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IS YOUR KNEE PAIN A TORN MENISCUS?
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Essen al for mo ility an o en o er u li e the knee joint ecomes suscep le to pro lems an injury. One type of knee injury commonly seen in an orthopae ic clinic is a meniscus tear.
The knee is ma e up of three ones the femur (thigh one) the ia (shin one) an the patella (knee cap). The meniscus is a half moon-shape we ge-like cushion that lies between the bones in your knee joint allowing your weight to be e ually istribute across the bones.
a e up of car lage the we ges not only stabili e the knee but also allow the joint to smoothly sli e an mo e in many irec ons. hen the meniscus is torn or amage you lose part of that cushioning system; your weight is no longer applie e enly across your bones so grin ing an wearing occurs as bone meets bone. er me arthri s of the knee joint e elops as the stresse bones take on more of the buren of your weight.
Meniscus tears are most commonly cause by trauma (athle c injuries) an the aging process (as we age our carlage becomes bri le.) hen the injury occurs in athletes the pa ent typically escribes a popping sensa on in his her knee when par cipa ng in a sporting e ent. Surprisingly most people are s ll able to walk a er tearing their meniscus an we o en see athletes return to the el a er this type of knee injury. The seriousness of the injury is not apparent un l later when the knee becomes in ame feels painful ght an may be uite swollen.
Treatment a er ini al injury shoul follow the formula ( est ce ompression an le a on.) f the knee reco ers fully a er treatment then no other treatment may be necessary. owe er if there are s ll problems with the knee a piece of the meniscus may be torn or loose an oa ng aroun insi e the joint causing the knee to lock slip or pop. n some cases the knee will catch or lock an the pa ent will ha e to manually manipulate the joint to straighten it. nlike the athletes ol er folks o en on t e perience trauma when they injure their meniscus. nstea the wear an tear on the joint o er the years weakens the meniscus un l one ay a egenera e tear appears. f you think you ha e a torn meniscus you shoul see your physician to ha e this e aluate further. our e am will inclu e your physician taking a careful history of your symptoms palpa ng the joint an no ng areas of ten erness. -rays an an M may also be or ere by your physician to be er isuali e what is occurring insi e your joint. f a meniscus tear oes appear on your M the ne t step is to etermine treatment an most pointe ly whether or not surgery is in icate . Some mes an in i i ual is not a goo surgical can i ate or his her meniscus tear symptoms are minimal in this case we can take a wait an see
Symptoms of a torn meniscus may inclu e (but are not limite to)
• knee pain;
• knee swelling commonly referre to as water on the knee or technically an e usion;
• hearing a popping or clicking within the knee; an approach. Surgery is sought when the nee eco es pro e a c an inter eres with ay to ay ac i es. surgery is in icate your surgeon wi reco en either a eniscus repair (repairing the tear) or a par a eniscecto y (tri ing an re o ing the torn or oose pieces o eniscus in your oint) ase on your speci c in ury. eniscus repair is an a e pt to u y restore the structure an ecause it is a ore e tensi e surgica proce ure re uires a onger reco ery. The failure rate is higher with eniscus repair ecause the elicate eniscus ssue lac s an a e uate loo supply an oes not heal well. owe er if the repair is successful the joint is healthier in the long run. hen the injure ssue has co pletely lost its loo supply or is ta ere eyon repair a par al eniscecto y is perfor e . eniscecto y uic ly relie es the ost otherso e sy pto s has a faster reco ery than eniscus repair ut ecause a por on of the nee s cushioning is re o e will not re uce the risk for further progression of arthri s. oth eniscus repair an par al meniscectomy are arthroscopic surgeries. The arthroscope gi es your surgeon a clear iew of the interior of your knee with the ene t of only a couple of small incisions (each appro imately one cen meter in length). sing ny instruments your surgeon can trim fraye areas suture tears an remo e fragments of the meniscus that ha e roken loose.
• limite mo on of the knee joint.
The outcome of the surgery epen s on se eral factors inclu ing the se erity of the par cular injury the egree of amage an associate arthri s. s men one earlier reco ery is epen ent on the type of surgery (repair ersus par al meniscectomy) but most report only nee ing a couple of ays o from work un l they are up again. owe er further reco ery an return to more aggressi e ac i es or physical labor o en takes longer an physical therapy may be bene cial for reco ering full func on of the knee in theweeks following surgery.
Please note that although arthroscopy can e ec ely treat many problems you may ha e some ac ity limita ons e en a er reco ery. return to intense physical ac ity shoul only be one un er the irec on of your surgeon.