Rehabilitation Following Meniscus Repair

Abstract

Comprehensive, individualized rehabilitation after meniscal repair is imperative to maximize function and return each patient to his or her prior level of function. Rehabilitation can be divided into time-based phases, each with distinct goals and objectives, while respecting tissue healing. Rehabilitation phases are simultaneously considered criteria based, which allows each patient’s program to be individualized to his or her needs and rate of progress. With all patients, avoidance of active hamstring contraction is paramount, especially in the case of medial meniscal repair. Potential tensile forces are applied to the meniscal repair with hamstring firing due to the intimate insertion of the semimembranosus onto the posterior medial joint. As with all surgical interventions, patients who have undergone concurrent procedures should be progressed per the most restrictive protocol, and all patients should be carefully monitored for concerning symptoms or “red flags.”