Symptoms of a Meniscus Sprain A meniscus sprain can still be painful and bring about swelling and stiffness. However, a strain won't limit the range of motion as much as a tear and doesn't commonly result in the knee catching or locking.
The main sign of a torn or strained meniscus is knee pain, that may be accompanied by a feeling of stiffness, swelling and trouble walking or bending the leg. Call your doctor if you have symptoms of a torn meniscus, or if your knee pain inhibits your ability to walk without pain.
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.
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.
Individuals with a meniscus tear often complain of pain along the joint line. They often have pain or weakness with bending the knee and sometimes they have a catching or locking sensation. With an acute tear, individuals may notice a lot of swelling in the knee and often report that they heard or felt a pop.
Not everyone with a meniscus tear will have severe pain. In fact, many of you may have no pain at all if you give your knee a few weeks to rest. If your pain persists despite a few weeks of rest or PT then we may consider repairing your tear.
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.
Typically, mild meniscus tears heal within two to three weeks. Symptoms of moderate meniscus tears or strains: Pain at the side or center of the knee. Stiffness.
Pain in the knee joint. Swelling. Catching or locking of the knee joint. Inability to fully extend or bend the knee joint.
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.
In the case of meniscus tears, some people think the injury will heal over time on its own. But the truth is that there are different types of meniscus tears — and some tears won't heal without treatment. If your tear is on the outer one-third of the meniscus, it may heal on its own or be repaired surgically.
Will a knee brace help a torn meniscus? Yes. 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.
Meniscus tears are the most frequently treated knee injuries. Recovery will take about 6 to 8 weeks if your meniscus tear is treated conservatively, without surgery. If your symptoms persist after 3 months or your symptoms become significant, your doctor may recommend surgery to repair the tear.
Most of the time, you can still bear weight on your leg if you have a meniscus tear — but that doesn't mean you should. Meniscus tears don't usually heal on their own. Pain, swelling, and other symptoms may continue getting worse the longer you wait to seek treatment.
Symptoms may go away but can come back from overuse or when you do activities that involve twisting. 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.
Medial meniscal root tears are associated with poor subjective knee function (24), and a relatively high proportion of these patients (31 %) require a knee replacement within five years (35), emphasising that medial root tears are part of a general degenerative process.
Symptoms of a Meniscus Tear
The classic symptom of a meniscus tear is sharp pain along the knee joint line (medial or lateral), and it worsens with motions such as deep squatting or twisting of the knee. This pain is typically intermittent and can be accompanied with swelling.
One of the main tests for meniscus tears is the McMurray test. Your doctor will bend your knee, then straighten and rotate it. This puts tension on a torn meniscus. If you have a meniscus tear, this movement may cause pain, clicking, or a clunking sensation within the joint.
Not all meniscus tears require a doctor's care. Pain and swelling that recur or don't go away are usually signs a tear is serious enough to see a doctor. Locking, or being unable to straighten or bend the knee also merits a trip to the doctor.
For lateral meniscus tears McMurray is the most sensitive, specific, and accurate test with the largest positive predictive value and likelihood ratio. For tears in anterior cruciate ligament, medial and lateral menisci, together, joint-line tenderness is the most sensitive and McMurray is the most specific.
The Childress (duck waddle) test provokes compressive force on the posterior horn of the meniscus causing pain. The Steinmann I test is carried out with the knee flexed at 90 degrees and a sudden external rotatory force is applied on the tibia to test the medial meniscus. The result is pain along the medial joint line.
Both the Thessaly test and the McMurray test are physical motions that can help your provider diagnose a torn meniscus in your knee.