Meniscal Tears Case Study

Meniscal tears are the most common orthopedic procedure performed. Out of the procedures, two-third is traumatic, while the remaining one-third is idiopathic. The medial is semicircular and lateral is a complete circle. The meniscus is made out of fibrocartilage, type I. Blood supply depends on the capillary as one-third of the ring is avascular, also known as the part that can heal. The function of the meniscus is to load absorption and serve as a shock absorber when pressure is applied across the knee. If the meniscus was taken away, the knee would experience 50% more stress pressure. The second function of the meniscus is to stabilize the anterior cruciate ligament.
The most common injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament are acute injuries to the medial meniscus. Acute twisting injuries are the most common caused from sports-related incidents. Scenarios of incidents that are common involved one foot staying on the ground fixated, and the rest of the body was rotating. Waxing and waning caused joint line pain at the knee. Physical examinations, such as McMurray’s Test and Apley’s Test are used to access the level of injury. For McMurray’s Test, the patient is supine, knees flexed with a passive rotation to test the pain of the …show more content…
Starting with ADLs, a patient with a meniscus tear would have limited range of motion. This can affect a person’s ability to bathing when stepping into a tub, dressing when pulling up their pants, and toileting when getting off the toilet seat. In addition, functional mobility would be affected because they would be limping as they go from place to place. For IADLs, activities involving the foot, such as driving and care of others/pets would be affected since the injured foot would be