Do I Have A Meniscus Tear? | Knee Tests You Can Do At Home

Is your knee pain being caused by a torn meniscus? 5 Tests you can do at home to test for a meniscus tear or injury. Diagnostic meniscus tests presented by a physical therapist.

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WHAT IS A MENISCUS?
You have two pads of cartilage in your knee - one on the inside part of your tibia and one on the outside part. These menisci (plural form of meniscus) in your knee joint serve basically two purposes: 1) add cushion between the two bones (femur and tibia) and 2) provide stability to the knee joint.

WHAT IS A MENISCUS TEAR?
A meniscus tear is when one of these cartilaginous pads gets a tear in it - most often from some form of trauma or force. Most injuries usually happen as the person is weight bearing (pressure on the meniscus) and twists, creating a torquing force on the meniscus. The result can be a tear either on the medial or lateral meniscus at any location along the pad.

I typically don’t see meniscus injuries happen “slowly over time”. If you’ve got knee pain that has slowly developed and is progressively getting worse chances are it may not be your meniscus at play or it could possibly be an old meniscus injury that you’ve re-aggravated.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF A MENISCUS INJURY
The first thing I look for when I suspect an injury to a meniscus is “how did the injury occur?” Typically the history is a slip and fall or other accident/injury. Meniscus injuries are common in sports (soccer and football) when your foot is on the ground and your knee buckles or twists. This injury may or may not be accompanied by a “pop”, bruising, and swelling. People with a meniscus tear will also complain of a “clicking” in their knee with walking or stairs.

5 HOME TESTS FOR A MENISCUS TEAR
The following are tests that I take my patients through when I suspect they may have a meniscus injury. If you perform these tests and any of them are “positive” (meaning any of them are painful) you may have an injured meniscus. In that case you should go get your knee assessed by a trained medical professional who will be able to recommend a plan of care that’s going to be best for you.

The tests for your meniscus knee pain presented in this video are:

1. JOINT LINE TENDERNESS - palpate along the joint line (either inside or outside depending on where your pain is located). Is it tender to push in this area?

2. LACK OF FULL EXTENSION - can you straighten your leg out fully? If it is painful or there’s a mechanical block you may have a meniscus injury.

3. MCMURRAY’S TEST - lay on your back with your knee fully bent. With the help of a partner, have them rotate your foot to the inside and slowly extend your knee. If it’s painful or if there’s a “block” keeping you from extending fully, it may indicate a meniscus injury. Repeat the test rotating your foot to the outside.

4. APLEY’S COMPRESSION TEST - lay on your stomach and bend your knee. Have a partner push down through your foot/tibia and rotate your lower leg in (checks lateral meniscus) and out (checks medial meniscus). Reproduction of pain would be a positive test.

5. THESSALY (DISCO) TEST - stand on your injured leg with a slight (5 degree) bend in your knee. Rotate your upper body as far as you can to the left and then also to the right. Perform this 3 times. Now bend your knee a little deeper (to 20 degrees) and perform the three rotations again. Pain with this motion could indicate a potential meniscus injury.

This is an injury that CAN get better on its own depending on the location and the severity of the injury. However, my recommendation would be to go get it checked out by a trained professional.