Knee Arthroscopy and Meniscal Injury Management
Summary
Knee arthroscopy is among the most common minimally invasive procedures in orthopaedic practice, predominantly employed to diagnose and treat meniscal tears. The meniscus serves crucial roles in load distribution, shock absorption and joint stability; its injury can lead to pain, mechanical symptoms and accelerated joint degeneration. Management strategies range from non-operative rehabilitation to surgical interventions, principally arthroscopic partial meniscectomy and meniscal repair. Recent evidence has prompted a shift towards conservative management for degenerative tears, reserving surgery for patients with persistent mechanical symptoms or those who have failed structured physiotherapy. Meniscal repair techniques, including all-inside and inside-out suturing, have gained traction in younger populations to preserve meniscal tissue and reduce long-term osteoarthritis risk. Clinical decision making now integrates tear morphology, patient age, activity level and concomitant joint pathology, with the overarching aim of balancing symptom relief against the risk of osteoarthritic progression.
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Knee Arthroscopy and Meniscal Injury Management publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in knee arthroscopy and meniscal injury management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy: Removal of the damaged meniscal tissue via small arthroscopic incisions, aiming to alleviate symptoms while preserving as much healthy meniscus as possible.
Meniscal repair: Suturing techniques to reapproximate meniscal tear edges, preserving native tissue and promoting biological healing, especially in vascularised zones.
Degenerative tear: A non-traumatic meniscal lesion often seen in middle-aged or older adults, associated with chronic joint changes rather than acute injury.
Mechanical symptoms: Locking, clicking or catching sensations in the knee indicative of unstable meniscal fragments.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Non-invasive imaging modality used to confirm meniscal pathology and guide treatment decisions.
References
- Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy vs non-surgical or sham treatment in patients with MRI-confirmed degenerative meniscus tears: a systematic review and meta-analysis with individual participant data from 605 randomised patients. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage (2023).
- Females show worse functional outcome and quality of life compared to males 2 years after meniscus surgery: Data analysis from the German Arthroscopy Registry. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (2024).
- Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for a degenerative meniscus tear: a 5 year follow-up of the placebo-surgery controlled FIDELITY (Finnish Degenerative Meniscus Lesion Study) trial. British Journal of Sports Medicine (2020).
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