Several years ago I tore the meniscus in my left knee. I’m not an athlete but I know exactly when and how my torn meniscus happened because I was doing something stupid. I needed to put a box on top of a large stack of boxes piled on top of a desk. The pile was out of reach from the floor, so obviously I needed to be on the desk. Instead of taking a few seconds to get a step stool, I put my left foot on top of the desk, pushed off with my right, and used my left leg to lever myself the rest of the way up.

Halfway up I heard and felt a pop in my left knee. Oddly, I also felt a strange rippling sensation on the right side of the knee joint. Referring to the illustration, the medial meniscus is on the right side and I presume that is the one that tore. There was no immediate pain and I had no trouble finishing the motion and putting the box on the stack. I was much more cautious climbing down.

Within a few minutes I noticed my knee starting to get a bit stiff. Within half an hour it was visibly swollen. Walking became progressively more uncomfortable and difficult. Once I managed to get home I applied the standard RICE therapy: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

This torn meniscus event certainly put a crimp into my mobility for the next several weeks. I virtually stopped all my daily exercises except for a light, upper body workout. Daily walks were out and just getting around the house became moderately challenging, especially stairs.

But I stuck with the RICE treatment and then added heat after the swelling lessened. Movement became easier and I gradually felt improvements in the joint. The one action that I am convinced helped greatly was doubling up on my dose of the Dr David Williams joint formula.

Several months after this injury I saw my physician and told him the story. He is the one who named the injury as a torn meniscus. Before that I only knew that I had injured my knee. After examining the joint, he said it was fully healed and that I had no restrictions on activity.

My only regret is that I did not know about these amazing exercises for knee injuries. If I had known then what I know now, I am sure my knees would have been fully healed and even stronger than before the tear.