Knee Cartilage Tear
What is a knee Cartilage Tear?
The term cartilage can be very misleading,
Like a lot of knee injuries, a meniscus tear can be painful and debilitating. Unfortunately, it's quite common. In fact, this is one of the most frequently injured parts 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. They can happen when a person changes direction suddenly while running, since it's the meniscus within the knee that are actually damaged.
What can you do to prevent a Knee Cartilage Tear?
There isn't a great deal that you can do to prevent a Cartilage tear. These injuries occur due to the positioning of the knee in a semi bent position while it is bearing weight. Having strong Quadriceps and Hamstring muscles that can deal with the strain on the knee joint may be helpful.
Treatment for Knee Cartilage Tear
Happily, mild to moderate meniscus tears may heal on their own, given time. To speed the healing, you can:
- Rest the knee. Try to avoid putting weight on your knee as much as possible. You may need to use crutches for a time.
- Ice your knee to reduce pain and swelling. Do it for 20-30 minutes every 3-4 hours for 2-3 days, or until the pain and swelling is gone.
- Compress your knee. Use an elastic bandage, straps, or sleeves on your knee to control swelling.
- Elevate your knee on a pillow when you're sitting or lying down.
- Wear a knee brace to protect your knee from getting re-injured.
