A meniscus tear is usually caused by twisting or turning, often with the foot planted while the knee is bent. These tears can occur when you lift something heavy or play sports. As you get older, your meniscus gets worn.
This can make it tear more easily. If you are older, you may not know what you did to cause the tear. Or you may only remember feeling pain after you got up from a squatting position, for example. Pain and slight swelling are often the only symptoms. There are three types of meniscus tears, each increasing in severity. The more serious the tear, the more severe the symptoms. With a minor tear , you may have slight pain and swelling.
This usually goes away in 2 or 3 weeks. With a moderate tear , you may feel pain at the side or center of your knee. Swelling slowly gets worse over 2 or 3 days. This may make your knee feel stiff and limit how well you can bend your knee. Usually you are still able to walk. You might feel a sharp pain when you twist your knee or squat. These symptoms go away but can come back if you twist or overuse your knee.
In severe tears , pieces of the torn meniscus can move into the joint space. This can make your knee catch, pop, or lock. You may not be able to straighten it. Your knee may feel "wobbly" or buckle without warning. It may swell and become stiff right after the injury or within 2 or 3 days. When possible, it's better to fix the meniscus than to remove it. If the meniscus can be fixed, you have a lower risk of future joint problems. Your doctor will likely suggest the treatment that he or she thinks will work best for you based on where the tear is, the pattern of the tear, and how big it is.
Your age, your health, and your activity level may also affect your treatment options. In some cases, the surgeon makes the final decision during surgery, when he or she can see how strong the meniscus is, where the tear is, and how big the tear is. Some kinds of tears can't be fixed. Radial tears sometimes can be fixed, but it depends on where they are.
Most of the time, horizontal , long-standing, and degenerative tears—those caused by years of wear and tear—can't be fixed. The older you are, the less likely it is that your tear can be repaired. For these kinds of tears, you may need to have part or all of the meniscus removed. When possible, meniscus surgery is done using arthroscopy instead of open surgery. During arthroscopy, your doctor puts a lighted tube with a tiny camera—called an arthroscope, or scope—and surgical tools through small incisions.
In a young person, surgery to fix the tear may be the first choice, because it may restore use of the knee. Surgery has risks, including infection, a blood clot in the leg, damage to nerves or blood vessels, and the risks of anesthesia. After surgery you may still have pain and joint stiffness. This means that of people who have this surgery, 85 have relief from pain and can use their knee normally, while 15 do not.
Surgery to remove part of the meniscus meniscectomy is better at keeping your knee stable than surgery to remove all of the meniscus. Partial removal also allows a quicker and more complete recovery than total removal. Removing the whole meniscus typically reduces some symptoms. But losing the meniscus reduces the cushioning and stability of the joint. Most people, especially if they are young or active, are not satisfied with a total meniscectomy.
This is why surgeons try to remove as little of the meniscus as possible. This means that 78 to 88 people out of people who have this surgery have reduced symptoms and are able to return to most or all of their activities.
Small tears found at the outer edge of the meniscus often heal with rest. Instead of surgery, you may try rest, ice, compression, and elevation. You may wear a knee brace. You can try over-the-counter medicine such as ibuprofen or naproxen to help with pain and to reduce swelling. If your symptoms go away, your doctor may suggest exercises to build up your quadriceps and hamstring muscles and increase your flexibility.
It's important to follow your doctor's guidelines so that you don't hurt yourself again. These stories are based on information gathered from health professionals and consumers. They may be helpful as you make important health decisions. I've had quite a bit of pain on one side of my knee for a couple of weeks, but my symptoms have decreased.
My doctor thinks that my meniscus may be healing on its own. I'm still seeing my doctor, though, and I've started rehabilitation with a physical therapist. He's got me going through range-of-motion and knee strengthening exercises at home. I don't think I'll need surgery. A few months ago, I started having pain in my right knee when I would move it certain ways. My doctor examined my knee and asked me about my symptoms.
He diagnosed a tear in my meniscus. A follow-up MRI confirmed it. While the postoperative rehabilitation and restrictions are different between the two procedures, the goal of the surgeon is to help their patients safely get back to the activities they enjoy as soon as possible without jeopardizing the long term health and function of the knee.
An orthopedic specialist can help patients understand their situation, determine whether their meniscus tear might be reparable or not, and what recovery timeline to expect to help them get back to full function as quickly and safely as possible. Suspect a knee or meniscus problem?
Get a quick and accurate diagnosis at OrthoNebraska. Call to make an appointment or visit an orthopedic urgent care. Eric Samuelson, an orthopedic sports medicine specialist, describes how meniscus tears, one of the most common knee injuries, occur and the usual approach to treatment and recovery.
All rights reserved. Accessibility Options. Find a Doctor What Hurts? Eric Samuelson, MD. The treatment of meniscus tears usually falls into one of two categories: A true repair that involves sowing the tissue back together with stitches Damage that is not repairable, treated with partial meniscectomy, or trimming out the torn portion of the meniscus The treatment approach for a particular meniscus tear depends on many factors.
Meniscus Repair A meniscus repair is typically done with a scope small incisions for a camera and instruments to perform the repair by placing stitches, or some sort of fixation, across the meniscus tear much like one would place stitches across a cut in the skin. Your knee is not swollen or painful. Credits Current as of: November 16, Top of the page Next Section: Related Information.
Previous Section: Related Information Top of the page. Current as of: November 16, Bear weight put weight on your knee while standing or walking.
Drive, if the affected leg is to be used for gas and brake or for clutch. Many cases of a meniscus injury require surgical treatment to repair the cartilage and return stability and function to the knee joint.
If a patient underwent a surgical meniscus repair and still experiences pain and swelling, or if a patient re-tears the cartilage, a revision meniscus repair may be necessary. Matthew Provencher, Vail, Aspen, Colorado Springs and Denver, Colorado area orthopedic knee surgeon, specializes in meniscus knee revision surgery in patients requiring a second surgical procedure. Each knee joint has two menisci, the lateral meniscus located on the outside of the knee, and the medial meniscus located on the inside of the joint.
Both of these structures can become injured during a sudden twisting movement or from repetitive bending. A meniscus tear may cause prolonged knee pain and instability, requiring many patients to undergo a meniscus repair. A meniscus surgery can fail for a number of reasons, including infection, a re-tear of the meniscus, a failed original repair or from a patient not following proper rehabilitation guidelines after the initial surgery. The overall goal of a revision meniscus repair is to treat the re-tear in order to alleviate knee pain, swelling, and loss of function.
Provencher will perform a thorough medical review and physical examination to determine if a patient is an ideal candidate for a meniscus knee revision surgery. He will also perform a series of x-rays and a meniscus MRI scan to determine the possible cause of surgery failure.
Once Dr. Provencher determines the exact cause of failure, a revision meniscus surgery will be performed in ideal candidates.
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