Your menisci are the two C-shaped pieces of cartilage around each of your knee joints. They help to cushion and stabilize the joints. Unfortunately, meniscus tears are quite common. They can occur due to an acute injury or a degenerative condition. It is often possible to keep walking with a torn meniscus, so some people choose to ignore their injury. But what might happen if you do that? This blog post provides some sobering information.
Complications Resulting from Untreated Meniscus Tears
If you continue to walk long distances, run, or play sports even if you suspect you have a torn meniscus, you could face some significant short-term consequences. In the days following your injury, you may notice that your symptoms get much worse. For example, you may experience significant pain, stiffness, and swelling.
Continuing to ignore the injury could lead to even more serious consequences down the road, including:
- An increased risk of osteoarthritis in your knee.
- An increased chance that part of the torn meniscus will break off and become lodged in the knee joint. (This issue requires invasive surgery to correct.)
- A significant reduction in mobility of the affected joint.
- Other musculoskeletal aches and pains that result from having a weak knee. (For example, your gait may be affected, which could negatively impact your hips and back.)
Treating a Torn Meniscus
Some torn menisci are only treatable via surgery. This is often the case when the injury is acute (as opposed to degenerative).
Regardless of how your injury occurred, it is important that you consult with a qualified physician. They will recommend the most conservative treatment that seems suitable for your unique injury. You might need something relatively simple. For example, minor tears might heal quite nicely with a combination of physical therapy, bracing, and other non-invasive treatments.
You might also benefit from regenerative medicine. For example:
- Targeted stem cell injections can encourage the growth of healthy tissues within the knee joint, which can strengthen it, reduce pain, and delay or perhaps even prevent the onset of osteoarthritis.
- PRP therapy, or the injection of platelet-rich plasma derived from your own blood, can encourage healing.
- Prolotherapy or Prolozone can be used to encourage healing and growth factors to travel to the site of injured tissues.
Ignoring a torn meniscus is never a good idea! A qualified orthopedic physician may be able to help you avoid long-term consequences from your injury and keep you moving!
Meet the Practice
Dr. Paul Tortland is an orthopedic physician who is board-certified in regenerative medicine. He is a leader in the field of stem cell therapy, and torn menisci are among the many types of injuries that he is able to treat. If you are worried about the health of your knees, he and our team are ready to evaluate your needs. Contact the New England Stem Cell Institute at 860-430-2821.