Is it possible for a meniscus tear to heal on its own?

Any damage that is sustained to your knee can impact your overall quality of life, whether it’s mild or severe. When you’re experiencing knee pain, stiffness and instability, it can be difficult to carry out everyday tasks, from climbing up the stairs in your home to taking your dog for a walk. While there are many types of knee injuries, a meniscus tear is one of the most common, especially for athletes. In the United States general population, the injury has an incidence rate of 61 out of every 100,000. 

The meniscus is located between the shinbone and the thighbone, also known as the tibia and femur, respectively. It’s a C-shaped piece of cartilage that acts as a cushion between the two bones. There are two menisci in each knee. When this cartilage tears, it can result in pain, swelling and reduced mobility. It’s also possible to feel like the knee is locking up or popping when you try to extend it.

A meniscus tear can occur if you suddenly twist your upper leg while your knee is bent and your foot is planted on the ground. You’re more likely to sustain this injury if you play a contact sport that requires quick pivot movements, such as basketball or football.

If you sustain a meniscus tear, you’re likely asking yourself, “Can a meniscus tear heal on its own?” The answer is: It depends. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how to determine if your meniscus tear will heal on its own, as well as treatment options that can facilitate healing. 

How to determine if your meniscus tear will heal without surgery

While it’s possible for some meniscus tears to heal on their own, others will require a surgical procedure to either repair or remove the damaged cartilage. Whether you need surgery for your tear will depend on the severity of the injury, especially the size, location and grade of the tear.

Meniscus tears that occur in the inner two-thirds of the knee can’t heal on their own and require surgery. This area of the knee, sometimes known as the “white zone,” doesn’t have a blood supply. Without blood, the injured tissue can’t receive the nutrients that it needs to heal.

On the other hand, it’s possible for tears that impact the outer one-third of the knee to heal on their own without surgery. This area is referred to as the “red zone” because it has a blood supply that helps the tissue to heal and regenerate on its own.

A tear can also occur in the red-white zone in the middle that may or may not heal on its own.

Types of meniscus tears that can heal on their own versus surgery

There are multiple types of meniscus tears, with each one impacting the knee in a different way. An MRI will help your doctor determine the type and grade of the meniscus tear. They’ll use that information to determine if you require surgery. 

By looking at different types of tears, you can gain a better idea of whether yours may heal by itself. Here are types of meniscus tears that cannot heal on their own:

• Radial tear — The most common type of meniscus tear, a radial tear starts in the white zone and often requires surgery. This type of tear develops in the middle of the meniscus and extends outward.
• Bucket handle tear — A bucket handle tear is one of the most severe meniscus injuries. It means that the meniscus has separated and flipped over the knee joint, blocking it from moving. Urgent surgery is often required.

Here are types of meniscus tears that can often heal on their own:

• Incomplete tear — Also known as an intrasubstance or horizontal tear, an incomplete tear means that the meniscus is torn on one side but it didn’t go through to the other. These often don’t cause significant issues and can heal over time.
• Meniscus tears associated with arthritis — When someone has arthritis in the knee, it’s possible for them to sustain meniscus tears because the degeneration causes the meniscus to weaken. If the arthritis symptoms are properly treated, associated meniscus tears are likely to heal without surgery.

Along with the type of meniscus tear, your doctor will also give the injury a grade based on the severity. Here are what the grades look like for a meniscus tear:

• Grade 1 — A small tear in the middle of the cartilage with mild symptoms
• Grade 2 — A tear larger than Grade 1 but doesn’t reach the surface of the meniscus
• Grade 3 — A severe tear that reaches at least one articular surface and can’t heal on its own

It’s important to note that a severe tear in the red zone may still require a procedure. The length of the tear also impacts the healing process. If the tear goes beyond 1 centimeter, you’ll likely need surgery.

Treatments that can help your meniscus tear heal on its own

If you have a meniscus tear that doesn’t require surgery, the time frame of the recovery will usually range from four to six weeks, depending on the blood flow to the impacted area. The best way to accelerate the healing process is with safe and effective treatment options.

Collaborate with your doctor(s) to determine the safest ways to alleviate your symptoms and help move your knee along the healing process.

Here are treatment options that can work to reduce your knee pain and swelling while helping your meniscus tear heal on its own:

• RICE — A tried-and-true method for helping a musculoskeletal injury is rest, ice, compression and elevation. It’s crucial to rest your injured knee to reduce the risk of further damage and give the tissue time to regenerate. Icing the meniscus will reduce your pain by decreasing blood circulation to the area and help reduce inflammation/swelling. Compressing the knee with a bandage or sleeve and elevating your leg above your heart will help reduce swelling.
• Medication — If you’re looking for temporary pain relief, talk to your doctor about taking over-the-counter pain medication to help alleviate your symptoms. Common NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, used for meniscus tears include ibuprofen and naproxen.
• Strengthening exercises — Physical therapy is often one of the first courses of action for people trying to heal from meniscus tears. Strengthening exercises are usually a pillar of treatment plans for this type of injury. The goal of these exercises is to boost the strength of the muscles surrounding the knee for reduced pain and increase stability. It’s important that you’re guided through these exercises by a physical therapist to avoid placing excessive strain at the knee that could worsen the damage. 

Advent Physical Therapy can treat your meniscus tear 

We always hope that every injury will get better with time without the need for intense medical treatment, such as surgery. Even though some meniscus tears can’t heal on their own, the ones that can will benefit from physical therapy treatments like targeted exercises at Advent Physical Therapy. Physical therapy can also help improve postoperative outcomes, when strengthening exercises are given/performed prior to a repair. We want to help restore your knee’s ability to carry out your day-to-day movements.

Not only can our physical therapists help accelerate your recovery time frame, but they’ll also help reduce your pain while improving the quality of your knee. In addition, by improving the strength, flexibility and range of motion of your knee, you can reduce the risk of future injuries, such as a recurring meniscus tear.

Call us or request an appointment today to see how physical therapy can help a torn meniscus.