He is an associate professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and attending physician in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. You may have limited mobility, including difficulty walking and moving of the knee. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Careers. A stabilized knee brace has additional springs down the sides to give your knee extra support. It's sometimes possible to repair a torn meniscus, especially in children and younger adults. The key to determining the treatment of these tears is their location. This condition is one of the most occurring knee injuries, especially for athletes. Meniscal tear: Presentation, diagnosis and management. A lateral meniscus tear is an injury to the semi-circular cartilage on the outside of the knee joint. Sometimes these tears require surgical repair. Your knee is likely to swell up either immediately, or within 24 to 48 hours. The patient is positioned on their front with the knee bent. if you have sudden pain from a knee injury. This will reduce the stress on your knee. You may have to wear a brace or cast to keep your knee stable. In children particularly, meniscus tears may be difficult to diagnose as pain may be vague and difficult to pinpoint. 2019;7(1):2325967118820305. doi:10.1177/2325967118820305, Bolog NV, Andreisek G. Reporting knee meniscal tears: technical aspects, typical pitfalls and how to avoid them. Week or two: With effort on your behalf to regain range of motion, stiffness usually resolves within 1-2 weeks following a simple arthroscopic meniscectomy. SportsMD provides sports injury and performance information and Telehealth Appointments with top sports medicine doctors and specialists. Disclaimer. Meniscus tears are the most frequently treated knee injuries. Information related to various health, medical, and fitness conditions and their treatment is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by a physician or other medical professional. Longitudinal (vertical) tear of the anterior horn, body and posterior horn medial meniscus without complete extrusion or parameniscal cyst formation. I have a micro fracture of the tibial plateau and a lateral meniscus tear, what to do? Any reproduction of symptoms, pain, or clicking is a positive response, suggesting a torn meniscus. This is because it doesnt attach to the lateral knee ligament in the same way that the medial cartilage meniscus attaches to the medial ligament. A complex tear means there is a combination of tear patterns. Swelling continually developing post exercise may also allude to a chronic meniscus injury (2). Video chat with a U.S. board-certified doctor 24/7 in less than one minute for common issues such as: colds and coughs, stomach symptoms, bladder infections, rashes, and more. For example: Surgery may be a meniscus repair or a trimming of the meniscus tissue, which is called a partial meniscectomy. To learn more, please visit our. Lateral Meniscus Tear. PMC Meniscus repair rehab protocol. In this case, a portion may break off, leaving frayed edges. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. Meniscal root tears, less common than meniscal body tears and frequently unrecognized, are a subset of meniscal injuries that often result in significant knee joint disorders. How does it feel? JOSPT 2012 42(7): 601-614. Radial tears are the most common type of meniscus tear. The vascular portion of the meniscus is the area of the cartilage with blood flow. Eventually. Zhang S, Chen G, Li R, Yang C, Zheng J, Wang C, Lu J, Zhang Z, Shang X, Zhang H, Wang W, Li W, Huang J, Zhang Y, Wang J, Wang Y, Zheng X, Chen S, Li J, Hua Y. Orthop J Sports Med. Common tears include bucket handle, flap, and radial. 50-70% of load placed on the knee is transmitted away from the joint cartilage by the menisci. They may include injury to skin nerves, infections, and knee stiffness. A complete tear goes all the way through the meniscus, while a tear that is still partly attached is considered incomplete. the meniscus functions to optimize force transmission across the knee. Here's what to expect from. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. J Bone Joint Surg Am. If your motion and strength are recovered. Meniscal disorders: normal, discoid, and cysts. The surgeon may remove loose pieces of meniscus, cartilage, or bone floating in the joint as well. Andrish JT1. The fibers in the anterior lateral root are of uniform density (unlike the other roots which have central and supplemental portions). Our website services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. Exercises should be done regularly, at least twice a day whilst. Those that are caused by an injury are often the ones that can be, A meniscectomy is a procedure that repairs a torn meniscus. After the surgery, with the help of a brace. Orthop J Sports Med. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Before The meniscus can get torn, but not all tears are the same. Tears are noted by how they look, as well as where the tear occurs in the meniscus. Verywell Health's content is for informational and educational purposes only. The risk of injury increases as you get older, when bones and tissues around the knee begin to wear down. 2. Conservative treatment for some meniscus tears is well documented as effective. The younger and fitter you are, the better the outcome is likely to be. Other symptoms might include: Tenderness and pain along the joint line. They can be injured or torn with twisting or traumatic movements of the knee. The orthopedist may suggest an arthroscopic repair. If your doctors exam shows your meniscus tear is mild (Grade 1 or 2), you may not need surgery. Hada S, Kaneko H, Liu L, Aoki T, Takamura T, Kinoshita M, Arita H, Shiozawa J, Negishi Y, Momoeda M, Kubota M, Aoki S, Okada Y, Ishijima M. Osteoarthr Cartil Open. There are other possibilities as well. Should You Have Knee Replacement Surgery? It does this by. However, it takes longer for an athlete to recover. The micro-fracture will heal. Kocher MS, Klingele K, Rassman SO. Knowing about what might happen can help you avoid or mitigate problems to save your money, self and loved ones. 3. The Best Benefits of HughesNet for the Home Internet User, How to Maximize Your HughesNet Internet Services, Get the Best AT&T Phone Plan for Your Family, Floor & Decor: How to Choose the Right Flooring for Your Budget, Choose the Perfect Floor & Decor Stone Flooring for Your Home, How to Find Athleta Clothing That Fits You, How to Dress for Maximum Comfort in Athleta Clothing, Update Your Homes Interior Design With Raymour and Flanigan, How to Find Raymour and Flanigan Home Office Furniture. These lie on the inside (medial) and outside (lateral) edges of the top of your tibia (shin bone). The aim is to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee, such as the front thigh muscles, known as the quadriceps. Current Concepts for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Criterion-Based Rehabilitation Progression. With arthroscopic meniscus repair or Removal or Meniscectomy the patient can bear weight on the knee immediately after surgery. A tear of the lateral meniscus can occur during twisting movements, direct impact to the knee joint, deep squats, or due to degeneration of the cartilage, particularly in older athletes. Symptoms of a meniscus tear may be different for each person, but some of the most common symptoms are: Pain in the knee joint: usually on the inside (medial), outside (lateral) or back of the knee Swelling Catching or locking of the knee joint Inability to fully extend or bend the knee joint Limping Meniscus replacement is considered an option for those who had developed pain in the knee but have no advanced degeneration to the articular or gliding cartilage or gliding surface. Prevent having a torn meniscus by regularly performing leg exercises for strengthening. Background We describe a special, interesting phenomenon found in the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus (AHLM): most tear patterns in the AHLM are distinctive, with loose fibers in injured region and circumferential fiber bundles were separated. Surgery versus conservative treatment for meniscus tears has been a medical topic of controversy for many years. Lateral meniscus is intact. I had arthroscopic knee surgery to fix a lateral meniscus tear. A meniscal cyst is a mixture of joint fluid produced by a tear within the meniscus tendon and the joint pad over the knee. About meniscus tears A lateral meniscus tear recovery time will depend on these factors as well as the patient's health, strength and compliance to treatment and management protocols. Spang RC III, et al. Meniscus replacement is considered an option for those who had developed. . They may also recommend compression stockings to help prevent blood clots. Leg exercises will improve the stabilisation of your knee joint and, in effect, protect it from injury. Wear knee support to help protect your knee joint while it heals. Eight fresh-frozen cadaveric knees were used. When people are in their 20s or 30s, doctors commonly see intrasubstance changes (also called incomplete tears) of the meniscus on a magnetic resonance imagining test (MRI). The healing time for a low-grade lateral meniscus tear is 4-6 weeks, but higher grade or poorly located tears may take 3-4 months. Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lateral Meniscal Lesions: A Consensus Statement by the Chinese Society of Sports Medicine. shock-absorption. Also consult a doctor if you continue to have pain after a course of conservative treatment. Bookshelf Bucket-handle tears often require more urgent surgical treatment to allow the knee to start bending again. Altered tibiofemoral contact mechanics due to lateral meniscus posterior horn root avulsions and radial tears can be restored with in situ pull-out suture repairs. Feeling like the knee is locked in place as you try moving. Your knees are a crucial body part subjected to up to 5 times your body weight whenever you are active. Complex tear anterior horn lateral meniscus, Radial tear of the body of the lateral meniscus. Doru Paul, MD, is triple board-certified in medical oncology, hematology, and internal medicine. Unable to load your collection due to an error, Unable to load your delegates due to an error. Figure 2. Clinical findings are nonspecific and can include pain, instability, and joint effusion. In medical terms this means that of the two meniscus in the knee (lateral vs medial), the medial meniscus is more likely to tear. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. Recovery time is 6 to 8 weeks with conservative treatment. The cyst is referred to as parameniscal cyst when it is adjacent to the meniscus often associated with a horizontal or lateral tear of the meniscus. The success of the surgery depends not only on the severity of your tear but also on your age, and physical condition. Meniscus Root Repair Rehab & Recovery. With root tears, meniscal extrusion often occurs, and the transmission of circumferential hoop stresses is impaired. Telemedicine is gaining popularity because it can help bring you and the doctor together quicker and more efficiently. Experts say choosing between knee repair and knee reconstruction surgery isn't a simple decision. What are the different procedures for a torn meniscus? These treatments may include: resting the knee using crutches wearing a brace wrapping ice in a towel and putting it on the knee for 15 minutes a few times a day propping up the leg when sitting down special exercises nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), rimed.org/rimedicaljournal/2016/10/2016-10-27-sports-babu.pdf, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5489759/, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6483631/, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5994634/, orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/meniscus-tears/, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3418117/, physioworks.com.au/pain-injury/knee-pain/meniscus-tear/, sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1063458418300827, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4095015/, racgp.org.au/afp/2012/april/meniscal-tear/, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5905745/, How to Ease Knee Pain and Sleep Tight Through the Night, What Your Knee Pain May Indicate Based on Its Location, Prepatellar Bursitis on the Kneecap: Treatment and Recovery from this Injury, ACL Knee Repair Sometimes Leads to Better Outcomes Than Reconstruction. A longitudinal meniscus tear is one that occurs along the length of the meniscus. The pain and swelling become worse when the patient does pivot motions, squats, and vigorous activities usually done in sports. With repair, the preinjury condition peak forces were restored to normal, suggesting the importance of repairing tears of the AHLM. Epub 2011 Oct 26. It depends on the severity of the tear, the tightness of your knee, the presence of any additional problems in your knee that could not be addressed a MRI results are not 100% accurate. FOIA Walk with crutches. Smart Grocery Shopping When You Have Diabetes, Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Dogs and Cats, Smoking Pot Every Day Linked to Heart Risks, Artificial Sweetener Linked to Heart Risks, FDA Authorizes First At-Home Test for COVID and Flu, New Book: Take Control of Your Heart Disease Risk, MINOCA: The Heart Attack You Didnt See Coming, Health News and Information, Delivered to Your Inbox, Slideshow: Knee Surgery Recovery Timeline. Your doctor may recommend physical therapy as part of your recovery. Conservative treatment is also advised for smaller tears, and stable longitudinal meniscus tears that occur in the outer third of the meniscus, the red zone. This is the area of your meniscus that has some blood supply, which aids healing. 2022 Dec 9;10(12):23259671221138082. doi: 10.1177/23259671221138082. Accessibility For these, please consult a doctor (virtually or in person). 2023 Dotdash Media, Inc. All rights reserved, Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Acute meniscus tears occur suddenly. In addition to describing the type of tear, most MRI and surgical reports will describe the location of the tear. The arthroscopic meniscus repair is a procedure done to repair torn knee cartilage, usually for athletes. Knee Surg Relat Res. Med Biol Eng Comput. (2017). Incidence and risk factors associated with meniscal injuries among active-duty US military service members. The posterior horn of the meniscus has attachments to one or both of the meniscofemoral ligaments when present. Generally, the aftercare and rehabilitation includes rest and then walking and specific exercises. anterior root; lateral meniscus; medial meniscus; meniscal repair; meniscal tear; meniscus; meniscus root; posterior root. If your symptoms persist after 3 months or your symptoms become significant, your doctor may recommend surgery to repair the tear. Question: How long does it take to walk after meniscus surgery? Sixty percent of people over 65 have minor tears that sometimes cause no symptoms. The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). After surgery, you will need to do exercises to increase and maintain knee strength and stability. You can reduce the frequency as your symptoms improve. What's the key difference between a knee sprain and a small lateral meniscus tear? Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 1996 Oct;4(5):231-237, Best Products For Iliotibial Band Syndrome. and transmitted securely. Your recovery will also depend on whether or not you had a meniscus repair (sutures) or if you simply had the torn pieces removed (partial menisectomy). If you wait too long, you might worsen an injury and need more complex and expensive solutions. 2013;106:91-115. doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldt002. (Right) Flap tear. Recovery time for meniscus tear surgery can go anywhere from 3-6 months after surgery. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. 2008 Sep;90(9):1922-31. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.G.00748. Learn about the most common knee injuries from falling, as well as which ones you can treat at home and which ones require medical attention. Question: How long after meniscus tear surgery can I go back to work? Some clinical studies on its effectiveness exist, but more research is needed. Sit down on the floor and come into your end range for active knee flexion - stop when you get pain and back off a little bit. Due to the torn meniscus, your knee lacks stability. On a coronal image you will first see an enlarged bulky anterior horn. Biomechanical consequences of anterior root detachment of the lateral meniscus and its reinsertion. (2018). For those patiens who have a job that involves manual labor or being on your feet most of the day, your return to work can take 4-6 weeks. Ice can be applied for 10 to 15 minutes every 2 hours initially. 2012 Jan;50(1):53-60. doi: 10.1007/s11517-011-0840-1. The most common location for a meniscus tear is in the back of the knee and on the inner side of the knee. It mostly has no symptoms. It will also help stabilize your balance and help prevent another knee injury. Epub 2013 Jan 31. (2018). Central tears are on the inner side of the meniscus. Each knee joint has two crescent-shaped cartilage menisci. increasing congruency. Any use of this web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy Copyright 2023 SportsMD Media Inc., All rights Reserved. A bucket handle meniscus tear is an exaggerated form of a longitudinal tear. No swollen locking catching knee can bend stairs pain on & off what will happen if complex entire horizontal lateral meniscus tear is left untreated? It takes longer for a meniscus repair to heal than a meniscectomy. Total recovery time can vary from 3 to 6 months, depending on the overall health of the patient and their commitment to proper follow-up care. Studies show that exercise routines can significantly improve knee pain and function. In addition, 85% of the force is taken by it with a 90-degree bent knee. In general, Ayurvedic treatment considers the whole state of the person, not just the specific location of the pain. Please note, we cannot prescribe controlled substances, diet pills, antipsychotics, or other abusable medications. Knowing about what might happen can help you avoid or mitigate problems to save your money, self and loved ones. An MRI scan may be needed to confirm the diagnosis and extent of the injury. Hip Labrum Surgery: Is It the Right Treatment? Its best to see a doctor for diagnosis of knee pain and a treatment plan. A horizontal tear runs along the curved fibers of the meniscus. Home treatment, If you've been sidelined by a common sports injury like an ACL tear, you're likely wondering how long it will take to heal. Incomplete and intrasubstance meniscus tears are considered "stable" injuries. The meniscus is a vital part of the body that is central for shock absorption and load transmission in the knees. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the The torn meniscus is corrected via a minimally invasive procedure depending on the kind of injury. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. DeFroda SF, Bokshan SL, et al. However, in some unusual circumstances, a surgeon can remove some of the torn meniscus while repairing other portions of the knee. Complicated arthroscopic repair of a meniscus tear requires that the patients knee be completely immobilized for 2 weeks after surgery. Older people are likely to have meniscus damage related to degeneration from wear-and-tear. Learn more via SportsMDs 24/7 Telemedicine Service. If the test is positive (suggesting a meniscal tear), the patient will feel pain and the clinician will feel and/or hear meniscal movement when the meniscus is compressed between the tibia and femur 32. Biomechanical analysis of the effects of medial meniscectomy on degenerative osteoarthritis. Different types of meniscus tears can affect your knee in various ways, depending on what the tear looks like. (2017). Most likely, your doctor will recommend that you rest, use pain relievers, and. The .gov means its official. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Treatment of meniscal tears: An evidence based approach. An update on #meniscus surgery by @DrKrych on the Mayo Clinic Orthopedic Surgery podcast. Raoulis V Sr, Fyllos A, Baltas C, Schuster P, Bakagiannis G, Zibis AH, Hantes M. Cureus. Meniscectomy. Epub 2013 Dec 10. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. An athlete might tear a meniscus with a sudden leg movement, but the injury can happen to anyone. Dr. Richard Zimon and 2 doctors agree Dr. Roby Thompson answered Orthopedic Surgery 64 years experience 6 weeks: A non displaced tear on the periphery of the meniscus will usually heal in 6 weeks Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone. Innervation of nociceptors in intact human menisci along the longitudinal axis: semi-quantitative histological evaluation and clinical implications. A whopping 90% of patients recover entirely and go back to normal. 2012 Jun;20(2):86-94. doi: 10.1097/JSA.0b013e31825186ca. Question: How long does it take to drive after meniscus surgery? A tear on the inner two-thirds of the meniscus that wont heal on its own because the area lacks blood flow to stimulate the immune system response. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted The aftercare and recovery require postoperative protection to allow healing. Eight fresh-frozen cadaveric knees were used. It allows doctors to see inside your joints. Illustration of the mechanism in a flipped meniscus. Injuries to either the medial meniscus or lateral meniscus can prevent your knee from functioning properly. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. How to Prepare for Knee Replacement Surgery, Beyond Arthritis: Hip and Knee Replacements for Women. It may also be known as Runners knee, Chondromalacia patellae,, Hamstring tendonitis/tendinopathy is inflammation or degeneration of one of the hamstring tendons at the point where it attaches to the back of the knee. (2012). The therapist grasps the heel and ankle and applies a compressive force through the lower leg. That makes walking more difficult and also increases the risk of re-injuring your knee. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Recovery depends on the amount of work which has been done within the knee, but usually meniscus repair is done via keyhole surgery. Each knee has 2 menisci. You must also have complete control of the functions of your knee before your drive. When you want to quickly speak with a top sports doctor and have an effective alternative to emergency room, urgent care center, or clinic. Meniscus tears are the most frequently treated knee injuries. I would expect that the tear will worsen and that your, and dysfunction in the knee will also worsen. Anterior horn tear of the lateral meniscus in footballers with a stable knee is characterized by pain at the anterolateral . Recovery is helped by physical therapy, which is done for the patient to regain the full function of the knee. Axial PD fat sat. This will help to strengthen the muscles around your knee and keep it stable. Your doctor may give you a joint injection of glucocorticoids to reduce swelling. increases contact area leads to decreased point loading. Or it may develop gradually through wear and tear. Pain in the knees that worsen when you twist or rotate it. Pain when bending your knee or squatting. You will know a specific time when your injury occurred. Meniscal transplantation If your meniscus can't be repaired with surgery, your provider may talk with you about meniscal transplantation. In recent years, meniscal root tears, which by definition include direct avulsions off the tibial plateau or radial tears adjacent to the root itself, have attracted attention because of concerns that significant meniscal extrusion dramatically inhibits normal meniscal function, leading to a condition biomechanically similar to a total meniscectomy. A tear of the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus is damage to the front part of one of the two structures that act as shock absorbers between the thigh bone and the lower leg, explains The Steadman Clinic. All from the comfort of home. This can provide pain relief for 2 to 4 weeks. Further to this, the tear is more likely to occur near the posterior horn . A bucket-handle tear is a prominent type of horizontal meniscal tear. Furthermore, repair of these tears has been reported to restore contact pressures to normal values. However, when it is successfully repaired, developing arthritis slows down significantly. We'll go over how it's done, the recovery timeline, and risks to watch for after the, There are two types of knee locking: a true knee lock and a pseudo knee lock. Recently, injuries to the anterior root of the lateral meniscus (ARLM) have been reported concomitant with some tibial fractures 7,9 or in the setting of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL . Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. There are multiple types of procedures, including meniscus removal or meniscectomy, meniscus repair surgery or, in rare cases, meniscus replacement. How long is recovery time for an grade 3a tear, anterior horn, lateral meniscus. The treatment for a tear depends on what part of the meniscus is injured, and also takes into account a variety of factors, including the person's age, whether there was any response to nonsurgical treatment, and if there is other damage to the knee besides a torn meniscus. Jonathan Cluett, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with subspecialty training in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery. J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2021 Dec 3;9:765596. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.765596. Sometimes a brace will be recommended to offload the injured area and facilitate the healing process. 2015 Oct;22(5):400-4. doi: 10.1016/j.knee.2015.05.008. To be sure, your doctor will probably have an MRI done. The specimens were subjected to a load of 1,000 N at 0 and 30 degrees of flexion and peak pressure, force and contact area were recorded. Posterior root tear of the medial and lateral meniscus. There are three options for lateral meniscus repair surgery: Therefore, without blood supply, there is little capacity for these tears to heal without treatment. Iphone | Android. Knee compression sleeves we recommend for stability during exercise. The peak pressure in the nontraumatized medial compartment was significantly increased after partial lateral meniscectomy (p < 0.05). Tears of the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus have been shown to significantly increase tibiofemoral contact pressures in both the medial and lateral compartments of the knee. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The recovery time for meniscus surgery depends on the type of surgery you had. Or whether your pain has developed gradually over time through wear and tear. Keywords: The meniscus root attachment aids meniscal function by securing the meniscus in place and allowing for optimal shock-absorbing function in the knee. An official website of the United States government. This part of the meniscus does not have a blood supply and is therefore not responsive to repair. Your knee may become locked if a piece of cartilage becomes lodged in the joint. Sukopp M, Schall F, Hacker SP, Ignatius A, Drselen L, Seitz AM. (2017). Influence of Menisci on Tibiofemoral Contact Mechanics in Human Knees: A Systematic Review. The outside surface of your knee will feel tender when pressing in, particularly along the joint line. Immediate large volume swelling suggests injury to another structure. I've been told i likely have a minor lateral meniscus tear. The ACL prevents the meniscal fragment from completely migrating into the intercondylar notch. As a result, a flap that looks like a bucket handle is formed. The lateral meniscus is less prone to injury than the medial meniscus. Youll likely also have to use crutches for at least a month to keep weight off your knee. Your care after surgery may involve: Crutches to take stress off the knee as it heals. For an athlete, playing through knee pain can cause greater problems later. 2022 Nov 25;11(23):6943. doi: 10.3390/jcm11236943. Traditional Ayurvedic treatments are widely used in South Asia to reduce swelling, pain, and motion restrictions in meniscus tears and knee osteoarthritis. Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. Usually swells up quickly . You will be unlikely to pinpoint precisely when your injury occurred. A cartilage tear is not like a broken . Displacement of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus 5 mm anterior to the uncovered tibial articular cartilage suggests the presence of detachment [detachments less than 1cm in length are treated conservatively].6 Definitive detachment is . government site. Torn knee cartilage usually happens to athletes because they do much physical activity strenuous to the knees. Thanks for advice on here, i had mri shown lateral meniscus tear heading to ortho in a week. The tear could occur in the white zone or in the red zone, so its recoverability depends entirely on where it's located. Here is the typical meniscus tear healing time that we observe at our practice: A 60-100% improvement can usually be attained in 3-4 months for 80% of people.