Each of your knees has two C-shaped pieces of cartilage that act like a cushion between your shinbone and your thighbone (menisci). A meniscal injury is one of the most common knee injuries.
An injured meniscus 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 can contribute to a torn meniscus with little or no trauma.
What are the symptoms of a meniscal injury?
An injured meniscus causes pain, swelling and stiffness. You also might feel a block to knee motion and have trouble extending your knee fully. Other symptoms include a popping sensation, pain when twisting or rotating the knee, and the feeling of your knee giving way.
How can Physiotherapy help?
Physiotherapy treatment for an injured meniscus begins conservatively, depending on the type, size, and location of your injury. Injuries associated with arthritis often improve over time with treatment of the arthritis. Many other injuries/tears that are not associated with locking or a block to knee motion will become less painful over time, so they also do not require surgical intervention. Conservative treatment includes strengthening the surrounding muscles, flexibility exercises, joint mobilisation, balance and agility exercises.
If your knee remains painful despite rehabilitative therapy or if your knee locks, your Physiotherapist might recommend a referral to an Orthopaedic surgeon. It is sometimes possible to repair a torn meniscus, especially in children and young adults.
If the tear cannot be repaired, the meniscus might be surgically trimmed, possibly through tiny incisions using an arthroscope. After surgery, you will need to do exercises to increase and maintain knee strength and stability.
