Treatment of an external meniscus tear

How do you treat an external meniscus tear?

The appropriate therapy one External meniscus tear is of enormous importance. Cartilage tissue is only able to heal on its own to a very limited extent, as it is neither through annoy still through Blood vessels and is therefore poorly supplied with the nutrients necessary for the healing process. If a crack is left untreated for a longer period of time, there is a high risk for those affected of suffering consequential damage over time. For example, there is very often one Osteoarthritis of the knee.

The type of treatment to choose for an external meniscus tear depends on many different factors. Next to the Age, the individual Status of the patient (for example relevant Pre-existing illness like osteoarthritis) and its special To wish (For example, it is important whether large-scale sporting activities are planned), above all, the extent to which the damage to the external meniscus tear can be objectively assessed.

Conservative therapy

At minor Damage (including external meniscus tears that shorter than 1cm and in Outdoor area of the meniscus), conservative treatment is usually attempted first. Here the knee is initially over a certain period of time immobilized.
Special splints and walking aids can be used as aids. Gradually, the patient should joint burden again. Are especially important physiotherapy exercises, to the Musculature to train. If necessary, you can also Painkiller or measures like Electrotherapy or manual techniques are used in the therapy of the external meniscus tear.

Appointment with a knee specialist?

I would be happy to advise you!

Who am I?
My name is dr. Nicolas Gumpert. I am a specialist in orthopedics and the founder of .
Various television programs and print media report regularly about my work. On HR television you can see me every 6 weeks live on "Hallo Hessen".
But now enough is indicated ;-)

The knee joint is one of the joints with the greatest stress.

Therefore, the treatment of the knee joint (e.g. meniscus tear, cartilage damage, cruciate ligament damage, runner's knee, etc.) requires a lot of experience.
I treat a wide variety of knee diseases in a conservative way.
The aim of any treatment is treatment without surgery.

Which therapy achieves the best results in the long term can only be determined after looking at all of the information (Examination, X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, etc.) be assessed.

You can find me in:

• Lumedis - your orthopedic surgeon
  Kaiserstrasse 14
  60311 Frankfurt am Main

Directly to the online appointment arrangement
Unfortunately, it is currently only possible to make an appointment with private health insurers. I hope for your understanding!
Further information about myself can be found at Dr. Nicolas Gumpert

Operative therapy

Heavier ones Damages, however, usually have to operational are supplied. Here the method of choice is the one Jointoscopy (Arthroscopy), in which different surgical techniques can be used. This is a minimally invasive procedurewhich means that only very small incisions are needed to operate. Whenever possible, an attempt is made to use as large a proportion of the External meniscus and only treat the external meniscus tears by sewing them. In addition, affected areas of the Cartilage be smoothed.
However, in the case of more extensive defects or in those cases in which the tear is located in the part of the external meniscus that is not supplied with blood, there is no way around it, part of the meniscus to remove (Partial resection). Even if pieces have completely detached from the meniscus during the injury and are freely present in the joint, these are removed so as not to lead to further damage later. In very few patients (if the meniscus is completely destroyed, for example) it can be useful to remove the entire outer meniscus. He is then either through a artificial meniscus implant or one Donor meniscus replaced. After all of these operations, just like with conservative treatment, slowly, step by step, bring the affected knee back to its original resilience.

Complications in operations on an external meniscus tear are pronounced Rare. It may be too Bleeding or injuries from annoy come. In addition, as with any surgical procedure, you run a certain risk for Wound healing disorders or Infections a. The vast majority, however, survive the therapy without problems and achieve a fully functional one after a certain period of time Knee joint again.