can feel the healing sensation and the increase in blood flow. During a treatment, and for quite some time after you finish, your injured area will experience increased blood flow even though your body is at rest. It's a soothing sensation and extremely effective. With BFST™ your injury is constantly being fed with healing, nutritious, oxygen and energy filled blood. This is exactly what your body needs to heal. How An Inferno Wrap™ Works
Inferno Wraps™ have been specifically designed for the treatment of deep, soft tissue injury. Inferno Wraps contain a patented Energy Web™ which is flexible and shaped to conform to your body. This Energy Web™ emits a uniform wave of perfectly safe electro-magnetic energy over its entire surface. This energy travels deep inside your body and stimulates the blood flow needed to heal your injury.  Our Cold Compression Wraps are recommended by countless medical professionals. That's why we sell them, because they are the best. We have noticed over time that our customers are so fond of our cold wraps that they are frequently coming back and ordering a second one. The wraps are becoming very popular with baseball and soccer trainers, and the wraps can be conveniently stored in a cooler for quick application on the field when needed.  Ultrasound therapy is also a helpful tool for pain prevention of knee injuires, and having a portable ultrasound device at home can be a powerful and convenient treatment tool. If you have symptoms or are recovering from a knee related injury, using ultrasound on a regular basis before your activity or throughout the day will help relax your muscles, tendons and tissues, diminish pain and inflammation, soften scar tissue and contribute greatly to the healing of your injury.  If you suffer from mild inflammation or pain after certain activities or movements use ultrasound therapy when you complete the activity and then rest and elevate your area of injury. Limit the application of ultrasound to a couple of treatments per day (the manual will recommend treatment frequency depending upon the injury). In between ultrasound treatments, maximize your pain relief and injury recovery by using an Inferno™ Personal Therapy System. Proven Performance, Proven Relief - only found at MendMeShop.com. If you have been given a treatment plan by your health professional, make sure you adhere to it to ensure pain free living. In general, people who are committed to their therapies and exercises will have the best medical outcomes.
| Dear MendMeShop, I am a 44 year-old woman in good health. I eat a fresh diet and take high-quality supplements, including MSM, glucosamine, Zyflamend, and all the usual joint-recomended supplements. I injured both knees two years ago while kneeling to tile my family room and entry. Subsequently, a simple twisting squat ripped my left meniscus with a huge bucket tear that required surgery to trim so it wouldn't keep catching and re-tearing. I am not one to undergo surgery unless it is unavoidable, and even after a "simple" scope operation, it took me a full year to get full extension back on that knee, and I doubt I will ever be able to squat again. I run a cleaning business. A couple of months ago an employee had forgotten to return equipment to my van, and I had to mop some hardwood flooring for a client on my hands and knees. That simple ten-minute job put me back out of commission. The kneeling pre-injured the area, and when I stepped back onto my good leg two days later, I felt that familiar burn of a fresh meniscus tear. I was heartsick, dreading another surgery and the attendant expense, pain, and down time. I know from my previous experience that cartilage is hard to heal because of the poor blood supply, especially to the center. I knew it was just a matter of time before I tore it further. (My dad had multiple knee scopes before finally getting a replacement, but I was not going down that path if I could help it!) I got online and researched alternatives that would get me back on my feet. Delighted to discover Mend Me Shop and their professional athletic healing devices, I ordered the Inferno Wrap, Ice Wrap, and Ultrasound immediately. $400 would be a pittance relative to the $13,000 it costs to repair a torn meniscus (and that doesn't include rehab and lost income). During the week it took the package to arrive, I stayed off my feet as much as possible and iced the injured knee several times a day. My big hope was simply to avoid tearing the cartilage further before the stuff came. (With my surgery knee, I had re-torn it repeatedly before surgery.) The minute that I put that Inferno wrap around my bad knee, I was in love! The penetrating warmth felt amazing. I kept it by my desk and strapped it on when I would sit and work at the computer. The ultrasound I believed in because of the help it gave me in therapy for a shoulder injury, and this US device worked just like the one used on me in therapy. Every time I used it before bed, I awoke feeling so good I had to remind myself I had an injury and to be careful. And I kept icing the knee. Within two weeks I was walking evenly on both legs, if gingerly lest I inadvertently twist or bounce. But I was definitely healing. I didn't miss any work after the first week, though I moved more slowly than usual and occasionally felt that piercing reminder of the tear. I had to lie down and elevate my knee every two hours to get through the day, but it was slowly healing. Four weeks later I was feeling so good, and the day was so sunny, that I went skipping off the front porch and was reminded I have a torn meniscus! And so it goes to this day, some six weeks later: the injury is there, but it is gradually improving. The more I use the therapy devices, the faster it improves. The more I get lazy and feel perfect and neglect them, the more I slow down. But I work a full schedule without breaks and only occasionally am reminded of the injury. By God's grace and with many thanks to Mend Me Shop, I have avoided surgery! I have to say, too, how much the whole family has made use of the ultrasound unit. I have used it on my bad shoulder, wrists, my daughter's scapula -- whatever needs healing. It brings instant relief that lasts a good 24 hours. I love having in-home access to this equipment. It payed for itself in only three or four uses and will serve us well for years to come with our active lifestyles. A single ten-minute session with the physical therapist costs $180 ($50 out of pocket) -- and that is if she decides to treat that way and the doctor continues to prescribe treatment! I so prefer to take charge of my own health. Gratefully yours, Debbie Morgan Rating: Debbie Morgan           | ||||
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