All photography provided by Jared Chambers

Meniscus tear and knee pain can get better.

What is meniscus tear injury?

Your have two meniscus in each knee. They are cartilaginous soft tissue that rests between your femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone). They help distribute the pressure within your knee. When we overload them or load them in a challenging directions, they can be sprained or sometimes torn. The medial meniscus (on the inside of your leg) is more commonly affected.

What does knee meniscus injury feel like?

Knee meniscus injury often causes some swelling around the knee. People often report pain with putting weight on it, stiffness that limits their ability to straighten the knee. There can also be limitations with bending the knee. When the meniscus is injured, it creates a substantial amount of inflammation and swelling. The inflammation and swelling serves in part to limit your movement and promote healing, but too much can get in the way of optimal circulation and healing.

Why does it happen?

Our knee is primarily a hinge joint, meant to bend and straighten along one plane of motion. When we overload our knee, particularly in a twisting or a side to side direction, it can sprain or tear the meniscus. Some activities that might injure the meniscus include:

• incorrectly performed direction change or cutting in sports

• landing too hard from a jump

• being struck laterally causing your knee to buckle

• hyperextending your knee

• repetitive use, such as squatting, jumping, or running with poor form

We often say that the knee is innocent: the injuries to the knees are often caused by issues at the hip and or foot, or by being struck by someone or something.

Does the meniscus heal?

It does! The good news is that meniscus is living tissue that can heal. But they do so somewhat slower, because there are fewer blood vessels going into them than other parts of our body. The outer 1/3 of the meniscus has better circulation and tend to recover well. So for smaller tears, many people get back to their life and their sport with time, exercise, and treatment.

First step is to protect your knee while it recovers. Take a break form any activity that might be causing repetitive use or overload of your knee. A supportive brace and crutches can help limit further irritation of the injury. Excessive swelling can be managed by RICE - rest, ice, compress, elevate.

Once the symptoms are better tolerated, gentle exercises can help preserve and restore your knee mobility. Physical therapy exercises can address strength and mobility deficits associated with your injury. If poor form, muscle imbalance, or other body mechanic issues contributed to your injury, a physical therapist can help you improve these factors. Hands on manual therapy can alleviate myofascial restrictions in your muscles and tendons. Balance and proprioception training will help you learn to use your muscle and body effectively and safely.

Your doctor may also help you with medication to facilitate the protection and recovery. Surgeries are other options as well, and they are not as scary as some fear. Please speak with your physician about all your options.

What can we do to help?

We use a combination of physical therapy and holistic techniques to provide a natural, non-invasive way to improve the knee.

• Yu Family Acupressure - A traditional technique to reduce pain and promote healing

• Motor Control training - Key to a healthy knee involves all of the muscles working in harmony. Pain, exhaustion, tension can throw off your body’s control and a skilled physical therapist will help you retrain your neuromuscular system.

• Taping - Kinesiotape and other taping methods can help unload, support, and protect the knee. Placed appropriately they also encourage the proper muscle activity to help you use your knee better.

• Mobilization & Stretching - Tension of your muscles and joint can make it difficult to use your knee effectively, much like how car alignment issues make it difficult to drive straight. Hands on soft tissue and joint releases restore your knee’s optimal movement.

• Exercises - Biases in your leg muscle strength (for instance, quadriceps are often stronger than gluteus hip muscles), leads to overload of the knee. Stretching and strengthening exercises helps you to protect and improve your knee between and beyond your physical therapy sessions.

• There are many other methods and tools that are helpful, but the list would be exhausting. During your evaluation we will explain the the approach best for you in consideration with your needs and preferences.

How long will it take?

Each visit lasts 45 mints to an hour. Adherence to your doctor and physical therapist’s advice on protecting your knee should prevent and alleviate your pain quickly. And you should start feeling better. Many people return to their activities after a few weeks or months of working on their knee.

How much does it cost?

We are in network with most PPO insurances and medicare. We also accept worker's compensation claims and automotive injury claims. You will be responsible for your insurance deductible and copay. We can contact your insurer to find out details for you but it is always recommended that you speak your your insurance company to verify as sometimes their database can be out of date.

Do you take insurance?

We are in network with most PPO insurances and medicare. We also accept worker's compensation claims and automotive injury claims. You will be responsible for your insurance deductible and copay. We can contact your insurer to find out details for you but it is always recommended that you speak your your insurance company to verify as sometimes their database can be out of date.

DOES the treatment hurt?

The treatment can cause discomfort comparable to a strong massage or a good workout. We aim to help you be and move comfortably again so we minimize discomfort whenever we can!

Are you sure this will work?

Most of our patients are able to return to living the life they wish without having to have surgery. Every person is different and we really need to get to know you and your condition to answer that question. If we feel that your condition would benefit from additional medical intervention beyond PT, we will happily refer you to a doctor who is right for you.