Swelling or stiffness. Pain, especially when twisting or rotating your knee. Difficulty straightening your knee fully. Feeling as though your knee is locked in place when you try to move it.
Swelling. A popping sensation during the injury. Difficulty bending and straightening the leg. A tendency for your knee to get "stuck" or lock up.
If you tear a meniscus, you'll likely know right away. Sports injuries or direct trauma to a meniscus can result in a number of telltale signs, including: Pain with twisting and rotation. Stiffness in your knee joint.
In sports, a meniscus tear usually happens suddenly. Severe pain and swelling may occur up to 24 hours afterward. Walking can become difficult. Additional pain may be felt when flexing or twisting the knee.
You will have a physical examination to find out if you have a torn meniscus and to rule out other knee injuries. Your doctor will check both knees for tenderness, range of motion, and knee stability. X-rays are usually done. Based on your symptoms and the physical examination, your doctor may diagnose a meniscus tear.
There is often sharp pain when you twist or squat. Symptoms may go away but can come back from overuse or when you do activities that involve twisting. The pain may come and go over a period of years if the tear isn't treated. Larger tears usually cause more pain and immediate swelling and stiffness.
Symptoms of a meniscus tear may be different for each person, but some of the most common symptoms are: Pain in the knee joint: usually on the inside (medial), outside (lateral) or back of the knee. Swelling. Catching or locking of the knee joint.
Strenuous exercise can tear the meniscus, a layer of cartilage in the knee. Gentle exercises — such as mini squats, standing heel raises, and hamstring curls — may help with recovery.
Pain in the knee joint. Swelling. Catching or locking of the knee joint. Inability to fully extend or bend the knee joint.
Continuing to walk on the affected leg can aggravate your symptoms, making pain and stiffness worse in as little as a few days. Plus, suffering a torn meniscus may also increase your risk of complications, like developing osteoarthritis in that knee.
Left untreated, a meniscus tear can limit your daily life and ability to participate in exercise and sports. In serious cases, it can develop into long-term knee problems, like arthritis.
Meniscus damage is most frequently seen between the ages of 15 and 30 or between the ages of 45 and 70. Damaging or losing part of the meniscus can lead to short-term symptoms related to the meniscus damage and/or longer-term symptoms of arthritis due to the lack of the knee's normal shock absorber.
With a minor tear, you may have slight pain and swelling. This usually goes away in 2 or 3 weeks. With a moderate tear, you may feel pain at the side or centre of your knee. Swelling slowly gets worse over 2 or 3 days.
Not all meniscus tears require a doctor's care. Pain and swelling that recur or don't go away are usually signs a tear is serious enough to see a doctor. Locking, or being unable to straighten or bend the knee also merits a trip to the doctor.
Pain is usually felt in the knee above the meniscus while bearing weight on the affected knee and/or when twisting, turning, or pivoting on the knee, such as while getting in and out of a car. Walking up or down stairs may be particularly painful, and may also cause increased swelling in the knee.
Ordinarily, your doctor or physical therapist will ask you to reduce your sports activities while your meniscus tear heals. Healing could take between four and eight weeks.
Typically, mild meniscus tears heal within two to three weeks.
Medial meniscal root tears are associated with poor subjective knee function (24), and a relatively high proportion of these patients (31 %) require a knee replacement within five years (35), emphasising that medial root tears are part of a general degenerative process.
During the first few days after you've torn your meniscus, applying ice to the injury and elevating your knee periodically can reduce swelling. Wearing a compression bandage may also reduce swelling.
Will a knee brace help a torn meniscus? Yes. Although knee braces do not heal or treat your meniscus tear directly, they can provide extra support and stability for your knee while your meniscus injury heals. A good brace will protect your knee and take the pressure off your meniscus, allowing it to rest.
X-rays. Even though x-rays do not show meniscus tears, they may indicate other knee pain causes, such as osteoarthritis. MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging). This test creates better images of the soft tissues of your knee joint, like a meniscus.
If you have a minor or partial meniscus tear, you may be able to bear weight on the affected knee, but it will feel unstable. More severe tears may make you unable to stand on the affected leg, and your knee will be painful to the touch.
Small tears often heal on their own, while others may require arthroscopic surgery. Most people fully recover from a torn meniscus and can get back to doing their favorite activities without knee pain.