So you suffered a meniscus tear and are wondering what is the best option for your meniscus tear recovery…Let’s start with talking about the meniscus.
The menisci (singular: meniscus) are pieces of cartilage that lie within your knee joint, between your femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone). Each knee has two menisci, the medial meniscus, on the inside of the joint, and the lateral meniscus, on the outside of the joint.
Meniscal injuries are among the most common knee injuries. Meniscal injuries can be acute tears, caused by a quick pivot or too much weight on the joint, or degenerative tears, caused by too much force over an extended period of time.
The medial meniscus is injured more frequently because of it is C-shaped, less mobile, and attaches to the medial collateral ligament (MCL). The medial meniscus is sometimes injured as part of the “terrible triad” where the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), MCL and medial meniscus are all injured together. Following a meniscal injury, your doctor may recommend you consult with a surgeon for arthroscopic surgery to “clean up” your knee. This is a relatively minor surgery, where only small incisions are made to remove tears in areas with minimal blood supply, and repair tears in areas with more blood supply.
Despite the minimal meniscus tear recovery time, this surgery is not without its long-term risks. This “clean up” will decrease the amount of meniscal surface area, which means there will be less cartilage between your two leg bones.
The menisci functions include shock absorption, reduction of friction between joint surfaces, joint nutrition and lubrication, stabilization of the joint, and weight bearing. So when you have surgery to “clean up” your meniscus, you decrease the amount of cartilage that is available to do all of these jobs.
Overtime, this can lead to more bone-on-bone friction between your femur and tibia, contributing to the development of knee osteoarthritis (OA) later in life. Knee OA is a debilitating condition that can greatly affect you ability to walk, and eventually lead to a total knee replacement. Given the risk of developing knee OA, surgery should not be your first approach when treating meniscal tears.
Physiotherapy should be the first thing you do to treat your meniscal tear.
Physiotherapy to minimize pain and strengthen the muscles around the knee joint can help you avoid unnecessary surgery and result in an effective meniscus tear recovery.
There are, however, a few instances where surgery is unavoidable for your meniscus tear recovery. If your knee continues to catch or lock, feels unstable and/or buckles, surgery to remove or repair the meniscus may be your best option.
If you are currently dealing with a meniscal injury and would like to know how we can help you avoid unnecessary surgery, send us an email or give us call or text at 416-660-4187.
