Meniscal injuries are a common cause of knee pain. Commonly used surgical procedures — (partial) removal of the meniscus, meniscal sutures and even meniscus transplants — unfortunately have little effect on the complaints.
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Meniscus injury and the limits of surgery
The poor healing ability of meniscus injuries and the disappointing results of surgery have stimulated scientific research into non-surgical ways to repair the meniscus.
Symptoms of meniscus injury
The basic symptoms of a meniscus injury are:
- pain, with or without swelling and restriction of movement
- clicking of the knee
- locking of the knee
A feeling of instability or weakness in the knee often results from instability of the surrounding ligaments.
Regenerative injection therapy
Prolotherapy and Platelet Rich Plasma are the two best-known injection therapies within the new regenerative movement in orthopaedics. The aim of these injections is to stimulate the body’s own healing capacity; whether a meniscus tear actually heals as a result has not been proven.
We do this by injecting glucose (prolotherapy) or a concentrate of repair cells from your own blood (Platelet Rich Plasma). These treatments have been studied in musculoskeletal conditions; the results vary by condition and by person. Recently there have also been a few studies with promising results for treating meniscus injuries.
Why we treat the entire knee
If the meniscus injury was caused by a twisting movement or another trauma, the surrounding ligaments are often stretched and damaged too. That is why we also treat those accompanying problems; treating only the meniscus then often works less well. This also applies to treatment with prolotherapy and PRP. Some centres give a single injection without paying attention to the rest of the knee.
By treating the meniscus injury and addressing the ligaments of the knee with prolotherapy, we strengthen the foundation of the knee. In this way we create the optimal conditions for recovery.
Recognizable symptoms
- Knee pain, sometimes with swelling
- A knee that bends or stretches less far
- A clicking sound in the knee
- A knee that locks
- A feeling of instability or weakness in the knee
Scientific references (22)
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