The medial meniscus is a rubbery and thick cartilage band that has a crescent shape and connected to the shin bone called the tibia. It stabilizes the knee and acts as an effective shock absorber. The medial meniscus is located within the interior knee joint side.
The medial meniscus tears usually differ in their degree of severity and range. The meniscus can be left hanged with a thread up to the joint of the knee, ripped with the surrounding of it that appears to be like the letter ‘C’ or cut in half. The tear may recover after some years later.
The medial meniscus tear often occurs to the cases of athletes and sporty people. Once your medial meniscus is torn, you will feel swelling and severe pains after 24 hours. With this, you will have a hard time in walking straightly and freely. Whenever you will try to twist or flex your knee, you will experience more unwanted pains. A cartilage piece that is loose may also get stored within the joint and thus can cause your knee a temporary lock and inability to extend the leg fully. The following are some of the medial meniscus tears symptoms.
Medial Meniscus Tear Symptoms
- You will feel it better to keep your knee bent than extending it comfortably.
- At times that you will exert force to your knees, a gradual pain will cover your joint line and meniscus. This is very common for cases where the tear develop with time.
- You will also suffer from tightness or stiffness to your knee and experience irritable swelling.
- The pain increases whenever you will rise from a chair, lift something or squat.
- Depending on the location of the tear, you will be experiencing the unwanted pains and swelling.
- If the pain will be ignored, it will go along with you as time passes by.
- You will not be able to straighten the affected knee and difficulty in walking and running.
- The tear in the medial meniscus is usually resulting in pain within the knee while the lateral meniscus tears cause pain in the outer part of the knee.
- For the active and younger persons that will have this medial meniscus tear can experience mechanical signs like locking, clicking or catching in every knee movement.
- The affected knee will be in pain during times of loading while relieved when doing nothing at all.
One of the situations where this medial meniscus tear is developed is the moment when you suddenly twist your knee even if your foot is still planted on top of the ground. It can also be gained when your meniscus starts to lose its resiliency.
If you will be diagnosed with a medial meniscus tear, you must consult the expert physician as soon as possible and try the necessary clinical examinations to determine the cause of the pain. It is also advisable for you to take the necessary prescriptions and avoid overusing the affected part. You must establish a healthier diet and helpful set of activities to help you recover from the medial meniscus tear faster.
