Meniscal tear

Symptoms

• Pain on the inner or outer side of the knee
• Swelling, often the day after an injury
• Catching, or the knee locking so that it will not fully straighten
• A feeling that the knee may give way

Two kinds of tear

Tears from an injury, often in younger and active people, can sometimes be repaired, and repair protects the knee in the long term. Tears that come on gradually in middle age are part of normal ageing of the knee, and are often found on scans of people with no symptoms at all.

Diagnosis

I will examine your knee and, where it will change the treatment, arrange an MRI scan.

Treatment

• Physiotherapy first for most gradual tears, because good-quality trials show that keyhole surgery often adds little.
• Prompt surgery for a knee that is locked and cannot straighten, which is usually caused by a displaced piece of meniscus.
• Repair for suitable tears after an injury, especially in younger people.
• Keyhole surgery for tears that keep causing symptoms despite physiotherapy.

Read more about knee arthroscopy and meniscal surgery.

Written and reviewed by Mr Krishna Boddu FRCS (Tr & Orth), consultant orthopaedic surgeon, GMC 5206961. Last reviewed: 1 November 2026.

Sources

• NICE guideline NG226: Osteoarthritis in over 16s: diagnosis and management (2022)
• Siemieniuk RAC et al. Arthroscopic surgery for degenerative knee arthritis and meniscal tears: a clinical practice guideline. BMJ 2017;357:j1982.
• Sihvonen R et al. Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus sham surgery for a degenerative meniscal tear. N Engl J Med 2013;369:2515–24.