Non-operative treatment of degenerative posterior root tear of the medial meniscus

Hong Chul Lim, Ji Hoon Bae, Joon Ho Wang, Chang Woo Seok, Min Keun Kim

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    50 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We reviewed thirty patients with degenerative posterior root tear of the medial meniscus to investigate clinical results of non-operative treatment retrospectively. There were 3 men and 27 women at a median age of 59 years old (range, 51-65). The median follow-up period was 36 months (range, 24-51). Non-operative treatments included non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs daily for 8-12 weeks and supervised physical therapy twice a week at least during a period of 8 weeks. The symptoms, physical signs, the Visual Analog Scale pain, the Lysholm Knee Scoring scale and IKDC subjective activity level were analyzed at the time of pre-intervention, 6 months, 12 months and the final follow-ups. Most patients had intense mechanical pain initially, but the severity and frequency of pain was decreased within 3 months. Clinical outcome was improved at 12 months follow-up and then declined to a level that was still improved over initial scores at final follow-up. Two patients with Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2 progressed to grade 3 at the median follow-up of 36 months. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that non-operative treatment provided symptomatic relief in most patients with the degenerative posterior root tear of the medial meniscus and functional improvements in a short term follow-up.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)535-539
    Number of pages5
    JournalKnee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy
    Volume18
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2010 Apr

    Keywords

    • Degeneration
    • Medial meniscus
    • Non-operative treatment
    • Root tear

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Surgery
    • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Non-operative treatment of degenerative posterior root tear of the medial meniscus'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this