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WHDL - 00011063

Knee Meniscal Pathology and Treatments: Ramifications for Knee Articular Cartilage

Kendall Henry

Resource Types

Academic (Thesis, Dissertation, Etc.)

Resource Languages

English

Institutional Repository

Description / Abstract

In the United States, meniscal lesions represent the most common intra-articular knee injury. In fact, the mean annual incidence of meniscal tears is approximately 60 to 70 per 100,000 patients. Anatomically, the menisci play a major role in load bearing, load transmission of the lower extremity, shock absorption, as well as nutrition and lubrication of the articular cartilage of the tibiofemoral joint. Common symptoms of a meniscal tear include: clicking, catching or locking, joint line tenderness, a feeling of “giving out” or instability, pain with squatting or pivoting motions, pain at end range of flexion and/or extension, and an overall loss of range of motion at the tibiofemoral joint. Most often, the standard of care for meniscal tears that occur in the avascular region is arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, this surgery accounts for 10-20% of all orthopedic surgeries in the United States.Partial meniscectomy is said to provide symptom relief, restore tibiofemoral biomechanics, and improve the quality of life for the patient. However, this has not been the case, long-term analysis has identified patients who receive partial meniscectomies as being at increased risk of developing OA in the knee joint.Given the importance of the menisci in the knee joint and the poor prognosis that is associated with the “gold standard” treatment, it is important to explore other treatment options as a means to manage meniscal tears. Therefore, this review of literature includes an in depth study of the anatomy and biomechanics of the tibiofemoral joint when the joint is in a healthy state. Additionally, a deeper analysis of the menisci and the associated consequences for knee articular cartilage that can occur due to injury of these anatomical structures has been examined. This honors project specifically explored the current methods for diagnosis and treatments as well as new researched techniques available to treat meniscal pathologies.

Arete: The PLNU Honors Journal