Like a lot of knee injuries, a meniscus tear can be painful and debilitating. Unfortunately, it's quite common. In fact, a meniscus tear is one of the most frequently occurring cartilage injuries of the knee.
So what is the meniscus? It's a piece of cartilage in your knee that cushions and stabilizes the joint. It protects the bones from wear and tear. But all it takes is a good twist of the knee to tear the meniscus. In some cases, a piece of the shredded cartilage breaks loose and catches in the knee joint, causing it to lock up.
Meniscus tears are common in contact sports like football as well as non-contact sports requiring jumping and cutting, such as volleyball and soccer. They can happen when a person changes direction suddenly while running, and often occur at the same time as other knee injuries, like an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Meniscus tears are a special risk for older athletes since the meniscus weakens with age. More than 40% of people 65 or older have them.
This is the doctor you want!
Dr. Wendell Heard practices at the Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine Plus and at Tulane Lakeside Hospital. He is a fellowship-trained Orthopaedic Surgeon specializing in conditions such as ACL tears. The additional training he received in Sports Medicine surgery is considered to be among the best in the world.
