Introduction:
The meniscus is a C-shaped soft rubber-like cartilage present in the joint between the shin bone and thigh bone in the knee. It acts as a shock absorber and avoids friction between the bones at the joints, reducing the wear and tear of bones. However, it takes minutes to tear and cause injury to the meniscus when a person takes a sudden sharp turn in direction. This can happen more often during sports like volleyball, badminton, and soccer.
What Exactly Are Meniscal Injuries?
Injuries to the meniscus in the form of a meniscus tear are one of the common types of damage occurring at the knee joint. The meniscal injuries are too painful to handle, and unfortunately, it is prevalent. This is known to be caused more during activities that involve sudden movements to change directions and hence is a common type of sports injury. Old athletes and sports persons are more affected by these injuries as the meniscus weakens with age. Sometimes, the pieces of shredded meniscus get in between the joint, which leads to knee lock up.
What Causes Meniscus Injuries?
Meniscus injuries can be caused by a sudden sharp shift in directions like pivoting while applying your total weight to your knee joint. Some of the common circumstances that can lead to meniscus injuries are as follows;
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Sports like football, badminton, tennis, or soccer that involve sudden pivoting can lead to the tear of the meniscus.
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Deep squatting while exercising in the wrong posture.
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Lifting a heavy object.
Who Is at Risk of Getting Meniscal Injuries?
While anyone of any age can get a meniscus tear by trauma caused to the knees, some are at a higher risk. Some of the risk factors for meniscal injuries are;
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Old Age: The meniscus gets weaker with age, and therefore people above the age of 60 are at risk of developing a meniscus tear with minimum to no trauma.
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Obesity: Overweight people can injure the meniscus with minimum trauma due to the pressure of weight applied to the knee joint. Overweight people are also at a higher risk of developing other bone and joint problems.
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Sportsmen: Sportsmen and athletes who play sports that involve sudden pivoting are also at a higher risk of developing meniscus tears.
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Gym Bees: People who are into workouts and heavy lifting can easily injure the meniscus by lifting heavier weights and over-exerting themselves.
What Does a Meniscus Tear Feel Like?
If your meniscus tear is minor, you might not notice any sign or symptom for 24 hours since the injury. You might even be able to finish your game or workout before the symptoms set in. The symptoms associated with meniscus tear are as follows,
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Swelling of the knee joint.
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If a piece of the shredded cartilage gets in between the joint, you might feel like your knee is stuck or locked up.
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You will have a popping sensation in the knee when injured.
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Severe pain in the knee region. This can worsen if you try to rotate your knee joint.
How to Find if It Is a Meniscal Injury?
After your injury, when you start experiencing symptoms, your physician or orthopedic doctor might ask you to perform a few actions to analyze the nature of the joint and severity of the injury by asking you to walk, sit, or squat. Later, they will ask for a few tests to find the diagnosis.
Following are some of the tests prescribed by doctors to diagnose knee injuries:
X-Ray: X-rays are radioactive beams directed toward your knee to create an image of your bones to check for fractures. A meniscus is rubbery non-bony cartilage. Any injury or tear cannot be seen on an X-ray film. However, this can help the doctor eliminate other suspicious conditions like fractures.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): MRI is an imaging technology involving using high levels of magnetic fields to diagnose any abnormalities. This is the most efficient method that could help diagnose meniscus tears.
Arthroscopy: Arthroscopy is a specific diagnostic method where your doctor makes an incision near your knee joint through which they insert a device that contains a light and camera. This enlarges the insides of your knee, with which your doctor can confirm the diagnosis of meniscus tear, if present. After diagnosis, a few surgical instruments can be inserted through the same incision, or a few other incisions can be made to trim and treat the internal injuries with the guidance of arthroscopy.
How Do We Treat Meniscal Injuries?
The treatment depends upon the size and severity of your injury. For example, most patients experience a minor tear that involves the outer region of the meniscus, a red zone with blood supply and nutrient supply that can help with healing. In such cases, the injured person does not usually require surgical intervention. However, if your tear is more severe, your doctor might need surgery to help you heal.
Non-Surgical Treatments:
If your doctor decides that your meniscal injury is not too severe to need surgery, they may advise you the following:
1. Rest:
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Your doctor will advise you to take enough rest.
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It would be best if you did not go back to the sport or strenuous activities that involve heavy weight lifting. Stay away from sports that involve sudden rotating movements or pivoting, which could worsen the injury.
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Place a pillow beneath your heel while lying down or sitting to help you ease the pain.
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Use crutches to provide support and prevent pain.
2. Ice Packs: Your doctor will advise you to place an ice pack at the knee joint to reduce the pain and swelling associated with the injury. You will have to put ice packs at an interval of four to six hours on the first two days of injury to prevent the worsening of swelling.
3. Medications: Your doctor will prescribe some painkillers to ease the pain.
4. Physiotherapy: It is advised to start physiotherapy only after a few days from the injury. A trained physiotherapist trains you with gentle movements and exercises that can help cure and increase the joint's mobility. Physiotherapy is also done after surgical intervention.
Surgical Treatment:
Suppose your meniscal injury is very severe. It involves the white region of the meniscus, the inner two-thirds region of the meniscus that has no blood supply to promote healing. In that case, your doctor will consider surgical treatments.
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If your meniscus tears and shredded meniscus jams your joint, surgical intervention is required where trimming is done to the meniscus through incisions made near the knee joint.
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This procedure can be guided with the help of arthroscopy.
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A few days after the surgery, physiotherapy is required to help with mobility as mentioned earlier.
Conclusion:
Meniscus tears are a common type of knee injury. The person injured will take a few weeks to a few months to completely recover. It is essential to take enough rest without exerting the injured joint to avoid worsening the condition. The person injured should not be involved in intense workouts or sports before they can flex their knees without any pain or until they can walk without any pain.
