How to develop a knee after a meniscus injury

Treatment of meniscal damage is only surgical. After a meniscus or surgery, rehabilitation is necessary. The main tasks of this period are restoration of coordination of movement, mobility of the damaged joint, creation of a positive attitude, and also restoration of muscle mass and strength. So how to develop a knee after a meniscus injury?

What are the most effective methods of

After a meniscus injury, CPM therapy( continuous passive mobilization) is an effective method to develop a knee. The essence of this method is that smoothly, in a large number, cycles of flexion and extension of the joint with a given amplitude, speed and force of movements are reproduced. Now such CPM-therapy devices have been developed that the patient can easily cope with their management and can develop a knee at home.

The effectiveness of the impact of CPM-therapy is also due to the fact that an individual rehabilitation program is chosen for each patient. Such therapy will save and develop your knee joint, without forcing to feel fatigue, discomfort and pain. Another plus - the knee development session can be much longer. And then the recovery of the knee after the injury will occur faster. CPM-therapy can be started much earlier than various active exercises to restore the functions of the knee. This, in turn, reduces the risk of complications( threat of thromboembolism - blockage of the artery, the formation of blood clots in the vessels).

Therapeutic gymnastics after a meniscus injury depends on how much time passed after surgical treatment and what exercises have already been conducted. LFK( therapeutic physical culture) is a set of various methods of treatment, as well as medical rehabilitation and prevention. This method is based on the use of various physical exercises, which are specially methodically designed and selected with therapeutic and preventive purposes. The patient must be examined by a physician of physical therapy in order to select an individual training program.

Initially, prescribed restorative exercises, respiratory and minimal for the injured knee. These exercises the patient can do on his own. For example:

• sitting in bed, relax your leg muscles. Grab the hand of the patella and shift the leg in different directions( down, up, right, left).Do this slowly, without sudden movements.
• lie on your back, bend your aching leg. Bend and unbend the knee joint with the heel from the bed. The tempo is slow( up to 16 times).
• lie on the stomach and bend the injured leg in the knee, gradually overcoming the resistance of the load, the mass of which is from 1 to 4 kg. Do this 20-30 times at a slow pace.
• sit on the edge of the bed, lower your legs. Bend and unbend the diseased knee joint with a healthy leg. Exercise is slow, 10-20 times.
• sit on the edge of the bed, lower your legs. Do alternate extension and flexion of the legs in the knee joint. The pace of the exercise is average( 24-30 times).
• stand and lean against the back of the bed. Alternately lift, unbend and lower a sore leg.

These rehabilitation exercises help to improve the muscle fixation of the joint and have a preventive value.

Mechanotherapy is used later. For the development of the knee, an apparatus is used that acts on flexors and extensors of the knee joint. The patient sits on a chair. The drumstick and thigh are fixed with straps. Thigh support and chair should be on the same level. The patient extends the leg and makes active flexion, with the bent leg performs active extension. The duration of this procedure is 5-25 minutes, the weight of the load is large - at once 4 kg( you can bring it to no more than 5 kg).

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After a slight injury of the meniscus, a rapid, complete restoration of the knee joint is usually carried out. But remember that only a specialist can appoint an individual physiotherapy to the victim. It depends on the meniscus damage.

After recovery, swimming and an exercise bike are recommended. But skiing, football( where the twisting load on the knee joint) are possible after 7-8 weeks after rehabilitation.