Knee Meniscus Injuries

We have all heard the term meniscus tear when we talk about possible knee injuries. This blog

was written to provide you some information on what the menisci are, some signs and symptoms, and what you can do about a meniscus injury/tear.

The menisci are wedge-shaped fibrocartilage that help increase the congruency between the

thigh bone and shin bone at the knee joint. There is a lateral and medial meniscus in each knee, which improve knee stability and have a role as shock absorbers.

People typically injure the meniscus acutely when playing sports through contact or no-contact.

There is usually weight bearing of the knee followed with a twisting motion to push-off or pivot. Some may hear a pop in that instance.

With the elderly getting meniscus injuries, there is degeneration of the cartilage making it more susceptible to damage with minor trauma.

If you suffer from a meniscus injury, you may experience tenderness along your knee joint line,

pain in being in a deep knee bend or also suffer from clicking/locking of the knee. There may also be some swelling in the knee, stiffness and the feeling of the knee giving out but some symptoms are dependent on severity, location, and type of tear.

Like most injuries, you want to modify your activity as to not aggravate it further. This could include avoiding deep ranges of the knee, reducing full weight bearing exercises and offloading the knee by using a knee brace. You can continue to do anything that feels fine. If it is an acute injury with swelling, it is safe to rest, ice and compress the knee. In cases where the meniscus is very debilitating, surgical intervention may be required, but it is best to first go the conservative way.

Getting it assessed by a health care professional at MVMT will help guide your rehabilitation and provide a lot of information on how to reduce your risk of future injury. Any muscle imbalances or weaknesses you may be unaware of will be addressed in an individualized program of care. Treatments can involve soft tissue massage, use of modalities, stretches, and strengthening exercises.

We look forward to helping you get your knees to move well, feel good, so you can live better.

Jason Liang

Physiotherapist, Registered Massage Therapist

Please direct any questions about the article or any sports/injury questions to jason@mvmtintegrativemed.com