You’ve been gimping around on a painful knee in the hopes that the problem would eventually go away. Instead, it’s hanging in there and even going in the opposite direction and becoming more painful.
More than 36% of adults in the United States report lower limb pain, and it’s a good bet that knees are responsible for a sizable chunk. Drilling a little deeper, there are many culprits behind knee pain, but we’re going to set our sights on a common one — meniscus tears.
Each year in the US, there are about half a million meniscus tears, some of which have been successfully treated by our board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Dr. William Schell. In this month’s blog post, we’re going to review some of the common signs of meniscus tears because this is one injury that can very much benefit from professional care.
Just to set the scene a little, we want to quickly describe what a meniscus tear is. Each of your knees contains two menisci, which are wedge-shaped pieces of cartilage that are located between your thigh bone (femur) and your shin bone (tibia). These soft tissues act as shock absorbers between the bones, transferring energy and weight from one to the other.
A meniscus tear can occur on the heels of an acute injury or as a result of degeneration and wear and tear. In either case, damage to this tissue can lead to knee problems, which we dive into below.
Now let’s get to the heart of this discussion — signs of a meniscus tear, which include:
Like most other knee issues, the first symptom that will get your attention is pain, and a meniscus tear can certainly deliver on this front. Depending on the location of the damage, the pain can be on the inside of your knee, on the outside, or more toward the back of the knee.
If there’s damage in your knee, you can expect swelling to develop as your body attempts to create a healing environment.
While pain and swelling can occur with many knee conditions, there are certain side effects that can help us narrow down the issue, and this is one. With meniscus tears, you can experience a locking or catching in your knee.
If you have a meniscus tear, you might struggle to extend your leg all the way or, going in the other direction, you might have trouble bending your knee.
If it feels like your knee is going to simply give out, this could be a sign of a meniscus tear.
If any of the symptoms we describe above sound familiar, it’s a good idea to come see for an evaluation. Knees are incredibly important joints, and you don’t want to ignore ongoing knee pain and run the risk of the underlying problem getting worse.
This is especially important for meniscus tears because these tissues might not heal on their own, depending upon the extent of the tear.
To get answers for your knee pain, as well as experienced care, we invite you to contact Dr. Schell and our team at our New York City office — which is located on Columbus Circle on the Upper West Side — at 646-381-2646. You can also send a message to us by clicking here.
