With the NFL training camp season underway, sports fans are bound to hear about their favorite teams and players succumbing to knee injuries at practice. From torn ACLs and MCLs to meniscus tears, the knees of athletes often take an incredible beating. And though they’re biologically designed to be strong, our knees aren’t indestructible. While we often think of knee injuries befalling American football players, there’s really no athlete immune to sustaining them.
In the case of a torn meniscus, for example, a simple internet search of the latest sports news will show you that from lacrosse and basketball to baseball, wrestling and football, these types of injury don’t discriminate based on sport. Meniscus tears are serious and can be season-ending for many athletes. Yet often, media reports of injuries in professional athletes focosu on how the athlete’s injury will affect the team’s season as a whole. What we don’t hear, see or read about is how the injury will affect the player both physically and emotionally, and what’s being done to treat and rehabilitate the injured knee. So let’s explore how meniscus injuries happen and how they’re treated to get our favorite players safely back in the game:
[See: 7 Exercises You Can Do Now to Save Your Knees Later.]
In athletes, meniscus tears are among the most common knee injuries. This is especially true for those players who engage in competitive and contact sports. Let’s begin with a bit of knee anatomy. The meniscus is made up of thick cartilage and acts as a separator cushion between the thigh and shin bones. It’s biologically designed to protect the knee while allowing us the ability to run, jump and otherwise move without the pain of these two bones rubbing together.
Injury to the meniscus presents itself when the knee is stretched beyond its range of flexibility, which can result in this band of cartilage being ripped or torn and rendering the knee (often painfully) unstable. If you’ve ever sustained a meniscus tear, you likely know it. An unforgettable “popping” sound and sensation arises out of the knee, followed quickly by inflammation, pain and stiffness. The tell-tale signs of meniscus tears also include a general feeling of mechanical locking or instability in and being unable to move the knee through its normal range of motion.
To professionally diagnose a meniscus tear, doctors will use an MRI to confirm the diagnosis and define other structures that may be injured. Although not all meniscus tears will require surgery, a proper diagnosis is crucial to developing an appropriate treatment plan for recovery.
[See: The 10 Best Exercises You Can Do for the Rest of Your Life.]
When meniscus tears are small, and the injury to the knee isn’t causing knee instability or persistent pain, non-surgical treatments can be employed. These include resting the knee, icing it, using compression and elevating it above the heart to reduce swelling. Weight-bearing activity on the injured knee is usually restricted, and crutches may be recommended to help give the knee a full rest.
In cases where the meniscus tear is significant, or the knee pain or instability from it is severe, arthroscopic surgery may be recommended to repair the torn tissue and help restore knee stability. Surgical repair of a torn meniscus is common and typically performed arthroscopically through minimal incisions we call portals. During arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus, the surgeon will introduce a tiny camera into the portals, which will help him or her precisely view the inside of the knee while using small instruments to address the damaged area surgically.
During surgical repair of a meniscus, one of two procedure types is customary. The first option is an actual suture repair or fixation of the meniscus tear. This procedure is typically best reserved for tears that can be sewn back together well and where the site has good blood flow to it. The knee should also be stable and free from other damage that may have resulted from the injury, including ACL tears. Because the meniscus needs ample time to heal and fuse back together after repairing the tear, the recovery timeline is three to six months, and extensive physical therapy is also necessary to aid in a safe return to play.
On the other hand, when the damaged meniscus cannot be sutured back together well, a partial meniscectomy or removal of the unstable portion is perhaps the best option. This procedure can also be performed arthroscopically, and the primary objective is the preservation of as much meniscus as possible. Some advantages of this treatment approach include a shorter recovery timeline (about four to six weeks) than meniscal repair and a lower re-operation rate. However, studies have shown that repairing a torn meniscus may have better long-term outcomes than meniscectomy. This treatment approach will also involve an extended period of physical therapy to rehabilitate the knee completely.
[See: 10 Signs You Should Break Up With Your Gym.]
Though the course of treatment received for a meniscus tear must involve an honest conversation between surgeon and athlete, including realistic goals for the return to play, your favorite player likely has some great odds for returning to the sport he or she loves.
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Meniscus Tears and Fears: What to Know originally appeared on usnews.com
