strained/slight tear

Hi there; Wondering if I can get some advice on my knee sprain. About 3 weeks ago thought I would hang out with a younger lifter who urged me to try some oly lifting. On the catch phase of a badly executed snatch I felt a strain in my right knee. I do not practice the snatch....ever.
Just turned 56 and although look and feel younger than my age(mostly due to Starting Strength) I just stick to my SS lifts. No pop was heard....just tightness after in the knee. Have been able to walk on it from day one....tightness has gone down. Initially felt unstable and some aching...tightness in the knee. Outside of knee feels somewhat unstable. Last week or so have been doing box sqauts with body weight. Feels better...not 100% however...
Physio said I strained LCL and lateral meniscus, but that it was only a level 1 tear. He said keep strengthening doing wall holds, lunges...etc. Also to stretch everyday.
Seems to be getting better...physio said 6 weeks is a good benchmark to wait before I start putting a barbell on my back. I tried to tell him about SS and that I do not oly lift...he could not understand and thinks I want to oly lift again!!
I am 33 weeks in to recovery..should I wait 3 more weeks to start with lowbar sqauts and my other SS training?

Thank you
PS I am up here in Canada!

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Originally Posted by Tom Cashmore

Hi there; Wondering if I can get some advice on my knee sprain. About 3 weeks ago thought I would hang out with a younger lifter who urged me to try some oly lifting. On the catch phase of a badly executed snatch I felt a strain in my right knee. I do not practice the snatch....ever.
Just turned 56 and although look and feel younger than my age(mostly due to Starting Strength) I just stick to my SS lifts. No pop was heard....just tightness after in the knee. Have been able to walk on it from day one....tightness has gone down. Initially felt unstable and some aching...tightness in the knee. Outside of knee feels somewhat unstable. Last week or so have been doing box sqauts with body weight. Feels better...not 100% however...
Physio said I strained LCL and lateral meniscus, but that it was only a level 1 tear. He said keep strengthening doing wall holds, lunges...etc. Also to stretch everyday.
Seems to be getting better...physio said 6 weeks is a good benchmark to wait before I start putting a barbell on my back. I tried to tell him about SS and that I do not oly lift...he could not understand and thinks I want to oly lift again!!
I am 33 weeks in to recovery..should I wait 3 more weeks to start with lowbar sqauts and my other SS training?

Thank you
PS I am up here in Canada!

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Let’s just break down this particular physio’s prescribed treatment plan, shall we? You are 56, and presumably stronger than the average 56 year old due to your insistence on dinking around with Oly lifts. So, for a stronger than normal 56 year old man, we are going to “strengthen” his knee with isometric wall sits, unloaded lunges, and even more of a preposterous proposal: physio diagnosed you with a mild strain (overly stretched LCL) and they are having you stretch every day....

Interesting. So, will either wall sits or lunges provide you with a strengthening benefit? Further, will either of these movements create a load on the LCL to cause it to adapt and improve the remodeling process? If the answer to both of these questions is “no”, I think you have to consider that this physio is performing their profession as a “paint by number” and does not actually analyze their own interventions. Finally, I have to ask if stretching either provides a therapeutic effect on an injured ligament or if the injury itself caused an adaptive shortening of musculature around the hip or knee that now needs to be adaptively lengthened.

See what I am getting at here? It is almost entirely the case that your physio honestly either doesn’t know, or more insidiously, does not care to understand the application of their profession. It is far easier to spout dogma than it is to become a master of your trade. Dogma goes down so easy for a whole lot of patients.

Thanks for getting back to me...I would like to ask you simply then...can I... should I start back to regular SS squats and deads? I am not doing the physio guys recommended stretching or daily wall holds. They were not helping...I have been doing box sqauts with just body weight and other lifts of SS. From your previous answer it seems that you would be in favor of lifting through the injury? Iam just wondering if it is safe? Will it help? Is is going to strengthen the knee joint surrounding tissue without causing more damage to the meniscus? Since getting into SS some years ago I learned so much about how the back and back pain is greatly benefited through strength. As the knee is a moving joint constantly under load walking etc....is it different in terms of its response to squats and deads? Its driving me nuts not doing the lower body lifts with some weight. Do I lift through some pain? Have you worked with other lifters under your care lifting through a meniscus tear? Thanks so much for all you do.

How are things now a couple of weeks later? What did you do? I am asking because I am experiencing a similar thing. I am an intermediate lifter, 41 years old, with a background in sports, particularly soccer and boxing. I injured my knee twice to the extent where I had to do surgery (ACL and meniscus). Last week I did a heavy squat day and while I did not particularly feel a pop or distinct pain during the day, the knee felt sore later that same night. The next day it was stiff as hell and it got worse for a day or two. I have been able to walk and certain movements feel fine where I can put a lot of wight on it, however its unstable with pain on the "inside" of the knee. It reminds me a lot of my last meniscus tear with the exception that this time I don't have that locking issue that I had before doing surgery. Its also been getting a bit better I think. Pain is still there and it gets really stiff if I sit down for prolonged times.

I just want to get back to squatting and deadlifting asap but it also feels important to know how to approach a rehab of the meniscus. My plan now is to start doing pin squats above parallel and gradually move down. See where that gets me. Then fingers crossed for deadlifts just working. If not Ill do some RDL for stiff-leg DL for a while. If you found that you could continue working out it would be encouraging, but also good to know If it didn't work at all.

Hope things are better for you!

I have been through similar issues. LCL minor tear, sporting fall and undiagnosed knee issue, sciatica from compensating with bad squat technique, meniscus injury. All injuries derived from other sporting activities not directly from weights.

Every time rehab is a linear progression. Yes the knee hurts during/afterwards - that is the stress/recovery/adaptation cycle in action. Sometimes the LP needs to be very slow because some of these tissues don't heal as quickly as muscle grows. Make sure you have a thorough warm up, use a knee sleeve during exercise, and ice afterwards.

For meniscus I first did a progression to get to depth (much like described for a very overweight lifter that cant do a full squat), then starting from the bar building 5lbs a workout. That may sound conservative, but its a heck of a lot more aggressive than physio prescription.