The job of the meniscus is an important one, but most people in St. Louis, Missouri, may never even think about his important part of the knee. The function of this C-shaped piece of knee cartilage is to cushion the ends of the thighbone and shinbone. This cushioning allows the bones to move without friction or pain when you bend your knee. When the meniscus is torn, there will be certain signs you’ll notice, and there are four signs in particular that show you’re dealing with a meniscus tear.
1. Popping sound from the knee
Meniscus tears typically occur from sudden starts, stops and changes of direction. The reason these movements are likely to cause a torn meniscus is they place a lot of stress on this structure. People who often put this type of stress on the knee include football, basketball and soccer players, and the first sign that most people notice when a meniscus tears is a loud “pop” from their knee.
2. Pain
The “pop” is typically followed by a sudden pain in the knee. In most cases, the pain of a torn meniscus can make it difficult to continue the activity you were doing, but this depends on how serious the tear is. It can also make walking difficult, and the pain may be at its worst when you try to twist or rotate the affected knee.
3. Swelling
Although it doesn’t typically happen right after the injury, another sign of a meniscus tear is swelling. In many cases, the swelling may not show up until several days after the original injury. Swelling is a sign that your body is sending extra white blood cells and fluid to the injured area, and it does this as the first step in its natural healing process. The swelling is also intended to immobilize the joint to prevent further injury. However, it can also restrict blood vessels and irritate nerves, and this can increase the pain of your injury.
4. Decreased mobility
Stiffness in the knee can be another sign that you’ve torn your meniscus. In part, this stiffness is the result of swelling, but it can also be related to other issues. For instance, guarding is the tensing of muscles to prevent movement in an injured joint. However, this natural reaction to pain can increase the stiffness in the muscles around your knee, and the greater stiffness can make it more difficult to move the knee itself.
Excel Sports & Physical Therapy can help if you have signs of a torn meniscus in St. Louis, MO
At Excel Sports & Physical Therapy in St. Louis, our team is ready to help people treat many types of knee injuries, including meniscus tears. The first step in your treatment process with us will be a one-on-one free screening, and this is intended to help us figure out what type of injury you have and what your symptoms are. Using this information, we’ll then build you an individualized therapy plan that may include techniques like:
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment to begin treating your knee pain.
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