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Meniscus Research Paper

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Purpose of the meniscus
The meniscus acts as a shock absorber for the knee by spreading compression forces from the femur over a wider area on the tibia. The medial meniscus bears up to 50% of the load applied to the medial (inside) compartment of the knee. The lateral meniscus absorbs up to 80% of the load on the lateral (outside) compartment of the knee. During the various phases of the walking cycle, forces shift from one meniscus to the other, and forces on the knee can increase to 2 - 4 times body weight. While running, these forces on the knee increase up to to 6 - 8 times body weight. There are even higher forces when landing from a jump. The important role of the meniscus in force transmission can be seen when the menisci are removed. …show more content…

Statistics show that about 61 of 100,000 people experience an acute tear of the meniscus.
Degenerative tears of the meniscus are more common in older people. Sixty percent of the population over the age of 65 probably has some sort of degenerative tear of the meniscus. As the meniscus ages, it weakens and becomes less elastic. Degenerative tears may result from minor events and there may or may not be any symptoms present.
There are two main sections to the meniscus, in the outer section of the meniscus blood flows freely allowing injuries in this area to be healed, and this is known as the red zone. Although, on the inner area of the meniscus blood does not flow and therefore cannot be repaired once damaged. If the meniscus becomes damaged permanently it could cause damage to the bone protective outer lining. A loss of this lining can lead to other diseases such as osteoarthritis.

Prior Diagnosis

Meniscal tears often occur in young patients who have suffered a twisting injury to the knee. Tears present as severe pain, swelling, and possibly catching, clicking, difficulty on deep knee bending and locking of the knee in partial …show more content…

McMurray (Figure 1) and Apley tests (Figure 2) are often positive, although these are specific but not sensitive – specificity being 57–98% and 80–99%, and sensitivity being 10–66% and 16–58% respectively.2,9 The most useful clinical test for meniscal injury is the Thessaly test, which is demonstrated in Figure 3. Although rarely taught and poorly utilised, recent validation demonstrated a sensitivity of 90%, and specificity of 98% in detecting meniscal injury.

What is MRI?
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. In many cases, MRI gives different information about structures in the body than can be seen with an X-ray, ultrasound, or computed tomography (CT) scan. MRI also may show problems that cannot be seen with other imaging methods.
Bones and joints. MRI can check for problems of the bones and joints, such as arthritis, problems with the temporomandibular joint, bone marrow problems, bone tumours, cartilage problems, torn ligaments or tendons, or infection. MRI may also be used to tell if a bone is broken when X-ray results are not clear. MRI is done more commonly than other tests to check for some bone and joint

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