What are the symptoms of Lateral Meniscus Tear?
The common symptoms of a Lateral Meniscus Tear are: • Pain • Swelling • Locking of the joint • Instability • Dull ache The meniscus is a critical structure in the knee joint. It helps with the stability and correct biomechanical functioning of the knee. If the cartilage is torn, the knee becomes very painful and swollen. Often the knee locks so you can’t fully flex or extend it, and taking weight through the knee can be painful and the knee can give way. Even this type of symptom can settle with conservative treatment, but often it will require surgery. Smaller cartilage tears can present as a sharp pain initially when this type of knee injury occurs. Minimal or no swelling and then becomes a dull ache, often on the side of the knee that is damaged, but also in popliteal fossa as popliteus goes into spasm to try and protect and stabilise the knee.
