You’ve been told you have a meniscus tear. Whether you injured yourself on the slopes, on the court, or from everyday tasks, you want to recover as quickly as possible. What is the most effective treatment? Is surgery necessary?
Our board-certified orthopedic surgeons at Alpine Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, located in Bozeman, Montana, diagnose and treat meniscus tears. The good news is that many meniscus tears can be treated conservatively.
Your meniscus is tough cartilage in your knee joints that acts as a cushion between your thigh bone and your shin bone. It also helps stabilize your knee joint. Each knee joint has two pieces of meniscus — one on the outside of the knee and one on the inside.
We only recommend surgery in specific circumstances. The following factors explain when surgery for a meniscus tear is warranted.
If you’ve tried pain medication, the RICE method (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), physical therapy, and injections without relief, it is time to consider surgery.
Some meniscus tears benefit from modern surgical methods. In fact, most meniscus tears can be repaired arthroscopically. The procedure is minimally invasive.
If you can’t fully straighten your knee or it locks in place, we recommend arthroscopic surgery.
You likely have a piece of the torn meniscus lodged in your joint that prevents a full range of motion. It could also be a piece of loose cartilage blocking your movement. We trim pieces of torn cartilage and remove loose tissue when appropriate.
Your meniscus helps stabilize your knee. When you have a tear, you may experience uneven support, which can cause knee instability. When your knee feels unstable, you’re at risk of falling.
If you’re an athlete, your knee must be stable to avoid injury. In that case, we often recommend surgery.
Some of your soft tissue is poorly vascularized, which is why it takes a long time for some tendon and ligament injuries to heal. The inner part of your meniscus doesn’t have a robust blood supply, which aids in healing an injury.
However, the outer section of the meniscus has an adequate blood supply. We’re able to more easily repair the outer part of your torn meniscus so that it makes a difference in your quality of life.
Call Alpine Orthopedics and Sports Medicine or request an appointment through our online portal today if you’re experiencing knee pain. We’ll get you on the road to recovery.
