Date of Award
2022
Document Type
Scholarly Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
Department
Physical Therapy
First Advisor
Halcrow, Steven
Abstract
Background and Purpose. Meniscus surgeries comprise roughly 10% to 20% of all orthopedic surgeries, or roughly 850,000 surgeries annually. This case was the evaluation of a male with a torn right lateral meniscus who started physical therapy prior to undergoing a surgical repair of his right lateral meniscus. It will be determined if physical therapy interventions can improve meniscus injury symptoms and post-surgical recovery
Case Description. The patient was a 21-year-old male with a right lateral meniscus tear. The patient presented with the classic presentation of the diagnosis: knee clicking, difficulty on deep knee bending, pain, locking in knee joint and swelling. The patient was a football player and was going through physical therapy to return to sport.
Intervention. The patient was seen roughly 3-5 times per week prior to his surgery, and 5 times per week post-surgery. Treatment’s sessions usually were 45 minutes to one-hour. Treatment interventions for the patient included warmups, exercises to improve ROM, weightbearing status, and lower extremity strength all while following his surgeon’s protocol post-op.
Outcomes. Prior to surgery the patient improved with his strength and pain limitations. Post-surgery, the patient progressed in accordance with his surgeon’s protocol, showing improvements functionally and in exercise resistance.
Discussion. It was found that conservative treatment prior to this patient’s surgery was effective on his musculoskeletal deficits, along with post-operative treatment being successful through the 6-weeks of following this patient post-surgery
Recommended Citation
Duginski, Michael, "Case Report: Pre- and Post-Surgical Physical Therapy Management of a Lateral Meniscus Tear" (2022). Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects. 786.
https://commons.und.edu/pt-grad/786