Torn Cartilage in Knee Information

Torn Cartilage in Knee? Has it happened to you?

When you see knee anatomy you will understand that knee joint is the largest joint in human body and also is the most complex joint in human body due to its bone, muscles,ligaments and cartilage structure.

It is one of the mostly used joint of the human body and when you use it too much your knee joint is prone to knee injuries including torn cartilage in knee.

Torn knee cartilage or meniscus tears(medical term) is a commonest injury in contact sports to athletes and you will be hearing quite often about it in news and headlines as some of the athletes are ruled out of the game for few games due to torn knee cartilage.

Have you heard about it? Do you follow contact sports? If yes you must have heard this.

But the scary thing is not only athletes but any individual can have torn knee cartilage irrespective of their age or gender.

Knee Cartilage- Anatomy & Function

Meniscus,commonly known as cartilage is located in the knee joint cavity above tibia bone flat surface known as tibial plateau.

They are 2 wedge shaped cartilage pieces which are tough and rubbery in texture.They primarily act as shock absorbers which prevent harmful shock forces which comes from running or jogging.

They also make the knee joint stable by deepening femoral condyle articulation surface.

Every action has its equal reaction and that is what happen when you walk or jog , the repulsive force from ground come back in the form of shock when you walk and if its not meniscus it would impact the articular surface of the joint.

That is why its most important in normal functioning of knee anatomy.

Torn cartilage in knee can happen to athletes.

But if it is happening to 50 or more year older people it is mainly due to wear and tear of the knee cartilage thus causing torn cartilage in knee.

Cartilage becomes weak and more prone to tear as it grows older.

Have you ever felt an awkward twist in your knees while walking or getting up from chair. Torn knee cartilage can happen at this time too.

Torn Cartilage- Knee Injuries Symptoms

• Sudden pop or clicking sound can happen at any time and results in meniscus tear.Still it goes unnoticed or uneventful till 2-3 days by when you will be having painful and swollen knee.
• Pain-Inner Knee pain and popping.
• Sudden locking of your knee with click sound- you would not be able to bend or straighten your knee for a while. Aggressive efforts for knee movements should be avoided as it flares up the pain.
• When you walk you feel like your knee is giving away and you have funny feeling or less control on your knees.
  
  

Torn Knee Cartilage-Knee Injury Diagnosis

A thorough physical evaluation of your knee has to be performed by your knee doctor to understand the knee problem and potential mechanism behind torn cartilage in knee.

• Patient history and physical examination- Doctor check for tenderness along the joint line and would ask you exact location of pain. He would ask you how it happened.
  
• Doctor would perform a McMurray test- a test performed by clinician to evaluate your knee cartilage health. Doctor would bend ,straighten and rotate your knee.Clicking sound on those movements will confirm knee cartilage injury.
• X-ray -although cartilage injuries does not appear on x-ray doctor would order an X-ray to rule out other knee injuries.
• MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging)- It is better option as it can show soft tissue injuries better.

Torn cartilage in Knee- Knee Pain Treatment

Treatment you receive vary from doctor to doctor as well as depending on type,area,size and severity of lesion.

Factors affecting treatment options:

Type of lesion
Age
activity level
any related injuries

Nonsurgical Treatment:

Let us say your doctor finds out that you have torn knee cartilage in outer 1/3 of cartilage then doctor would go for non surgical treatment as there is good blood supply to cartilage in that area.

As long as your knee injuries symptoms are not so severe non surgical treatment is advised.

RICE protocol
Knee Pain Medication
Arthritis Knee Brace
Knee Exercises

Surgical Treatment:

If you do not feel any better with knee injuries symptoms by conservative nonsurgical treatment then doctor would ask you for arthroscopy knee surgery.

Arthroscopic Knee surgery recovery varies from patient to patient.

Proper rehabilitation has to be done to get the best out of this surgery.

Go back to Arthroscopic Knee Surgery from Torn Cartilage in Knee.

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Please if you have a real life experience or you liked what I have shared with you here please comment in comment section so that other people who read this can get benefited.