The meniscus is a c-shaped pad of cartilage in the knee that acts as a shock absorber. Each knee has two menisci. Meniscus tears are common knee injuries. Knee arthroscopy is often used to treat meniscal tears. The menisci sit between the tibia lower leg bone and the femur thigh bone and protect the lower part of the leg from the shock created by our body weight.
The medial meniscus sits on the inside of the knee and the lateral meniscus sits on the outside of the knee. Meniscus tears usually take place when an athlete twists or turns their upper leg while their foot is planted and their knee is bent.
Occasionally menisci can develop as a block or disk shape, which is called a discoid meniscus. A discoid meniscus is more likely to tear and commonly presents in childhood. Symptoms of a meniscus tear may be different for each person, but some of the most common symptoms are:. The symptoms of a meniscus tear are similar to other medical conditions or problems.
Always see your health care provider for a diagnosis. If a meniscal tear is suspected, your orthopedist will conduct a thorough health history and evaluation of the knee and may also order X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging MRI to confirm the diagnosis and further evaluate the knee joint:. The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of tough, rubbery cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between your shinbone and thighbone. It can be torn if you suddenly twist your knee while bearing weight on it.
A torn meniscus is one of the most common knee injuries. Any activity that causes you to forcefully twist or rotate your knee, especially when putting your full weight on it, can lead to a torn meniscus. Each of your knees has two C-shaped pieces of cartilage that act like a cushion between your shinbone and your thighbone menisci. A torn meniscus causes pain, swelling and stiffness.
You also might feel a block to knee motion and have trouble extending your knee fully. Conservative treatment — such as rest, ice and medication — is sometimes enough to relieve the pain of a torn meniscus and give the injury time to heal on its own.
In other cases, however, a torn meniscus requires surgical repair. Contact your doctor if your knee is painful or swollen, or if you can't move your knee in the usual ways. A torn meniscus can result from any activity that causes you to forcefully twist or rotate your knee, such as aggressive pivoting or sudden stops and turns. Meniscus 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. With a minor tear, you may have slight pain and swelling.
This usually goes away in 2 or 3 weeks. A moderate tear can cause 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 you can bend your knee, but walking is usually possible. You might feel a sharp pain when you twist your knee or squat. These symptoms may go away in 1 or 2 weeks but can come back if you twist or overuse your knee.
The pain may come and go for years if the tear isn't treated. 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 give way without warning. It may swell and become stiff right after the injury or within 2 or 3 days.
If you are older and your meniscus is worn, you may not know what you did to cause the tear. 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. Your doctor will ask about past injuries and what you were doing when your knee started to hurt.
A physical exam will help your doctor find out if a torn meniscus is the cause of your pain. Your doctor will look at both knees and check for tenderness, range of motion , and how stable your knee is. X-rays are also usually done. You may need to meet with an orthopedic surgeon for more testing.
These tests may include an MRI , which can give a clear picture of where a tear is and how serious it is. How your doctor treats your meniscus tear depends on several things, such as the type of tear, where it is, and how serious it is. Your age and how active you are may also affect your treatment choices.
Symptoms of a meniscus tear depend on the size and location of the tear and whether other knee injuries occurred along with it. Pain can also be due to swelling and injury to surrounding tissues. With small tears, you may have minimal pain at the time of the injury.
Slight swelling often develops gradually over several days. Many times you can walk with only minimal pain, although pain increases with squatting, lifting, or rising from a seated position. These symptoms usually go away in 2 to 3 weeks although pain may recur with bending or twisting. In a typical moderate tear, you feel pain at the side or in the center of the knee, depending on where the tear is. Often, you are still able to walk. Swelling usually increases gradually over 2 to 3 days and may make the knee feel stiff and limit bending.
There is often sharp pain when twisting or squatting. Symptoms may diminish in 1 to 2 weeks but recur with activities that involve twisting or from overuse.
The pain may come and go over a period of years if left untreated. Larger tears usually cause more pain and immediate swelling and stiffness. Swelling can develop over 2 to 3 days. Pieces of the torn meniscus can float into the joint space. This can make the knee catch, pop, or lock.
You may not be able to straighten your knee. The knee can also feel "wobbly" or unstable, or give way without warning. If other injuries occurred with the meniscus tear, especially torn ligaments, you may have increased pain, swelling, a feeling that the knee is unstable, and difficulty walking.
Older people whose menisci are worn may not be able to identify a specific event that caused a tear, or they may recall symptoms developing after a minor incident such as rising from a squatting position. Pain and minimal swelling are often the only symptoms. Pain at the inside of the knee can mean there is a tear to the medial meniscus.
Pain at the outer side of the affected knee can mean there is a tear to the lateral meniscus. During an examination for a possible meniscus tear, your doctor will ask you about past injuries and what you were doing when your knee started to hurt. He or she will do an exam of both knees to evaluate tenderness, range of motion, and knee stability. An X-ray is usually done to evaluate the knee bones if there is swelling, if there is pain at a certain place point tenderness , or if you cannot put weight on your leg.
Your knee may be too painful or swollen for a full exam. In this case, your doctor may withdraw fluid from your joint and inject a numbing medicine local anesthetic into the joint.
This might relieve your pain enough that you can have an exam. Or the exam may be postponed for a week while you care for your knee at home with rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
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