Have a painful knee injury that’s preventing you from going on walks or playing with your kids? You may be dealing with a meniscus tear, one of the most common types of knee injuries people can get. The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of cartilage that cushions the area between the shinbone and the thighbone. When that cartilage gets torn, it can cause a lot of knee pain and difficulty moving the knee correctly. While rest, ice and physical therapy can help heal mild to moderate tears, in extreme cases your injury may require surgery.

How do you know if the knee injury that’s causing you pain is a meniscus tear? There are a few specific symptoms you can look out for. Let’s explore some common symptoms of a meniscus tear, the different types of meniscus injuries that may occur, and how physical therapy can help you heal.

Symptoms of a torn meniscus

You may not always notice a torn meniscus right away. Eventually, swelling can occur, but your knee may otherwise look completely normal from the outside. It can take 24 hours or more for pain and other symptoms to begin. This is especially true if the tear is small. However, if you have torn your meniscus, here are eight signs and symptoms that may occur:

• A popping sensation
• Swelling or stiffness in the knee
• Pain, especially when twisting or rotating your knee
• A feeling like your knee might give out beneath you
• An inability to fully extend or bend the knee joint
• Pain in the knee joint, usually on the inside (medial), outside (lateral) or back of the knee
• A feeling as though your knee is locked in place when you try to move it
• Limping due to pain or stiffness

These symptoms may gradually worsen over time, as meniscus tears rarely heal on their own. Directly after your injury, you may still be able to use and bear weight on your injured leg. However, as your knee begins to swell, it can become more stiff and painful over the course of several days.

If you think you might have torn your meniscus, call your doctor. They can diagnose your condition and perform tests such as X-rays or MRIs to determine whether your meniscus has been injured.

Types of meniscus tears

Each knee joint has two menisci, the medial meniscus and the lateral meniscus. Tears are more likely to occur in the medial meniscus than the lateral meniscus, though both can also occur. 

• Medial meniscus tear — The medial meniscus is the cartilage attached to the inside of the knee joint and ligament, which makes it less mobile. 
• Lateral meniscus tear — The lateral meniscus is the cartilage attached to the outside of the knee joint and ligament. This meniscus isn’t attached as tightly, so it’s more mobile than the medial meniscus and less prone to injury.

A meniscus tear can be caused by a number of different things. Usually, it’s due to activities that include forcefully twisting or rotating your knee, such as pivoting or sudden stops and turns. Sometimes even movements such as kneeling, deep squatting or heavy lifting can cause a tear in your meniscus. Acute meniscus tears often occur while playing sports and your knee twists while your foot remains firmly planted on the ground.

For older adults, degenerative wear and tear can contribute to a torn meniscus even if you aren’t participating in intense physical activities. People whose cartilage has worn down either due to age or conditions like arthritis can tear their meniscus by doing something as simple as walking on an uneven surface. Degeneration, especially due to arthritis, may cause tears even without injuring the knee. Here are a few different kinds of meniscus tears that can occur:

• Bucket handle meniscus tear — This type of meniscus injury is a vertical tear from the shinbone to the thighbone. The tear occurs along the length of the meniscus and can make it impossible to move the knee normally. A bucket handle meniscus tear can also cause the knee to lock up.
• Radial meniscus tear — This type of meniscus injury runs perpendicular to the tibia and fibers in the meniscus. This can put increased pressure on the joint by disrupting the way the meniscus distributes weight in the knee. A radial meniscus tear may cause pain, limited range of motion in the knee, and the feeling of your knee catching or locking.
• Posterior horn medial meniscus tear — This type of meniscus injury creates a tear right where the meniscus and the bone meet. Lifting heavy objects or playing sports such as tennis may cause this kind of injury. For older people, climbing stairs or doing other minor activities can be enough to cause a tear. Symptoms may not appear right away, but they can show up over time. Severe cases can also cause stress fractures.
• Meniscus degenerative tear — This type of meniscus injury occurs due to aging, not a specific injury. A meniscus degenerative tear can be caused by knee osteoarthritis. People with this condition may or may not experience symptoms. If you do experience symptoms, they’re likely to be knee pain and the feeling of the knee locking up.

Depending on what kind of meniscus tear you have, you may experience different symptoms and levels of pain. Talk to your doctor to see what kind of injury you have and the treatment plan they’d recommend.

How physical therapy can help a torn meniscus

Some meniscus tears can heal themselves. However, the inner two-thirds of the meniscus lack blood flow, making healing on its own unlikely. If your condition is severe or persists long-term, you may need surgery to correct it. 

Physical therapy is considered a “conservative” or noninvasive treatment for meniscus tears. For many people, physical therapy is enough to strengthen and improve their injury. Conservative treatment can be a good place to start for a mild to moderate meniscus injury. Here are a few physical therapy treatments your physical therapist may use to help you:

• Manual therapy — This type of physical therapy is a gentle, hands-on method for stretching and strengthening your knee joint. Your physical therapist will use their hands to manipulate your leg to stretch the muscles in ways that would be difficult to do on your own.
• Therapeutic exercises — Stretching and strengthening exercises such as movement retraining can help you build up your muscles and regain flexibility and mobility in your knee. Your physical therapist can show you the best therapeutic exercises for your meniscus injury.
• Postsurgery physical therapy — If your injury is severe enough that it requires surgery, postsurgery physical therapy can help you recover after your knee operation. This can promote faster healing and help you get back to your old self sooner.

Your physical therapist can evaluate your condition and develop a specific treatment plan designed to help you regain the strength, mobility and stability you may have lost due to your injury. 

At Franklin Rehabilitation, we want to help you get back to playing tennis and going on hikes without pain. Our licensed physical therapists are trained in a variety of physical therapy treatment methods that can treat meniscus tears and help you get back to an active lifestyle. 

Don’t let a knee injury stop you from living your life. Call us or request an appointment today to see how physical therapy can help you get your mobility back.