About Meniscus Tear
A torn meniscus is one of the most common knee injuries. Any activity that causes you to forcefully twist or rotate your knee, especially when putting the pressure of your full weight on it, can lead to a torn meniscus. Each of your knees has two menisci — C-shaped pieces of cartilage that act like a cushion between your shinbone and your thigh bone. A torn meniscus causes pain, swelling and stiffness. Your knee might feel unstable, as if it’s going to collapse.
Meniscus tears can result from any activity that causes you to forcefully twist or rotate your knee, such as aggressive pivoting or sudden stops and turns. Even kneeling, deep squatting or lifting something heavy can sometimes lead to a torn meniscus. In older adults, degenerative changes of the knee may contribute to a torn meniscus.
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Symptoms of Meniscus Tears
If you’ve torn your meniscus, you may experience symptoms in your knee such as a popping sensation, swelling or stiffness, pain, especially when twisting or rotating your knee, and difficulty straightening your knee fully or experiencing what feels like a block to movement of your knee, as if your knee were locked in place.
Treatment for Meniscus Tears
Degenerative type meniscal tears are essentially synonymous with osteoarthritis of the knee and can be treated as such so long as there is no true knee “locking” or “catching”. Procedural treatments include cortisone injections into the joint that can help decrease pain and inflammation. Viscosupplementation with hyaluronic acid derivatives are another injection option. Regenexx regenerative medicine treatments such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections and bone marrow concentrate injections (containing autologous stem cells) are also being used experimentally to provide a healthier environment to promote healing in the degenerated joint.
If you have been diagnosed with or suspect a Meniscus tear or injury or have symptoms that may be related to the meniscus, contact our medical team at Ospina Medical. We offer advanced meniscus treatments at our office in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.
