Meniscus tears are often the very painful result of certain sports injuries. You may have
read about how just last March, Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks was out for six
weeks after a minor tear to his meniscus. While you have probably heard of this type
of knee pain as a result of basketball, football or even skiing injuries, a torn meniscus
can be the result of a range of activities, even those as simple as getting out of your easy
chair. As you get older, the cartilage that is your meniscus wears down, making it easier
to injure your knee. If you tear your meniscus, the treatment of the injury depends on the
severity of the tear.
The meniscus is a piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber for your knee. This
cartilage can tear when the bones surrounding your knee slip and tear the cartilage. Ouch.
If the tear to the cartilage is large and severe, surgery may be necessary. The general rule
of thumb is that if the tear is a quarter inch or less, surgery may not be necessary and your
body could heal the tear itself. Another factor in whether or not you will need surgery is
how much pain you are in.
If surgery is indeed necessary, you will need an arthroscopy to fix the tear. This surgery
is fairly minor and is usually an outpatient procedure, however the pain may or may not
subside after surgery. As with any injury, your body is likely to create a pattern of pain
associated with protecting the injured area. For instance, if your knee hurts, you may alter
your gait to relieve your injured knee of some pressure.
I have heard of some cases where after arthroscopic surgery, this pain pattern will persist
because the body still tries to protect the injured area by tensing and squeezing the
nerves in the knee. The result of this is the same pain sensation even though the knee is
mechanically fixed. If, after surgery, your pain persists, then we have to correct those
patterns in an attempt to relieve you of your knee pain and restore your meniscus to its
former health.
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Hello Bill,
My mother is having a grade 3 meniscal tear in the knee and the doctor has xadvised a surgery. So, I just wanted to confirm if the surgery would genuinely be neccessary.???
Thank you.
Sneha,
Here’s a link for you:
http://thekneepainguru.com/meniscus-tear-treatment-a-holistic-approach/
Hi knee guru.
I just had an MRI done on my knee and the Dr said my meniscus looks like shredded crab meat. My cortisone shot is wearing off and I am hobbling badly when walking due to the pain. Just wondering if a orthoscopic surgery to remove the shredded portion of my meniscus is the right choice for me? I am 39 yrs old, 6ft tall and 230 lbs.
Thanks for your advise.
Adam – That sounds like the route I would take. Make sure you have a good orthopedic surgeon that operates on a local college or pro sports team. Then you know you’ll get someone that does a good job. If you want to recover fast then we should probably have a conversation and figure out a strategy because the pattern that is going on in your body that created the “shredded crab meat” of a meniscus doesn’t go away after they trim the meniscus. You’ll be in the same situation or worse looking at a knee replacement surgery by the time you’re 45…Bill
Hi Bill!
I don’t know a whole lot about the meniscus tearing, but I’m trying to help my boyfriend find some information. He tore his meniscus a few years ago and did arthroscopic surgery. However, it still was never as stable as it used to be and he ended up twisting it two more times after the recovery period while trying to return to his normal lifestyle. What more can he do? Is there any solution? Or was that single surgery as far as he can go trying to fix it?
Thank you so much for your time!
Katie, Thanks for your questions however there are so many factors to consider after a meniscus surgery. The best thing your boyfriend can do at this point would be to setup a time to talk with me about what is going on with his knee. We can them figure out a strategy how to best help him out. Here’s a link to fill out a short application to get that setup: http://thekneepainguru.com/lp/knee-recovery-program/free-introductory-session/questionnaire/ Regards, Bill