They swerve, sprint, jump, and dunk as if they have no bones. However, those seemingly effortless twists and turns can come with a price if one wrong move is made. Specifically, these types of movements can lead to a torn meniscus. While some athletes — including those who play contact sports — are especially at risk for meniscus tears, this injury is one of the most common knee injuries. And anyone can suffer from them, regardless of age or activity. You may still be able to stand and walk after the initial injury with only a bit of pain depending on the severity of the tear.
That can make you think a meniscus tear is a minor injury. Treatment can wait and you can play through the pain, right? Not necessarily. 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. 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.
Formed by three bones, the knee joint is typically a tough, strong joint. Physical Therapy Emergency Room Imaging Meniscus tears of the knee are one of the most common problems seen by orthopedic surgeons. The meniscus is a c-shaped pad of cartilage see diagram that acts as the shock absorber of the knee and lower stress on the bones and cartilage.
It can be pretty painful when damaged. All patients and meniscus tears are different, and there are many variables when deciding how to treat these tears. The treatment of meniscus tears usually falls into one of two categories:. The treatment approach for a particular meniscus tear depends on many factors.
For one, there are many different types of meniscus tears — large or small, simple or complex, acute or chronic, associated with arthritis or not, and more. In addition, we have to take into account the location of the tear with regard to its blood supply. This is where physician expertise and experience becomes important. A meniscus repair is typically done with a scope small incisions for a camera and instruments to perform the repair by placing stitches, or some sort of fixation, across the meniscus tear much like one would place stitches across a cut in the skin.
While we would love to be able to repair all meniscus tears, the truth is that even under ideal circumstances the healing rate of a meniscus repair is only about percent.
As circumstances deviate from this ideal scenario, the likelihood of a repair healing begins to decline. When a true meniscus repair is performed, your surgeon is likely to recommend a period of limited weight-bearing using crutches or walker for walking and limited motion.
However, meniscus tears can also result from heavy lifting, pivots and turns think: basketball, volleyball, and the like , as well as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis , and other conditions that come with age. Causes vary. What to Expect After Meniscus Surgery After a meniscus injury, physicians use MRI to determine the severity of injury and whether or not surgery is required.
Typically, anything Grade III and above will require surgery though not always. It all depends on the extent to which the injury is likely to heal on its own. As with any injury, recovery time for meniscus surgery will depend on the severity of the surgery full removal or repair, for example , location of the injury, as well as any other damage that was done to the knee. Rehabilitation time will also vary accordingly. Crutches, a brace, and a slow return to weight-bearing: After surgery, most patients will be on crutches, wear a brace, or some combination of both for at least a couple of weeks.
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