What Causes a Meniscus Tear?

Meniscus tears generally fall into two groups, and the one you have shapes the treatment:

• Sudden Tears: These happen when the knee is forcefully twisted or rotated, often with the foot planted, during sports like football, basketball, soccer or skiing, or from deep squatting and heavy lifting. They are more common in younger, active people and often occur alongside other injuries, such as an ACL tear
• Degenerative Tears: These develop gradually as the meniscus weakens with age. In older adults, a tear can happen with little force, sometimes during an everyday movement like getting up from a squat. These tears are closely linked with knee osteoarthritis

A higher body weight and activities that put repeated stress on the knee can add to the wear that leads to a tear.

What Does a Meniscus Tear Feel Like?

The symptoms of a meniscus tear can come on suddenly with an injury or build gradually with a degenerative tear. Pain is usually felt along the joint line, on the inner or outer side of the knee, depending on which meniscus is torn. Common symptoms include:

• Joint Line Pain: Pain along the side of the knee, often worse with twisting, pivoting or squatting
• Swelling: Swelling that develops over a day or so after the injury
• Popping or Clicking: A popping or clicking sensation in the knee
• Catching or Locking: A feeling as if something is caught in the joint
• Limited Straightening: Difficulty fully straightening the knee, or a sense that it might give way

Please Note: A knee that locks and will not straighten, or that swells rapidly after an injury, should be evaluated promptly. A meniscus tear often occurs along with other knee injuries, such as an ACL tear, so an accurate diagnosis helps guide the right treatment.

How a Meniscus Tear Is Diagnosed

A knee specialist can often suspect a meniscus tear from your symptoms and a physical examination. Your physician will ask how the injury happened, check for tenderness along the joint line and use exam maneuvers such as the McMurray test, gently bending and rotating the knee to see if the movement reproduces your pain or a catching sensation. An MRI is the most accurate imaging test for seeing the meniscus and confirming the tear, and it also shows whether other structures, such as the ligaments or cartilage, are involved. An X-ray does not show the meniscus itself but can reveal arthritis or rule out other problems.

Meniscus Tear Treatment

Treatment depends on the type, size and location of the tear, along with your age, activity level and symptoms. Many tears, especially degenerative ones, improve with nonsurgical care, so that is usually where treatment begins.

Nonsurgical Treatment

Conservative care aims to calm the knee and rebuild its support:

• Rest and Activity Changes: Avoiding the movements that aggravate the knee
• Ice and Medication: Ice and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication for pain and swelling, with a cortisone injection in some cases
• Physical Therapy: Exercises to restore motion and strengthen the muscles that support the knee

Some tears, particularly small ones near the well-supplied outer edge, may improve with this approach.

Surgical Treatment

If symptoms continue despite nonsurgical care, or if the knee locks or a large tear is limiting function, your physician may recommend arthroscopic surgery, done through small incisions with a tiny camera. There are two main approaches:

• Meniscus Repair: The surgeon sews the torn edges back together to support the healing process. This is favored when the tear is repairable, often in younger patients and tears near the outer edge
• Partial Meniscectomy: The surgeon trims away the torn portion when the tear cannot be repaired, removing only what is necessary and preserving as much healthy meniscus as possible

Whenever possible, preserving the meniscus is preferred because the risk of accelerated osteoarthritis increases with the removal of meniscal tissue. For some people whose meniscus has largely been removed, a meniscal transplant may be an option. Your Resurgens surgeon will explain which approach fits your tear and what recovery would involve.

Schedule an Appointment for a Knee Injury

If knee pain, swelling or catching is interfering with your activities, a knee specialist can find the cause and guide your treatment. Book an appointment online today with Resurgens Orthopaedics or call us at (404) 847-9999.