The meniscus are two cartilage discs located in the knee joint, they ensure that the body weight coming through the thigh bone is evenly dispersed through the top of the lower leg bone. Meniscus are shaped to allow a smooth glide of the knee joint and thus damage to them can impact movement and joint congruency.
Meniscus tear most commonly occur with a rotational injury of the knee, and can be an isolated injury or in combination with ligament injuries such as “ACL rupture”. Symptoms of meniscus tear in first 24 Hrs of injury may include pain with weight bearing, swelling to the knee and lower leg, restricted motion of the knee. Once initial inflammation reduced symptoms often include locking or catching in the knee joint, recurrent swelling, pain along the joint line.
Following knee injury, it is important to adopt RICER (rest, ice, compression, elevation, referral) this will assist in reducing pain and inflammation for the first 48-72 hrs. Early on Physiotherapy can assess injury and determine likely structures affected and if imaging or referral is required. It can also provide pain relief, swelling management and assist to improve range of motion. Treatments include soft tissue release, joint mobilisation, taping, compression and exercise prescription. In later stages of recovery Physiotherapy assists in prescribing exercises to achieve optimal outcomes whether it be return to sport or walking the dog.
It is important to note that in some cases cortisone injection or surgery may be required to improve outcomes, however short term non-invasive Physiotherapy management is recommended prior to this.
If you would like to learn more about our services, or have some questions regarding our treatment options in our Mount Lawley clinic, feel free to give us a call.
You can reach us at (08) 9271 8805 and one of our friendly team members will be happy to answer your questions.
