The meniscus is a small piece of cartilage that’s found between the knee bones. It helps to give stability and cushioning to the knee joint. Tears in the meniscus can be caused by an accident or overuse, but they can also occur from simple wear and tear with age. If you have chronic pain in your knees, find out if you could have torn your meniscus.
Meniscus tears are common in sports
The meniscus is a piece of cartilage that sits between your thigh bones and knee cap. It helps to cushion the knee by reducing friction between those bones, which reduces pain and prevents injuries like arthritis.
Meniscus tears are common in sports, especially football and soccer. They can be caused by a twisting motion or trauma to the knee–like falling on it while playing sports–or they can occur as part of age-related degeneration (osteoarthritis).
How to treat
- Rest. If you can, take time off from running and other high impact activities. Try to walk as much as possible and avoid stairs.
- Ice. Apply ice packs to your knee for 20 minutes at a time, several times per day.
- Physical therapy may be helpful in reducing pain and improving mobility if you have mild tears that do not affect movement or function (a grade 1 tear). You might also benefit from physical therapy after surgery if you have a more severe tear that has caused functional limitations in daily activities such as walking or climbing stairs (a grade 2 tear).
How to prevent
To prevent meniscus tears, you should wear protective gear. When you play sports or work out, the best thing you can do is make sure your knees are protected by wearing appropriate knee braces meniscus tear with good cushioning and shock absorption capabilities.
Avoid twisting and turning excessively during physical activity as well. This can lead to injuries like torn ligaments in addition to meniscus tears. And finally, don’t play through pain! If something feels wrong while exercising (or even after), stop immediately so that any damage doesn’t get worse over time
If you have a meniscus tear, it’s important to know that there are many ways to treat and prevent them. You can also take steps towards healing your knee by working with an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine.
