A torn meniscus hurts at the side or in the center of the knee depending on where the meniscus tear is.
Most often with a torn meniscus tear you will be able to walk and swelling most often increases slowly over a few days and can make the knee feel stiff and limit bending and there is usually a sharp pain when you squat or twist.
You do need an MRI for a torn meniscus so the doctor can see how bad the meniscus is torn and see if you need surgery or other treatment.
The way they test for a torn meniscus is through an MRI scan which assesses the soft tissue in the knee joint which includes the ligaments, tendons, cartilage and menisci.
When your meniscus tear is severe it will be a big tear and loose pieces of the meniscus can cause the knee joint to catch or lock.
With a severe meniscus tear you may also have trouble bending or straightening the leg and have difficulty walking.
A torn meniscus hurts the most in the inner or outer side of the knee and not around the kneecap.
The part of the knee that hurts with a torn meniscus is usually the inner or outer side of the knee and not around the kneecap.
The initial symptoms of a torn meniscus are well localized pain and swelling in the knee.
The signs of a meniscus injury are a locked feeling when trying to move your knee, difficulty in fully straightening your knee, pain that occurs mostly when rotating the knee or twisting the knee, swelling or stiffness and a popping sensation when the meniscus injury occurs..
Most people who have torn their meniscus do still walk, sit, stand and sleep without any pain.
The pain with a torn meniscus is worse when you squat or twist.
The easiest meniscus to repair is a horizontal meniscus.
The hardest meniscus to repair is the radial meniscus.
A meniscus injury will feel like pain at the center or side of your knee depending on where the meniscus injury is and there is most often sharp pain when you twist or squat with a meniscus injury.
You can know if you tore your meniscus by the signs and symptoms of a torn meniscus which include a popping sensation when the injury occurs, stiffness or swelling, pain that occurs especially when rotating or twisting the knee, difficulty fully straightening your knee and a locked feeling when you try to move your knee.
You can make a meniscus tear worse if you're not careful to avoid any movements or activities that can put pressure on the torn meniscus.
Activities that you should avoid with a torn meniscus are swimming using the whip kick or frog kick, jogging, operating clutch pedals, rising from seated position, climbing stairs, repetitive bending, pivoting or squatting.
With a meniscus tear you should avoid any activities or positions that place any excessive pressure on your knee until the swelling and pain has gone down.
If you don't fix or treat a torn meniscus it can sometimes lead to part of the meniscus coming loose and slipping into the joint.
If this happens then you will usually need surgery to restore the full function of your knee.
Meniscus tears that are left untreated can also increase in size and also lead to other complications like arthritis.
A torn meniscus or meniscus tear takes around 8 weeks to heal on it's own without surgery.
The best position to sleep in with a torn meniscus is on your back with your leg elevated slightly.
Keeping your leg elevated slightly but not bent while you have a torn meniscus can promote healthy blood circulation that helps keep swelling down and pain down.
With a torn meniscus you will feel the pain at the center or the side of your knee.
The location of the pain with the torn meniscus will depend on where the torn meniscus tear is.
Most often you will still be able to walk with the torn meniscus and swelling will most often increase slowly over a couple of day and also might make your knee feel stiff and limit bending.
Also with a torn meniscus there is usually a sharp pain when you squat or twist.
The supplements that are good for meniscus tear are oral cartilage supplements such as glucosamine such as Osteo Bi-Flex, Puritans Pride and Spring Valley Joint supplements that has been shown to repair worn out cartilage.
You must also avoid any excessive pressure on your knee although you can still do your usual exercises.
You should wrap your knee with a compression bandage if you have a torn meniscus as it helps reduce swelling.
You should also use an ice pack on your knee for at least 20 minutes several times a day to help speed of the healing of the torn meniscus.
The kind of brace you wear for a torn meniscus is a hinged knee brace that can be either rigid or soft and also provides adequate levels of compression which promote the healing process of the torn meniscus.
The hinged knee brace for a torn meniscus is the best, especially for anyone who has previously injured their knee.
The 3 signs of a meniscus injury or meniscus tear are.
A locked feeling when you try to move your knee.
Difficulty fully straightening your knee.
Pain, especially when you twist or rotate your knee.
Other signs of a meniscus injury are swelling or stiffness and a popping sensation when the injury occurs.
Arthritis of the knee is not the same as a torn meniscus.
The arthritis of the knee is inflammation of the knee joints and a torn meniscus is an injury where you tear your meniscus which is a C shaped piece of cartilage which acts as a cushion between your tibia or shinbone and femur or thighbone.
A meniscus tear can result from a forceful twist or rotation of your knee.
A Grade 1 meniscus tear is a small meniscus tear that does not extend to your articular surface or the top of your meniscus.
A Grade 2 meniscus tear is a larger tear in your meniscus which also does not extend to the surface of the articular.
You can test for a torn meniscus at home with the help of a friend by doing the following test for a torn meniscus.
To self diagnose a torn meniscus at home you should lay down on your back with your knee bent.
Then have someone rotate your foot to the inside of your leg and then extend your knee slowly.
If you feel any pain or are not able to extend your knee then this can be a sign of a torn meniscus or a meniscus injury.
You can heal a torn meniscus naturally by using elevation of the legs or leg, compression, ice and resting.
When you have a torn meniscus you should apply some ice to the torn meniscus to reduce pain and inflammation and also rest and keep weight off the knee and keep the knee either straight or bent.
The ice, elevation and compression also reduce the pain and swelling associated with a torn meniscus.
In the beginning it's better to use ice for a torn meniscus until the pain and swelling has gone down and then heat can be good after that to encourage further healing.
The ice or cold can relieve the pain and inflammation of the torn meniscus.
It does hurt to touch your knee with a torn meniscus and the pain is more severe in more severe torn meniscus situations.
The symptoms of a meniscus tear can be different for different people although some of the most common symptoms of a torn meniscus include pain in your knee joint which most often occurs on the inside or medial or outside or lateral or back of your knee and swelling and catching or locking of your knee joint.
The 2 tests that check the meniscus are the Steinmann I test that is done with the knee flexed at 90 degrees and a sudden external rotatory force is then applied on the tibia to test your medial meniscus.
And the Childress or duck waddle test provokes a compressive force on your posterior horn of your meniscus causing pain.
An ACL tear is usually worse than a meniscus tear.
The limitations vary depending on which ligament was injured.
However, while both cause a lot of discomfort, technically speaking, an ACL tear could be considered as worse, since it may require surgery to fully heal.
On the other hand, a minor MCL tear can heal on its own.