In these cases, the treatment plan is different. Typically, your orthopedist will treat your torn meniscus, if needed, at the same time that ACL surgery is done. In this case, the ACL rehab plan is followed. Meniscal transplant is an experimental treatment for meniscal tears. It might be a good option for a meniscus that is already weakened or scarred due to previous injury or treatment. In this surgical procedure, a piece of meniscus cartilage from a donor allograft is transplanted into the knee.
If you have recently injured your knee, follow these first-aid steps to reduce pain and swelling:. If the tear is minor and your symptoms go away, your doctor may recommend a set of exercises to build up your quadriceps and hamstring muscles and increase your flexibility.
It's important to follow your doctor's guidance to avoid a new or repeat injury. Your recovery time after surgery will depend on many things, including the injury and the type of surgery you have. Blahd Jr. Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: William H. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use.
Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Updated visitor guidelines. You are here Home » Meniscus Tear.
Top of the page. Topic Overview What is a meniscus tear? What causes a meniscus tear? What are the symptoms? There are three types of meniscus tears. Each has its own set of symptoms. How is a meniscus tear diagnosed? How is it treated? Treatment may include: Rest, ice, wrapping the knee with an elastic bandage, and propping up the leg on pillows.
Physical therapy. Surgery to repair the meniscus. Surgery to remove part of the meniscus. Health Tools Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health. Decision Points focus on key medical care decisions that are important to many health problems.
Actionsets are designed to help people take an active role in managing a health condition. Meniscus Tear: Rehabilitation Exercises. Symptoms Symptoms of a meniscus tear depend on the size and location of the tear and whether other knee injuries occurred along with it. Exams and Tests 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. Treatment Overview There are many things to consider when deciding how to treat your torn meniscus, including the extent and location of the tear, your pain level, your age and activity level, your doctor's preference, and when the injury occurred.
Your treatment choices are: Nonsurgical treatment with rest, ice, compression, elevation, and physical therapy. This may include wearing a temporary knee brace. Surgical repair to sew the tear together. Partial meniscectomy , which is surgery to remove the torn section. Total meniscectomy , which is surgery to remove the entire meniscus. This is generally avoided, because this option increases the risk for osteoarthritis in the knee.
Tears at the outer edge of the meniscus red zone tend to heal well because there is good blood supply. Minor tears may heal on their own with a brace and a period of rest. If they do not heal or if repair is deemed necessary, the tear can be sewn together.
This repair is usually successful in the red zone. The inner two-thirds white zone of the meniscus does not have a good blood supply, so it does not heal well either on its own or after repair. If torn pieces float into the joint space, which may result in a "locked" knee or cause other symptoms, the torn portion is removed partial meniscectomy and the edges of the remaining meniscus are shaved to make the meniscus smooth.
When the tear extends from the red zone into the white zone, there may be enough blood supply for healing. The tear may be repaired or removed.
This is something the orthopedic surgeon decides during the surgery. For some exercises you can do at home with your doctor's approval , see: Meniscus Tear: Rehabilitation Exercises. To be eligible for meniscal transplantation, a person: Should be younger than age The subchondroplasty procedure is done by injection calcium in gel form into the swollen bone. In time the calcium solidifies and helps to support the bone under the meniscus tear and arthritis.
This about this like adding rebar to concrete foundations. The rebar allows the concrete to accept a greater amount of force before cracking. If the MRI shows a lot of edema and if the meniscus tear was acute I may offer the patient arthroscopy for the meniscus tear, chondroplasty for the worn out cartilage and subchondroplasty for the bone edema.
After surgery it is important that the knee be unloaded by using crutches for 6 weeks. These are very difficult cases to manage because the existance of arthritis makes the results less predictable. When the meniscus tear is treated with arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, aka trimming, the loose torn fragments are removed.
The normal meniscus tissue which is not torn is left alone. The torn meniscus does not regenerate; therefore, the torn area that gets trimmed will remain without meniscus tissue forever.
There has been one recent study looking at the effects of adult stem cell treatment after arthroscopic meniscectomy Vangsness et al. The researchers found that stem cells did not regenerate the torn meniscus but it did help with post operative recovery and pain. If a tear is repairable, sutures will be used to mend the tear.
In rare cases the tear is so large that the removing the torn pieces with surgery does not relieve all the pain; or perhaps it relieves pain only for a short period. In these cases, the late development of pain is usually due to the increased pressure on the joint surface and future development of degeneration, a. It is thought that the larger the meniscus tear, the greater the risk of developing post meniscus tear arthritis. It will however take a few years to develop arthritis following a large meniscus tear.
Therefore it is important to know the details of the surgery so that you can take measures to slow the progress of the degeneration. This can be done by maintaining an optimal weight, focusing on flexibility of the joint stretching , injection of Hyaluronate, unloading knee braces and avoiding high contact activities.
Fortunately the majority of meniscus tears respond successfully to arthroscopy partial meniscectory or repair. The take home message is that the smaller your tear the greater chance of not requiring surgery. In addition, if the tear is relatively small and there is no arthritis your chance of a good result is high.
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. Even kneeling, deep squatting or lifting something heavy can sometimes lead to a torn meniscus. In older adults, degenerative changes of the knee can contribute to a torn meniscus with little or no trauma.
Performing activities that involve aggressive twisting and pivoting of the knee puts you at risk of a torn meniscus. The risk is particularly high for athletes — especially those who participate in contact sports, such as football, or activities that involve pivoting, such as tennis or basketball. A torn meniscus can lead to a feeling of your knee giving way, inability to move your knee normally or persistent knee pain.
You might be more likely to develop osteoarthritis in the injured knee. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.
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