The biggest difference between having a torn meniscus and arthritis is if the pain started over a period of time, suddenly or after an injury. Arthritis-related pain typically continues to increase over time and can't be narrowed down to a specific injury.
Symptoms
A torn meniscus tends to have a clicking and popping along with mechanical symptoms where the knee will catch. Osteoarthritis produces a dull throbbing aching pain yet has no mechanical symptoms.
McMurray's Test
Lie down on your back with your knee bent. Ask a friend to rotate your foot to the inside of your leg and slowly extend your knee. If you feel pain or an inability to do so (like there's a block) this could be a sign you have a meniscus injury.
The pain may come and go over a period of years if the tear isn't treated. Larger tears usually cause more pain and immediate swelling and stiffness. Pieces of the torn meniscus can float into the joint space. This can make the knee catch, pop, or lock.
Symptoms of a meniscus tear may be different for each person, but some of the most common symptoms are: Pain in the knee joint: usually on the inside (medial), outside (lateral) or back of the knee. Swelling. Catching or locking of the knee joint.
Continuing to walk on the affected leg can aggravate your symptoms, making pain and stiffness worse in as little as a few days. Plus, suffering a torn meniscus may also increase your risk of complications, like developing osteoarthritis in that knee.
You will have a physical examination to find out if you have a torn meniscus and to rule out other knee injuries. Your doctor will check both knees for tenderness, range of motion, and knee stability. X-rays are usually done. Based on your symptoms and the physical examination, your doctor may diagnose a meniscus tear.
Pain. A torn meniscus usually produces well-localized pain in the knee. The pain often is worse during twisting or squatting motions. Unless the torn meniscus has locked the knee, many people with a torn meniscus can walk, stand, sit, and sleep without pain.
Swelling. Catching or locking of the knee joint. Inability to fully extend or bend the knee joint. Limping.
Although knee braces do not heal or treat your meniscus tear directly, they can provide extra support and stability for your knee while your meniscus injury heals. A good brace will protect your knee and take the pressure off your meniscus, allowing it to rest.
Recovery will take about 6 to 8 weeks if your meniscus tear is treated conservatively, without surgery.
Swelling and stiffness. The feeling that your knee is giving way, locking, or catching when you bend it.
Treatments include surgically removing the damaged part of the meniscus; strengthening exercises to improve pain and function; manual therapy including massage and mobilization; acupuncture; and others. The combination of surgery and exercise therapy was long thought to be the best treatment.
Treatments for these tears begin with conservative measures and include rest, ice, compression, and elevation; medications to relieve pain; physical therapy; corticosteroid injections; and biologic injections.
Those in severe pain and for whom basic treatments don't work may be candidates for meniscus surgery. The best way to ensure that this is the right course to take is by receiving an MRI. A physician may also look at the tear with an arthroscope, a thin tool with a camera and a light at the end.
Recovery and Outlook
It takes longer for a meniscus repair to heal than a meniscectomy. Full recovery from meniscus surgery can take anywhere from six weeks to three months.
Management and Treatment
In the days following your injury, you should also follow the RICE protocol. RICE stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. Rest: Keep your weight off the injured knee as much as possible.
What happens if you leave a torn meniscus untreated? Untreated tears can progress and become worse over time. Progressive meniscus loss can increase the risk that a person will develop degenerative knee arthritis. It is important to get a diagnosis and seek treatment early.
Fully extend your leg—there should be no or little bend in your knee.
Because a torn meniscus is made of cartilage, it won't show up on X-rays. But X-rays can help rule out other problems with the knee that cause similar symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This uses a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images of both hard and soft tissues within your knee.
What does a torn meniscus feel like? Most meniscus tears lead to knee pain in the area of the tear, on the inside or outside of the knee. Swelling of the knee may also occur, as well as pain that can radiate down the leg.
A cortisone shot can help decrease the inflammation and pain caused by a torn meniscus. A cortisone shot usually does not help in healing of the meniscus and, hence, does not improve any mechanical symptoms. If a meniscus is repairable, then a cortisone shot is not preferred as it may impair healing of the meniscus.
So unfortunately, having a meniscal tear which requires surgery may raise your risk of getting arthritis later in life. It has also been shown that a knee that has undergone meniscus surgery has weaker thigh muscles and poorer quality of cartilage 4 years after the surgery [3].