What's a "bucket-handle" meniscus tear?

Boy do I ever have a story about my bucket tear. I was at the gym and inbetween machines, my right knee locked up on me. At first I didn’t know if it was a tendon or ligament (it wasn’t my kneecap, which had been the case in the past). A MRI revealed a bucket tear in my meniscus. The pain had been horrendous, to say the least. I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone.

Boy do I ever have a story about my bucket tear. I was at the gym and inbetween machines, my right knee locked up on me. At first I didn’t know if it was a tendon or ligament (it wasn’t my kneecap, which had been the case in the past). A MRI revealed a bucket tear in my meniscus. The pain had been horrendous, to say the least. I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone

I hear ya bud. I had injured my knee at a grappling tournament and 8 months later I am doing the warm-up exercises before class and during a crawl/push up exercise I cringe over in pain while holding my left knee. It was not pleasant. So to make a long story short… My knee will not bend back straight and I am on crutches. Scheduled surgery for tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Unfortunate events….. was trying to get up from a squat position at an extremely hasty pace. Lost balance and yup here i am joining the bucket handle tear club…… Getting operated tomorrow wish me luck people…..

I was told by my general doctor not to bother with the surgery that goes along with the bucket handle tear. I did explain to him that I don’t know how it happen. Although I go to work out about 2 or 3 times a week. But don’t go overboard…no running, heavy lifting, etc. The Mri back in April revealed the tear and the Orthopaedic doc said definitely to get the work done on the knee. What to do.? After walking around and sometimes after working out my knee gets stiff but I am able to straighten it out? Any comments or suggestions.???

I just had the bucket tear surgery yesterday, and let me tell you, the pain is close to nothing, I already have good motion, I can bear weight onto my leg, all in all it was a good decision. The doctor said I’d be able to walk completely normally and even run in 2 weeks. GO FOR IT!

love to hear how the folks with surgery are progressing…my son (17) just did this last tuesday while wrestling and scheduled for surgery next week….as a rising senior w/ football, wrestling and lax in front of him – he is devistated….would love to know how you all are progressing..thank you

I’ve been hobbling around for five years with bucket handle tear and trying my best to stay active with baseball and golf. Constant pain and ice packs at night. At age 57 I finally had enough and agreed to sacrifice some activity for a while in order to have surgery last week. Can’t describe the difference. I’m very mobile. Still not real good with stairs. Back to walking pain free for a mile each day on the beach. Problem is..I waited too long and now have some “bone on bone” wear and probably will only get five years before a knee replacement. My advice to those out there is to get this surgery done. Get it done quickly and behave yourself post-surgery.

Guys any of you had an ACL tear before the bucket handle tear happened. i Have a torn ACL and i was running with my brace and all of a sudden my knee locked ( i couldnt bent it nor fully extend it ) it was ” the bucket handle tear ” now my knee goes back to its normal condition – and all of a sudden with out any alarm ( the miniscus gets caught in the knee space ) and the sas story happens again ” i cant bend it – fully extend it or walk right ” i wana do my operation … but i wana find time to do both at the same time and its kinda hard for me now .. anyone of you guys knows some temporary thingy that can prevent the meniscus in the bucket handle tear to get caught inside the knee

have had 2 arthroscopic surgeries, the last one bucket handle dr. said removed due to my age (52) instead of repair, I am still having loads of problems with my leg,back of knee feels weird all the time, hurts, had a lot of trouble with the foot post surgery, couldn’t walk for a while, took Voltaren helped a lot, still bothered by leg pain and I guess some fear of locking up again, not able to get back into exercising like I used to, every time I try, it begins to hurt like heck and I am losing a lot of sleep over my leg pain.I think the dr. may have screwed me up. any suggestions from anyone?

I am a college baseball player. I have been a catcher since I was like 6 and last year my knee was sore and sometimes swelled but I figured it was just wear and tear. A couple weeks later I was running a light jog in warmups and boom I went down grasping my left knee. I got an MRI a couple of weeks later and the Doc said I had a buckethandle tear in my medial meniscus. The Doc did the surgery and I dont think this is the correct term but like Stapled it together. I was on crutches with no weight on the leg for 6 weeks. Then for 4 weeks for assisted walking while I was in rehab. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. I am now catching again and everything is good.

Hey everybody.
Tore my lateral meniscus in mid Septemeber ‘08. Excruciating pain, couldn’t straighten of bare weight. Went to the ER, and was scheduled to meet with Orthopedic Surgeon. Got a little better and was able to walk around but not fully straighten. Sent for an MRI which revealed a bucket handle tear of my lateral meniscus in my left knee. Had surgery to repair the tair on October 2, and spent 6 weeks with no weight bareing. Came off crutches the other day, and am getting mobile again. Feeling pretty good; so much better than before the surgery. Recuperation is long, and physical theory is sore. Deffinitely recommend the surgery but follow the surgeone orders for post op recovery. And ice goes a very long way. Repairing a tear means longer recovery, but longer knee life. Removal of torn piece eases immediate pain and has much shorter recovery time, but will lead to very premature arthritis.

Sorry about the typo’s.
Its late

Back in February I tore my ACL wrestling day before my regional tournament.. I got it reconstructed did my rehab, was lifting and running and getting ready for wrestling season. In my training one month my leg gave out when I was jump roping on my reconstructed leg. As it turned out I had a bucket handle tear in my medial meniscus and I just got it repaired on less than a week ago. So far the pain has been less and the recovery has been much quicker by comparison. It’s been one week and I can bend it 100 degrees and can almost completely straighten it

I tore my ACL two years ago and was getting back to my regular self. Then, while wearing my brace my knee just locks, excruciating pain, can’t move it at all. I went to the doctor the next day and got an MRI which revealed the bucket handle tear and possible ACL damage. I’ve been in an immobilizer going on 2 weeks now. It is annoying but limits the pain. I was supposed to get “immediate” surgery but it keeps getting rescheduled (talk about frustrating, I guess it really isn’t that immediate!). I just wanted to get some opinions to make sure that by walking around on it I’m not doing more damage until they can finally get me in for surgery. Thanks!

My 4 yr. old daughter took off and ran away from me and wife through a parking lot so I had to chase her down. As I was running after her, I felt a pop in my right knee and kept running after her. If I didnt, who knows what might have happened to her. When I finally reached her, I felt a gush of warmth throught the knee and it swelled up quick. After a month of waiting for surgery (Kaiser!) If got a little better but no to the point where I could return to work. I’m a bell man. I just had surgery 4 days ago and my knee is still swollen but getting better. Not too much pain involved afterward just some discomfort.

Im getting an mri tomorrow but my knee will not go all the way straight no matter how hard i try it hurts pretty bad but if my knee is bent it doesnt hurt at all or if it is bent to much it hurts bad to if anyone can answer this it would be very helpful to me

I am a 30 yr old male, very active running in college approx 60 miles a week. now only 15 to 20. I am waiting on my second surgery… (on my right knee) First one was completed on my left when i was 26, both needed itdone then but the left was worse… while in recovery the doc asked if i wanted crutches or not i told him well yes dont i need them? i used the crutches to go up to my second story apartment and placed them in the closet, and never used them after. i did intense physical therapy(doing everything plus some that they told me to do.) In 4 weeks i was cleared to run again. no pain at all. but i will tell you i did at least 6 hours of work-outs a day. i built up the strength in the right but it is time. Very confident anyone doubting the surgery do it. no more middle of the night lock outs for me!!

I tore my meniscus playing volleyball back in April, but the docs thought it could handle some PT before surgery. It kept shifting out of place and so they took another look at the MRI. Then they said I tore my ACL too, so we scheduled the surgery. Anyways, when they got in there, they saw it was a bucket handle tear only but all the walking and running I had done one it shredded it to pieces, and wasn’t repairable. Surgery was a breeze though; I was walking around the next day.

I am looking at having ACL & medial meniscus repaired in a few weeks. How long will I be on crutches? My husband will have his meniscus repaired first part of April. Are we crazy?

I had acl recon and menisectomy (bucket handle tear removal) sept last year. Was on crutches for about 6 weeks, first 2 are quite painful. But I would say do it, I’m 5months post op and it feels great. I’m back cycling for half hour a day, running a bit and should be playing competitive football(uk) in sept. and I cant wait!

I original damaged my knee in 1981. Had 6 weeks in plaster, followed by physio. It took up to a year before I could kneel. About 8 years ago It did it again,then again about 4 years ago. A lot of fear had developed over time, and each time my knee locked with horrible pain it took up to 6 months to get back to normal. I used to sit cross legged on the floor, squat etc but not any more.
At no point had I been offered an MRI, Just an X Ray which showed nothing.
When my knee went again, when asleep I couldn’t believe it. I have now had an MRI and it shows a probable Bucket Handle Tear to the laterial meniscus, with the rear horn absent. 4 months on I can walk, straighten my leg and almost squat. I am due to have an arthroscopy but am frightened it may go wrong. At 52 I want to be active and just do what I used to do without the fear of it locking again,

5 and half years ago i was playing football and my knee went, i went to the hospital that day and they told me i sprained my knee, the other day my knee completely went and i had to have a MRI the results come through and ive ruptured my crucuit ligaments my lateral ligament a bucket handle tears and a ruptured cist.

came down the stairs and knee locked coudn’t bend it for three hours or more, hurt like mad, went to the doctors next week, put me on nuroxen, for two weeks, still hurts he now has put me on them for 4 weeks and given me a support bandage and codydromols. says he thinks it is a bucket tear and possible cartlidge damage. Hurts like mad for the last three days, could have cried. Don’t know what to do, any suggestions.

hello i have had a acl in the left knee (1999 pattela graft) and right knee (2002 hamstring graft) 3 weeks ago whilst running backwards and turning i heard a click/knocking noise out of my right knee and thought s**t.
i could not bend it at 1st and it became swollen.
i have had a mri and been diagnosed with the following.
bucket-handle tear of medial meniscus with displacment into intercondylar notch,large joint effusion with presumed lateral meniscal tear.
up for a op in 2 weeks any thoughts anyone. apparently depends on the tear with respect to recovery time.

I was 17 when i was hit in the knee hard playing tennis. I couldnt walk for 2 weeks Thought nothing more of it until I was 20 playing softball and then my knee locked up really bad and was tight and wouldnt extend. Had an MRI and it came back that I had completely ruptured my ACL when i was 17 and because i continued playing sport without seeking treatment i had a large bucket handle tear of the right medial meniscus. Had surgery but the could only stitch the medial miniscus was meant to go back 6 months later for a complete ACL reconstruction and didnt (biggest regret) now 2 years later I have torn the stitching from surgery of the meniscus and it is alot worse now than before.
A poor surgeons nightmare
My advice is get surgery ASAP

I’m 31 now.

I had my operation some years ago now for my bucket handle tear (3 or 4 years, I can’t remember). The operation itself was a huge relief afterwards. I walked out of the hospital unaided… didn’t even need to stay overnight (although I did have some fairly impressive opiate painkillers and the anesthetic was still in there doing it’s job to some extent).

The next day it was sore but I could walk on it and 4 days later I was back at work (a desk job, I’ll add).

I did my exercises and after about 2-3 months it was completely back to normal… I’d favored my other leg a little though so that too hurt for a while.

I have noticed pain in winter though which I was prescribed Naproxen Sodium for which helped but it’s not nice on the stomach after a few days use. I should note there is no swelling whatsoever, it’s just moderate pain with no apparent cause.

I’m going to try Nurofen Plus this winter as it’s codeine (for the pain) and ibuprofen to reduce swelling (if there is any).

If any of you are having second thoughts about the operation though, don’t… it’s better than the alternative of never knowing your knee will cause sheer agony when it does “lock”.

I have a medial meniscal bucket handle tear, and the doc said the size of it was about 3.5 cms. I’ve had the pain for over a year, but it suddenly started getting worse a couple of months ago. now i cant really run, and definitely cant crouch or kneel without my knee “catching”. Immediately after, i cant put any weight on the knee but a little self-chiro and within a couple of minutes, i m abck to normal.

Is the meniscus repair really possible for a tear of such a big dimension? I dont want to go into surgery and then when i wake up, they tell me that they had to remove the meniscus completely.

I m 22 yrs old.

tsb: if it can be repaired they will do it. If not, the only option is to remove part of it or you will suffer further tearing and it will keep catching. i am sure they will try to repair it, if so the recovery is longer – I had mine done 5 weeks ago and have had to wear a knee brace until know. If they remove part of it your recovery is much quicker but you are likely to suffer arthritis in your knee earlier in your life.

I was told that i may have a bucket handle tear on my right knee, i had a mri done and the orthopedic said there were signs of liquid and that could mean it was a tear but they couldn’t see the tear in the mri. I’m a extremely athletic and active person, i’ve been a amateur fighter since i’ve been 16 yrs old and have been brought up and raised in a healthy yoga lifestyle. I hurt it at a brazilian jiu jitsu (grappling) tournament, and now everytime i train in bjj it seems to lock up.. I work at a restaurant and walk all the time and it doesn’t effect me at all, only when i seem to train is when it would randomly lock up. I’m 20 yrs old and training is literally my life, it’s all i care about. I’m just curious of what i can do for it, i’m reading everywhere how a surgery seems to be the prevalent option and i’m just scared of it ruining my career in doing what i love to do.. I was hoping to compete in the world championships this year 8(

Any input on this is much appreciated, i’m just confused and would like to know what i could be dealing with here.

Kevin: I have been training BJJ on and off since 1994 and after several injuries throught out the years. I finaly tore my right medical meniscus on 2004. Had the surgery went through physical therapy and was able to return back to training using my brace in about a year. Keep in mind that I was 38 at the time. Now I am 42 and last Saturday I retore my right knee during training while caught in a leg lock. I am schedult for surgery on the 25th of this month. Recovery will be slow but that will not stop me from having and active life style and going for my dreams. My advice to you is to have the surgery, follow the doctor’s instructions to a ‘T’ and be patient. You will soon be on the road to recovery and back in training stronger than before. Best of luck!

I injured my knee a 6 days ago. I had already sprained it when skiing 3 years ago. I didn’t get it checked out back then as I was on holiday (mistake! should have at least got it looked at when I got home) and do don’t know exactly what I did but suspect a sprain of some sort. This time I heard a noise in my knee (crack or pop) on Thursday and then two days later on Saturday I just stood up from sitting on the ground and it went. Couldn’t weight bear, couldn’t bend – nothing! Went to A&E and a doctor said cruciate (ACL) but referred to orthopedics for today (friday) and turns out they were wrong as it is bucket handle tear. It is so comforting to read all these other stories! I am told this is a better injury to have that ACL tear or rupture. I had MRI too and am to have operation next week some time. Was scared to start with but is key hole and very reassured by doc so am now feeling confident! I am 27 and not particularly sporty (not like 60 miles a week mentioned above!). More like 20 minutes 2-3 times a week and the odd all day bike ride/surf. Didn’t think I’d get a sporting injury but guess it can happen to anyone. Need to make sure I do my exercises!

I have had three knee surgeries for lateral meniscus tears–two on the right and one on the left. All three surgeries happened in my twenties–don’t do it, I had nice run of ten years hiking, biking, and playing ultimate, but now in my mid-thirties my knees hurt all the time–basically my cartilage has been roto-rootered out of both my knees, because cautious and don’t expect the surgeon to “cure” you–I am dreading the next thirty years on these gimpy wooden knees.

on sept 10 2009 i felt my knee lock up while climbing into the back of a pickup truck on the tailgate from the ground. i had my right foot on the tailgate and my left foot on the ground .went to push off from my left foot and it locked up and it felt like my meniscus( i tore same left meniscus in 1999 so i knew the feeling) it locked up 6 more times that day and when i straightened my leg out it will unlock. i never had it do it so many times in the same day before so i was going to make appt. to have it looked at.

the next night i was at work and twisted it the wrong way and my knee gave out on me and i could not get it to “unlock”. i had mri and was told i have the bucket handle tear (didnt have bucket handle in 1999) and also hae a torn acl. i now have surgery to repair the meniscus scheduled for oct 14 and cant walk on my knee(without crutches) until then because it is so painful to put weight on my knee. was told it would take 6 months – year for full recovery for acl so probably will put that off until i can afford to be out of work that long.

Well, I had a bucket handle tear about 3 weeks ago college soccer game, it locked right away, could extend my leg more than 100 degrees. They told me it was just a MCL sprain, but after the MRI, it showed up the BHT. I had surgery on October the 7th, its been almost a week, the first 4 days i was in excrusiating pain, it was not pretty, today after 5 days of hell went to the doctor, and they drained about 50 cubic centimeters of fluids and blood out of my knee, that helped a lot, ( they shoulda done that right after surgery) causing pressure to be like no other on my knee causing the pain. Its been about 10 hours after the drainage thingy, it feels a lot better. I had about 4,5 more weeks of crutches, and then imma able to put weight on it again and I should be ready to roll in about 6 months, playing competitive soccer that is

I just had surgery on r-knee: ACL and displaced bucket handled tear of the lateral meniscus. Went well, now 3 days later it already feels better than before the opperation. This is my second surgery on this knee over the years. Get a good surgon, good prayer (makes a really difference with the pain), don’t put it off, and really follow through with the theropy. Start Slower than the trainer wants, end higher (do more reps, more often, etc). Went through 6 weeks with first opperation, years later found that good knee was 4 times stronger than my injured knee. I was having pain in both knees, both hips, and sometime both ankles — felt 80 years old. 6 weeks in the gym working on balancing the two legs I had almost no pain! sometimes no pain = lots of pain. Steady, small pain in the gym can really help. Continue theropy for a year after they say your done. — God Bless your knees.

i was playing football and my leg got stuck under me and clicked and popped. Then I later had a sack and my knee locked and I got an almost cramp like feeling in my knee. I have a bucket handle tear, getting surgery 2marro, does anybody know hwo long the recovery time is?

I tore my meniscus doing some streches after a hip hop class and right as I got on my head for a breakdancing move during a breaking session. I feel that the extending of my legs after the new stretches probably did the trick. I am getting surgery in a couple of weeks. How common is it to have your meniscus tear in the other knee (meaning, are both knees prone?) What can I do to avoid hurting the other? (Does glucosamine help?)

I am 24 years old, I rockclimb which is not that high impact on the joints. I twisted my knee almost 3 months ago tearing the medial meniscus bucket handle style.. didn’t go down but knew well and truly, at that time, something was wrong.. could not straiten the leg, nor bare weight, ended up on crutches, off work, pretty much bed bound for a few days.. within those first few days I found hot paths helped relax the leg muscles having been traumatized by the injury and loosened up a little after evry night.. each day following I could stretch the leg a little more and bare a bit more weight.

A week later, I could walk well and had no need for the crutches, however, on that same day in bed that morning, being able to bend and straiten my leg fully I rolled over and knelt on, and then felt it go again. Instinctively recognizing the same painful symptoms I felt sick in the stomach, knowing that one weeks recovery had been totally reverted, landing me in the same sad predicament from the week before.

2 months on hoping to have my arthroscopic operation this week, my movements are still restricted though I can bare all my body weight, carry some heavy things, I can’t really run nor jump.. I can ascend stairs fine, the trouble is with descending stairs and sometimes rising from sitting. I’ve since seen two orthopedic specialist and found the second opinion most valuable.. if you are uncertain with only one Dr’s opinion, or if he is vague and hurried and perhaps money hungry like in my first case.. then get a second opinion.. If only to reassure yourselves.

All the best.