While a conservative approach to treating a meniscus tear can be successful for many people, in those that have a larger tear that is causing pain, locking or buckling, and is not responding to conservative care like physical therapy, a surgical approach may be recommended. There are three main surgical approaches for a meniscus tear:

Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy: During this procedure the damaged part of the meniscus is trimmed away and removed. It is commonly used to treat degenerative tears and radial tears but may not have as good of long term outcomes as a meniscus repair and thus is often not recommended as a first line treatment of choice.

Meniscus Repair:This approach is intended to preserve the entire meniscus by repairing the tear. Not every tear or every patient is a good candidate for this type of surgery but it is preferable when possible to retain as much of the meniscus as possible.

Meniscus Reconstruction: This is a more complex procedure used to replace a partially or totally resected meniscus in symptomatic patients who have been unresponsive to conservative management. The main goal is to fill the defect and safely place a functional meniscus that is similar anatomically and structurally to the native meniscus.

Following the surgery PT will be recommended to help ensure healing of the meniscus repair while restoring function to the knee itself so you can get back to your previous activities.

HOW LONG WILL I NEED PHYSICAL THERAPY?

If you decide to work with a physical therapist to help with meniscal repair surgery rehab issues, your entire treatment plan could consist of around 8-20+ different physical therapy sessions that will each last 60-90 minutes. Once you complete your customized physical therapy treatment plan, you will be able to continue to do the prescribed stretches and exercises utilized during your PT sessions yet in the comfort of your own home.

Looking for the cause of an injury

While full recovery and return to play is the ultimate goal when it comes to injury rehabilitation, a physical therapist has much more to offer. We are interested in identifying the factors that may have predisposed you to the injury in the first place so that we can make a plan to address them. This helps decrease your risk for future injury. Here are some factors that we look for when assessing a player:

• Muscle strength, power and endurance
• Flexibility and mobility in muscles and joints
• Sleep, nutrition and recovery time
• Training schedule
• History of prior injury
• The physical demands of a player’s position on the team

While some injuries are unavoidable, there may be times when internal and external factors play a role. Identifying these factors allows us to address them with a good physical therapy program or give advice on beneficial modifications to your training.

Movement and Performance Analyses