Meniscus Tears
Are You Experiencing Knee Pain and Stiffness??
The orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine experts at Westchester Sport and Spine are here to help you with your knee pain. With 40 years of combined experience diagnosing pain from arthritis and treating arthritic joints, the fellowship trained specialists at Westchester Sport and Spine provide you with the highest level of care for surgical and non-surgical procedures.
About Meniscus Tears
The meniscus is a piece of cartilage that stabilizes your knee joint and allows it to move smoothly and painlessly.
As we age, our cartilage may become worn down, making our knees more prone to injury. However, people of all ages can get a meniscus tear if they have twisted their knee or been in an accident. Those who play high-contact sports are especially prone to this injury, as a sudden change in direction, fall, or collision could be enough to damage this piece of cartilage.
Meniscus tears are, unfortunately, one of the most common injuries affecting the knee. Depending on the severity of the tear, there may even by a piece of cartilage that is completely detached and stuck inside of the joint.
Since cartilage does not typically receive great blood flow, healing a meniscus tear can be difficult. It is important to be seen by a specialist to ensure that you can have the best chance of recovering from this injury.
Symptoms of a Meniscus Tear
Many people develop a meniscus tear following an injury or accident affecting the knee. This doesn’t always mean that trauma has to occur; the meniscus may get torn if someone changes direction too quickly, twists their leg, or lifts something heavy.
The most common symptoms of this injury include:
- Discomfort
- Inflammation
- Difficulty bending or extending the leg
- Locking of the joint
- A sudden “pop” in the knee
- Weakness in the knee
In some cases, patients don’t report feeling pain the moment that this injury occurs. However, discomfort is likely to begin as the knee begins to swell after a meniscus tear.
Contact the orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine doctors at Westchester Sport and Spine to have your ankle sprain professionally examined.
Treatment Options
Treatment options for a meniscus tear are totally dependent on how severe the injury is. After a thorough examination, which may include imaging tests like an MRI, your doctor will better understand how large the tear is in order to create a treatment plan.
Conservative treatments are always preferred in minor cases. For people who don’t have a severe tear, the tear may heal on its own with rest, physical therapy, and time.
However, if a patient is not responding to conservative measures, they may have to undergo surgery to correct the problem.
In cases where a severe tear is present, or if there is a detached piece of cartilage, surgery is likely the only option. If the tear has occurred in an area of the meniscus that lacks blood supply, the damaged area may have to be removed completely in order to alleviate the patient’s symptoms.
Call Us Immediately
If your knee pain is caused by an injury and is accompanied by any of the symptoms below, please call Westchester Sport and Spine immediately and then ask someone to drive you to our clinic.
- You’re experiencing knee pain
- You have felt a “pop” in your knee, followed by pain
- Difficulty extending or bending your leg
- Swelling
- Your knee appears deformed