Every joint in your body is protected by some kind of tissue, whether that be muscle, cartilage, or just a thin layer of skin. Our knees are very important for mobility, so our bodies have cartilage protecting the knee joints called the meniscus. It acts as a shock absorber for the intersection between your upper and lower leg bones. When you tear this cartilage (usually through twisting or pivoting motions), there are several treatment options depending on factors such as your age and mobility.
Here is what you need to know about meniscus tear treatments in order to discuss them with your doctor and get the best possible treatment plan for you.
Treatment factors vary.
A patient and their doctor will usually come up with a few treatment ideas based on their individual health factors. For instance, your doctor might prefer to avoid surgery at all costs or go ahead with surgery when possible. Your age is also important, as younger people tend to recover faster and with fewer complications from surgery-based interventions, but doctors also prefer not to operate on young people when possible. Overall health and activity level, along with when you injured the meniscus, may also factor into treatment decisions.
Red and white zones matter.
The most important factor in deciding how to treat a meniscus tear is its location. The meniscus has two main zones, the red zone on the outside of the cartilage and the white zone on the inside surrounding the joints. The outer zone, the red zone, receives a good blood supply and can often heal better than the white zone, which does not. Small tears on the outer edge of the red zone can often be treated without surgery as long as you rest, and medium to large tears are easy to fix with surgery since the blood supply ensures the tear will heal well. White zone tears are not typically treated with surgery, and tears that extend between the red and white zones are treated on a case-by-case basis.
Three types of meniscus tears.
There are three main types of injuries to the meniscus cartilage. Radial tears, oblique tears, and longitudinal tears are treated differently. Radial tears, particularly in the red zone, are easiest to repair, but many longitudinal and oblique tears cannot be treated by surgery because of the direction of these injuries. There are also meniscus tears called degenerative tears, caused by long-term wear and tear. If you’re an athlete such as a runner or tennis player, you might be at more risk for this type of tear, which is difficult to treat via surgery.
Nonsurgical and surgical alternatives vary.
Since surgery can only be performed on certain types of meniscus tears, nonsurgical interventions might be best for your situation. These treatment options usually include compression, elevation, knee braces and physical therapy, and other typical joint injury treatment techniques. Surgical alternatives include repairs to sew together the tear, partial meniscectomy to remove the torn part of the cartilage, and full meniscectomy to remove the entire meniscus. Full meniscectomy is rare because it can increase the risk of osteoarthritis.
In general, nonsurgical treatments are better for meniscus tears due to the difficulty of treating certain meniscus tear types with surgery. If you happen to have a medium-sized or large radial tear exclusively in the red zone of your meniscus, it can be treated quickly with surgery and will heal well. Otherwise, you and your doctor can discuss treatment options that would be best for your individual situation.
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