Torn Meniscus Treatment: What Options Do Athletes Have Available?
Athletes and people that live active lifestyles are usually in good physical condition, but they also tend to get injured while exercising. Despite the fact that most of these are minor, injuries like a torn meniscus can represent weeks of downtime and physical therapy. This, in turn, can affect your physical performance and have a negative impact on your stats, regardless of the sport you practice.
Tearing a meniscus is not ideal, but there are different options for people that suffer these types of injury. Remember that factors like your age and level of physical activity will affect your recovery time, so you need to think about all of these elements before making the right choice.
In this article, we’ll discuss the role that this part of your knee plays and describe a few symptoms of a ruptured meniscus. We’ll also go over the torn meniscus treatments that are available today to help you make the right choice.
What Role Do the Menisci Play?
The knee is composed of a complex combination of bones, tendons, muscles, ligaments, and other parts that allow it to carry out a series of complex movements. Each one of your knees has two C-shaped discs that are made of cartilage, which are the lateral meniscus and medial meniscus.
Although they may not sound like a vital part of this complex mechanism, the menisci work as a division between your bones and prevent them from rubbing against one another. These discs also absorb impact when carrying out physical activity and can be partially or fully ruptured under certain circumstances.
Symptoms of a Torn Meniscus
Suffering from a torn meniscus is extremely painful and it may represent several weeks in recovery as well as therapy. Unlike some injuries, ruptured menisci don’t usually heal by themselves, so returning to the same level of physical activity without getting therapy is not an option.
During a meniscus tear, athletes can hear a loud noise that sounds like a pop followed by intense pain and swelling. In most cases, the affected knee goes numb, loses stability, and feels too stiff to flex completely. There’s a strong chance you won’t be able to straighten your leg fully and you may feel like your knee collapses every time you put weight on it.
People that suspect they may have suffered a rupture need to seek medical attention and explore the different torn meniscus treatments available to them right away.
What Options to Athletes Have to Treat a Torn Meniscus?
Besides the intense pain and discomfort, suffering a meniscus tear can be nerve-wracking for athletes and active people in general. Even if meniscus tears are not known for causing lengthy effects or reducing the long-term performance of athletes, they can vary in severity and classification. As you can imagine, this will affect the type of treatment you can choose as well as the length of your recovery time.
Like the injury itself, menisci repair options are categorized into different groups. The two types of torn meniscus treatments you can opt for can be divided into conservative and surgical alternatives.
Conservative Treatments
Depending on the gravity of the meniscal tear and your activity level, a physician may first recommend conservative treatments. These are ideal for folks that have a more sedentary lifestyle, for instance, people that have an office job or retirees.
Conservative torn meniscus treatment options employ a combination of rest, regular icing, compression, and periodic knee elevation to help relieve some of the painful symptoms. Depending on age and activity level, some people start experiencing reduced pain in the first seven days, but it may take several weeks to completely recover your balance and strength.
Surgical Alternatives
Athletes, people that exercise regularly, and folks who suffer serious injuries may want to explore surgical alternatives to help remove excess cartilage or attempt to repair the meniscus.
As with other types of surgery, you can expect swelling and discomfort in the first days prior to the meniscus procedure, but the results are much more promising than non-surgical alternatives.
Some meniscal tears may require surgery, but not a complete repair procedure. You may have a rupture that only requires trimming of the excess cartilage and smoothen out the edges to reduce the chances of another tear.
Find the Best Torn Meniscus Treatment Now!
Recovering from an injury is never easy, especially if it’s as painful and severe as a torn meniscus. Even though ruptured menisci are fairly common among athletes, understanding all the options you have available and the elements that affect your recovery will help you make the right choice.
If you want to learn more about our torn meniscus treatment options, get in touch with us today and our team of orthopedic specialists will be glad to help.
