Prevention of Meniscus Injuries
- Participation in repetitive cutting, pivoting and landing activities increases the risk of meniscal injury in athletes. Work related lifting and carrying (>4.5kgs), kneeling, deep squatting, and a high volume of climbing has increased risk of meniscus injury.
Rehabilitation Management of Non-Operated ACUTE Meniscus Tears
- Two studies, focusing on self-reported patient outcomes suggest that both surgery and exercise therapy are viable treatment options for traumatic and non-traumatic meniscus tears.
- A 12-week supervised neuromuscular exercise program that includes lower extremity strengthening, balance, hip and core strengthening, along with patient education, has been found to have similar outcomes to those that underwent surgery for traumatic meniscus tears with the same rehabilitation protocol.
Rehabilitation Management of Non-Operated DEGENERATIVE Meniscus Lesions
- Non-operative management is as beneficial as arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for treating symptomatic degenerative meniscus lesions, and therefore it should be the first line treatment approach.
- Rehabilitation treatment can include manual therapy, joint mobilisation techniques, range-of-motion exercises, progressive knee and hip musculature strength training, and neuromuscular training. Home-based exercise programs should be added to supervised physical therapy.
Meniscus Rehabilitation after Surgery
- Rehabilitation following meniscal repair should be divided into protective, restorative, and preparation to return to activity and sports phases, with additional criterion-based goals recommended. Criteria for progression to the restorative phase of rehabilitation include full or nearly full passive ROM, no effusion, and neuromuscular control of the quadriceps.
- Progression of quadriceps strength is recommended to be tested at each phase of rehabilitation via the use of isokinetics or appropriately stabilised handheld dynamometry.
Synthesis of Rehabilitation after Meniscus Repair
Reference:
The formal EU-US Meniscus Rehabilitation Consensus. An ESSKA-AOSSM-AASPT Initiativehttps://cdn.ymaws.com/www.esska.org/resource/resmgr/docs/consensus_projects/2024_meniscus_summary.pdf