A twist, a pop, and a swollen knee the next morning — or a slow ache that won't quit. Meniscus tears are one of the most common knee injuries we treat, and most don't need surgery to get better.
A torn meniscus can catch in the joint and cause locking.
Each of your knees has two menisci — c-shaped wedges of tough, rubbery cartilage that sit between the femur (thigh bone) and the tibia (shin bone). Think of them as shock absorbers that spread load across the joint and help the knee glide smoothly. There's a medial meniscus on the inside of the knee and a lateral meniscus on the outside, and either one can tear.
A meniscus tear is what it sounds like: a split or fragment in that cartilage. Most happen in one of two scenarios. The first is athletic — a sudden twist with your foot planted (think basketball, soccer, skiing), often paired with a pop and a swollen knee the next day. These tears are common in patients in their teens, twenties, and thirties, and they're frequently seen alongside ACL injuries.
The second is degenerative — a slow, age-related fraying of the meniscus that's been happening for years before symptoms show up. We see this pattern constantly in patients 50 and older. There may not be a clear injury at all; the knee just starts hurting after a long walk, a deep squat, or getting up from a low couch.
The good news: most meniscus tears don't need surgery. At LAOSS, our default is to start with a structured non-surgical plan — and we only escalate to arthroscopy when symptoms don't resolve, when the knee is mechanically locking, or when the tear pattern is one that genuinely benefits from repair.
This is a common injury of the knee. Your knee joint is cushioned by two c-shaped wedges of cartilage called the "menisci." Each individual cushion is called a "meniscus." This injury is a tear of one of these cushions.
Animations licensed from ViewMedica · Swarm Interactive
The menisci are divided into three zones based on blood supply: the outer **red-red zone** has good blood flow and can heal; the middle **red-white zone** has variable healing potential; and the inner **white-white zone** has essentially no blood supply and cannot heal on its own. Where the tear sits in that map is the single biggest factor in whether your surgeon recommends repair or trimming — and it's why we never decide based on an MRI report alone.
A good meniscus exam usually tells us most of what we need to know before any imaging. Your specialist will ask exactly how it happened — was there a twist, a pop, a fall? Did the knee swell that night or the next morning? Does it lock, catch, or give way? — and then walk you through a focused physical exam.
We palpate the joint line for tenderness, check for an effusion (fluid in the joint), and run provocative tests like McMurray's and Thessaly that load and rotate the knee to reproduce a tear's signature catching or pain. These tests, combined with your story, identify a meniscus tear with surprising accuracy.
From there, on-site weight-bearing X-rays at most of our LA offices rule out arthritis, loose bodies, or fractures. X-ray doesn't show the meniscus itself — it's cartilage, not bone — but it shows everything around it that might be contributing to your pain.
When we need to confirm tear type, size, and location, MRI is the gold standard. We order MRI selectively — not on every patient — because for many degenerative tears, the MRI finding doesn't change the treatment plan. If you do need imaging, we coordinate it through your in-network provider so cost stays predictable. Most patients leave their first visit with a diagnosis, a plan, and a clear sense of next steps.
Most meniscus tears improve without surgery — especially degenerative tears in adults over 40. When surgery *is* the right call, the choice between **repairing** the meniscus or **trimming** the torn piece (partial meniscectomy) depends on where the tear sits, how big it is, your age, and your activity goals. Our sports-medicine surgeons do both, and we'll walk you through the trade-offs in plain language.
For degenerative tears and many small acute tears, structured non-surgical care is the right starting point.
Outpatient, minimally invasive knee arthroscopy through two small portals — typically a 60–90 minute procedure.
Trimming the torn piece (partial meniscectomy) is faster to recover from but removes cushion you can never get back. Repair preserves the meniscus but means six months of careful rehab. Picking right takes judgment.
Our sports-medicine surgeons are trained in both techniques and pick the one that fits your knee, your age, and your goals — not the one that fits the schedule.
If most of these match your situation, an evaluation with a knee specialist is the next step.
These patterns most often point to a torn meniscus.
Your first visit is built to give you an answer the same day, not just another referral.
Recovery looks very different depending on whether you had non-surgical care, a partial meniscectomy, or a meniscus repair. These are the typical milestones.
Most patients with degenerative or small acute tears feel meaningfully better in 6–8 weeks of structured PT.
Partial meniscectomy is a fast recovery — most patients are walking the same day.
Meniscus repair preserves the cushion but demands patience — the sutures need time to heal into healthy tissue.
We talk through the risks and benefits with every patient — informed consent is a conversation, not a form.
Knee arthroscopy is one of the safest orthopedic procedures we perform, but every surgery carries a small set of standard risks.
A few risks are specific to meniscus work and worth understanding before you decide.
At LAOSS, your meniscus tear is handled by a fellowship-trained sports-medicine surgeon — not a generalist who occasionally does knees. Our team performs both meniscus repair and partial meniscectomy at high volume, and we publish, teach, and stay current on the techniques that preserve the meniscus when preservation is possible. From your first evaluation through return-to-sport, you'll see the same surgeon — no hand-offs to a stranger on game day.
Dr. Longacre is fantastic. Did my knee scope, recovery was way smoother than I expected. Even his follow-up visits are thorough.
Book a visit with a meniscus specialist at any of our eight Los Angeles–area offices.
