Effective treatment of knee meniscus using traditional methods

How to identify a meniscal injury

The reasons why a meniscus injury occurs can be not only falls and other mechanical impacts. Common precursors to damage are:

• gout;
• intoxication of the body of any etiology;
• rheumatism;
• age-related changes.

In addition, minor injuries to the meniscus that do not lead to a tear, but are associated only with its stretching or thinning, will eventually cause a tear. If you do not pay attention to the thinning or gradual breakdown of cartilage tissue in time, this can lead to deformation and arthrosis, which ultimately leads to disability.

Meniscus injury is a common problem that traumatologists encounter in their practice. Men are three times more likely to suffer a torn meniscus than women. The average age at which the peak of knee ligament injury occurs is 23-25 ​​years.

At the time of injury, the victim experiences pain not only in the knee area, but along the entire length of the limb. Only after two weeks the pain will be localized in the sore knee. The main signs of a meniscus tear are:

• acute pain;
• hyperthermia at the site of injury, meaning the knee may become hot compared to the rest of the body;
• enlargement of the knee due to severe swelling;
• a loud crunching sound during flexion and extension of the joint, including without load;
• severe weakness of the femoral muscle;
• lumbago when trying to put pressure on the leg.

Despite the severity of pain in the knee joint, these same signs can indicate not only a meniscus tear. In the same way, ruptures of ligaments and muscles manifest themselves.

Types and varieties of damage

There are several types of injury. Further therapeutic or surgical treatment depends on determining the complexity and specificity of injuries. Only a qualified doctor can correctly determine the severity and type of damage to the internal meniscus of the knee joint. However, when faced with this problem, it is important to know all possible injury options:

• Complete rupture in the area of ​​the internal anterior horn or posterior zone.
• Detachment of cartilage in the capsular area and the body of the capsule itself.
• After damage to the medial zone, pinching often occurs.
• Pathological mobility, so-called degeneration.
• Ligamentous rupture.
• Chronic injury and degenerative changes in cartilage tissue.
• Meniscal cystosis.

It is almost impossible to diagnose the type of damage on your own. It is not always possible for a qualified surgeon or orthopedist to determine whether there is a meniscal injury by palpation, so the examination is carried out using MRI and X-rays.

First aid to a patient

The victim may experience severe pain from a couple of days to a week. If the severity of pain is moderate, you can do without contacting a traumatologist. To relieve pain and reduce suffering, you need:

• Apply ice to the sore knee. This will relieve swelling. Cold during prolonged contact causes blood vessels to constrict, thereby reducing local hyperthermia.
• You can reduce the intensity of pain with the help of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including ibuprofen, diclofenac, analgin.
• To reduce the risk of worsening the situation, it is important to ensure immobility of the injured limb using a splint. It is better if the knee is elevated in relation to the healthy leg.

When the acute period is over and the patient can see a traumatologist, the specialist will assess the extent of the damage and prescribe a course of treatment and care.

Treatment without surgery

If during the diagnosis the doctor assessed the chances of repairing the meniscus as high, he may not prescribe surgery. Then conservative therapy is carried out. Its essence is to provide the best conditions for the regeneration of the damaged meniscus. This can be achieved in the following ways:

• reducing the axial load on the knee;
• normalizing blood flow;
• enhancing regenerative processes.

Symptomatic treatment is also used. For severe swelling and pain, anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. Paracetamol or ibuprofen is used.

Home care

Any home therapy should be discussed with your doctor, because it is only an auxiliary component of drug treatment. Traditional medicine can only be indicated for relieving pain and swelling:

• Compresses of a hypertonic solution draw out excess fluid, thereby relieving swelling. A solution is prepared from a tablespoon of salt dissolved in 250 ml of water. The cloth is soaked in salt water and applied to the injured knee.
• Peppermint rubs. For this, essential oils of clove, mint, camphor and eucalyptus are taken. After mixing the ingredients, take a few drops of the product and rub it into the injury site with slow and careful movements. Menthol will create a feeling of freshness and coldness, which will alleviate the patient's condition.
• Pine baths. They can improve blood flow to the injured knee and relieve pain. In addition, pine needles have a restorative effect on the body. To prepare baths, you can use pharmaceutical pine mixtures, which just need to be brewed immediately before preparing the bath. If it is not possible to find pine needles, you can use pine salt.

Compresses

Most of them gently and persistently relieve pain. Many also remove inflammation. The observing doctor will tell the patient which option to choose:

• fresh burdock . It is considered one of the simple and effective remedies for treating meniscal injuries. Every day, fresh leaves of the plant are wrapped around the sore knee, the compress is secured with a knee pad, scarf or bandage and lasts for 3-4 hours. In winter, you can use dried raw materials. The foliage is soaked in hot water in advance, and the compress is applied overnight;
• if there is no burdock, you can take cabbage . The leaves are removed from the head of cabbage, kneaded a little with a rolling pin, smeared with a thin layer of honey and applied to the affected joint. Exposure time – from 4 to 8 hours;
• One of the fastest-acting methods is to treat the meniscus with folk remedies made from honey and medical alcohol . Both substances are taken in equal quantities and heated with stirring in a water bath. Do not bring to a boil and do not overheat, so as not to cause discomfort to the knee. When warm, the mixture is laid out on the joint, covered with polished paper or film, secured with a scarf, and on top of it with a tightening bandage. Keep the compress for 2-3 hours;
• very good results were noted when using onion compresses . For the base, two heads are crushed. For greater uniformity, it is better to either grate them or grind them in a meat grinder. The mass is flavored with a spoon of sugar and kneaded. The sore knee is wrapped in a thin natural fabric, and warm onions are spread on top (you can put the mass on the radiator for a while; in the warm season, when the heating is not working, hold it in a water bath for a couple of minutes). The compress is sealed with film and left until the morning. The course of treatment is a month;
• Fresh horseradish root gives a similar effect. For the compress you will need a spoonful of freshly grated raw material, steamed over low heat. The fabric is soaked in the pulp, placed on the knee and insulated. The exposure time is no more than two hours, while the burning sensation is still tolerable;
• if a tear of the meniscus of the knee joint is diagnosed, treatment with folk remedies is possible using mud compresses - this is the most effective method. Healing mud can be bought at a pharmacy. A small amount of it is heated to body temperature, applied to the joint, insulated with polyethylene and insulated. Exposure time – 2 hours, course of therapy – 10 days. After removing the compress, the dirt is washed off with warm running water;
• For a bile compress, you need to buy a bottle of medical bile . Two tablespoons of the active substance are heated in a water bath; the sore spot is smeared, which is then wrapped in a bandage and something warm. The duration of the procedure is two hours, the treatment course will take from a month to two;
• wormwood application is also used to quickly eliminate pain in the knee . For it you will need an infusion of the herb of the same name. A heaped tablespoon of fresh raw materials or half a dose of dried is immersed in a glass of boiling water, tightly closed, wrapped and infused for about an hour. After cooling and filtering, gauze is dipped into the product, lightly wrung out and placed on the joint for half an hour. During this time, the syndrome goes away; To prevent the return of pain, applications are repeated for a week.

Be sure to ask your doctor if your condition allows you to use warm compresses. In acute inflammations, heat can only aggravate the course of the disease.

Gymnastics to restore knee function

Any gymnastics is indicated only if the acute period has already ended and you can work with the knee joint without pain. As a rule, gymnastics is prescribed after wearing a plaster cast or splint for a long time. To return the knee to working capacity, you need to begin to gradually warm it up according to a certain method.

Clinics offer physical therapy sessions where, under the supervision of a specialist, patients recover from serious injuries. If a doctor has diagnosed a meniscal tear, any exercise will be postponed until the tissue has completely healed.

Exercises begin with minimal loads. First, these will be exercises for flexion and extension of the sore knee. You need to do it while sitting on a high chair. 10 lifts twice a day is enough. Gradually, the load can be increased, in accordance with the doctor’s recommendations. If you experience any pain, you should immediately report it to a specialist to adjust your rehabilitation plan.

Meniscus seam

Organ-saving surgeries help restore the meniscus. They are not characterized by the negative consequences of meniscectomy. However, the use of such surgical interventions is not always possible. There are a number of conditions under which a meniscus suture can be used to restore it:

• no more than 1 month has passed since the injury;
• vertical longitudinal tear;
• the knee joint remains stable;
• no dystrophic changes;
• there are no arthroscopic signs of significant damage to the articular cartilage;
• the distance of the rupture from the joint capsule does not exceed 0.4 cm.

To restore the integrity of the meniscus, an open, arthroscopically-assisted or hybrid suture is used. This operation is effective in 80% of cases. In another 20% of patients, meniscal fusion does not occur, and repeated surgery is necessary. The farther the rupture zone is located from the joint capsule, the less likely it is for complete healing.

Treatment of the meniscus with the involvement of medicine

When fragments of a meniscus tear are displaced, as well as in other difficult situations, surgical intervention may be required. To intensively relieve inflammation, injections of corticosteroids and hormones are used directly into the knee. This allows you to instantly relieve pain and alleviate the patient’s general condition. If the tissue of the knee joint is damaged, medications will be prescribed aimed at restoring cartilage tissue. These include Alflutop. It is injected directly into the joint or intravenously. Separately, there are drugs such as Teraflex and Honda. They promote the natural restoration of cartilage tissue and increase the elasticity of the meniscus.

To support the body and help the meniscus recover after heavy loads or injuries, you need to have meat dishes in your daily diet, as well as cod, eggs, legumes and dairy products.

Medical statistics

Meniscus damage can be caused by more than just trauma. This can lead to:

• general intoxication of any origin;
• rheumatism of the legs;
• gout;
• age-related degenerative tissue changes.

Repeated injuries to the meniscus eventually lead to its rupture. The surfaces of the joints begin to slowly but steadily deteriorate; If the process is not stopped with appropriate treatment, severe deforming arthrosis will develop, in most cases ending in disability.

Meniscus injuries are not such a rare medical case. According to statistics, for every 100,000 cases per year, up to 80 people suffer from it. Moreover, men are three times more likely than women. Most patients are between 18 and 30 years of age; In children and adolescents under 14, a meniscus tear is rarely diagnosed. There are isolated cases of such trauma in the younger generation. This fact is explained by the high elasticity of the meniscal tissues of the younger age group.

Physiotherapy

Sports activities help improve blood circulation in the problem area. The greater the access of blood to the joint capsule, the faster the regeneration of the meniscus will occur. By loading muscles, a person redistributes blood flow. To supply blood to the muscles of the lower extremities, the corresponding vessels dilate. Blood access to the joint increases.

If the meniscus is torn, in order to restore it, you can only train under the guidance of an experienced specialist. Because many loads can be harmful. The axial load on the knee should not be allowed to increase. After all, this will entail a mechanical effect on the meniscus and slow down the regenerative processes.

PRP

In recent years, the treatment of meniscal tears using platelet-rich plasma has become increasingly popular. This drug is prepared directly from the patient's blood. It is either prepared each time before administration, or a large volume of blood is taken once and then frozen. In this case, at each subsequent patient visit, the blood is thawed to prepare the drug.

The essence of the method is as follows:

• Blood is taken from the patient.
• It is centrifuged.
• Excess cells are removed, primarily leukocytes, as they aggravate inflammatory reactions.
• The platelet concentration increases 5 times or more.
• The resulting plasma is injected into the knee.

The procedure is repeated several times. PRP is administered once a week. The injection process is painless because the injection area is preliminarily anesthetized with local anesthetics.

More and more clinics are choosing to treat meniscal tears in this way. The secret to the effectiveness of the technique is that platelets contain growth factors. They enhance reparative tissue processes. Therefore, meniscus regeneration occurs much faster. The use of PRP shortens the duration of conservative therapy and increases the chance of a favorable outcome. By injecting plasma platelets, doctors are often able to treat a meniscus tear conservatively.