In serious cases, it can develop into long-term knee problems, like arthritis. In addition moving around with a torn meniscus could pull fragments of the cartilage into the joint causing larger knee issues which could requiring more significant surgery in the future.
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.
What type of meniscus tear is the worst? Bucket-handle meniscus tears are the most serious type of meniscus injury. They often occur alongside a ligament injury. Bucket-handle tears require prompt surgery in order to have the best possible chance of recovery.
Many people with a torn meniscus choose surgery because the injured cartilage can make the knee unstable (buckle and give way), cause pain and swelling or cause the knee to “lock-up” or become “stuck.”
A tear is usually labeled as severe if the meniscus has a big tear. Loose pieces may cause the knee joint to lock or catch. This level of injury may also keep you from bending or straightening your leg and can make walking difficult. Severe tears usually require surgery to repair.
Small tears often heal on their own, while others may require arthroscopic surgery. Most people fully recover from a torn meniscus and can get back to doing their favorite activities without knee pain.
Left untreated, a meniscus tear can limit your daily life and ability to participate in exercise and sports. In serious cases, it can develop into long-term knee problems, like arthritis.
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.
In most patients, meniscus tear repair is preferred over meniscus removal. That's because studies have shown when the meniscus is repaired and preserved, patients tend to experience better overall healing and better long-term joint function.
How soon you can return to work depends on your job. If you sit at work, you may be able to go back in 1 to 2 weeks. But if you are on your feet at work, it may take 4 to 6 weeks. If you are very physically active in your job, it may take 3 to 6 months.
Many ACL tears we see only have problems ascending stairs, jogging, or walking downhill but can walk up hills and on flat roads without an increase in pain. A meniscus tear, on the other hand, will cause fairly severe pain even just standing on it.
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 buckle without warning.
A meniscal repair will help reduce the effects of osteoarthritis because the damaged cartilage is repaired and saved versus being removed. An ACL may possibly have the least long term effects. Some patients may have decreased strength of the operated side and increased patellar tendinitis.
Arthroscopic meniscus repair is moderately painful. Because more soft tissue surgery is performed, it is more painful than a standard arthroscopy, but less painful than a ligament reconstruction or another procedure that requires drilling holes through the bone.
Avoid activities that aggravate your knee pain, especially any activity that causes you to twist, rotate or pivot your knee. If your pain is severe, using crutches can take pressure off your knee and promote healing. Ice. Ice can reduce knee pain and swelling.
Frequently surgeons perform meniscal repair surgeries within a few weeks of a patient's injury. One, these tears often occur concurrently with ACL tears, so surgeons perform meniscal repair at the same time as the ACL reconstruction.
Knees with known meniscal injury have accelerated cartilage wear, leading to early onset of osteoarthritis. Studies report that meniscus tears can lead to osteoarthritis of the knee, and conversely, OA of the knee can cause degenerative meniscus tears.
Without a meniscus, you might gradually develop knee pain and arthritis of your joint. Replacing your meniscus may provide significant pain relief. It may also help prevent arthritis in your joint. This can develop when your cartilage becomes frayed and rough.
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]. This is also thought to increase the risk of arthritis.
Most meniscal tears improve with time and physiotherapy. Physiotherapy will include load modification e.g. reducing your running and walking and reduction or avoidance of the movements and activities that make your pain or swelling worse. This advice will also be accompanied with a comprehensive exercise programme.
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.
Range of motion may be limited due to pain, swelling, and/or mechanical limits from the tear. Daily activities such as walking up and down the stairs, walking down a hill, kneeling, and squatting are often made difficult due to increased pain in the knee.
Meniscus tears, indicated by MRI, are classified in three grades. Grades 1 and 2 are not considered serious. They may not even be apparent with an arthroscopic examination. Grade 3 is a true meniscus tear and an arthroscope is close to 100 percent accurate in diagnosing this tear.
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.
Many meniscal tears are small and will not become symptomatic. Tears that are big enough to cause symptoms can be treated non-operatively especially in older individuals. A course of activity modification followed by therapy and a gradual return to sports is successful in approximately 50 percent of these individuals.