Intra Articular Knee Injury Essay

In the United States, it is most common that intra-articular knee injury involves meniscal lesions which are present in most of surgical procedures performed by orthopedic surgeons [21,22]. Compared to women, men are more prone to such injuries, the incidence ratio of which is between 2.5:1 and 4:1 for a male to female. At 20-29 years of age, the overall incidence reaches the maximum for both sexes [23-25].
Injuries due to sport activities (football, basketball, soccer, baseball, and skiing in particular) are the most common causes of meniscal lesions in young patients. This amounts to more than 1/3 of all cases [23,24]. The underlying mechanism of these injuries usually involves cutting or twisting movements, hyperextension, or actions of great forces [6].
Meniscal injuries are classified depending on location, thickness, and the resulting stability [6,26,27]. Thus, tears in the peripheral vascularized portion are denoted as red-red tears, in the middle third portion as red-white or white-white tears, and in the inner avascular portion as white-white tears. According to the depth of the tear, injuries are observed as partial or full thickness, of which full thickness injuries can be further categorized as stable or unstable [2]. …show more content…
The inner meniscus is avascular which means that it has less healing potential [9]. Buma et.al also state that meniscus which constitutes a fibro-cartilage tissue has a limited regenerative capacity [12]. The ongoing challenge for clinicians and researchers is to improve the healing process in this type of injury. Some of the new approaches include the use of parameniscal synovial tissue, trephination of the peripheral meniscus rim with suture of the meniscus tear, creation of vascular access channels, and use of mesenchymal stem cells or growth factors