Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about menisical tears.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero tofinals.com slash minuscal tears

or in the orthopaedic section of the zero definals surgery

book. So let's get straight into it. Meniscal tears are a common form of knee injury. They involve

damage to the meniscus, which is the cartilage in the knee joint. Sometimes they're described to patients

as damage to the cartilage. Let's talk through some basic knee anatomy. The knee is a hinge

joint. Between the femur and the tibia are the monisci. There is a medial meniscus and a lateral meniscus. The rounded bones at the end

of the fema, which are called condiles, do not match the slightly convex areas, which are also

called condials at the top of the tibia. Therefore, the meniscii help the femur and the tibia to fit together and move smoothly across the tibia. Therefore, the menisci help the femur and the tibia to fit together and move smoothly

across each other. They act as a shock absorber, distribute weight throughout the joint and help to

stabilize the joint. So they're very important features of the knee joint. Also in the knee is a joint between the anterior

fema and the betella, which is called the patellofemoral joint. The patella sits in a groove on the

femur called the trochlia or patellofemoral groove. The quadriceps tendon attaches to the top of the bettella. The bottom of the

pettella is attached to the tibia by the bettella tendon. Contractions of the quadriceps muscles

causes knee extension by pulling through the patella and lifting up the tibia. There are four ligaments in the knee, the anterior cruciate

ligament, the posterior cruciate ligament, the lateral collateral ligament, and the medial collateral

ligament. And these all help to stabilize the knee joint. Let's talk about the presentation of meniscal tears.

Miniscal tears often occur during twisting movements in the knee. In young patients, this

often occurs while playing sports. As we get older, the meniscus becomes more prone to injury.

Tears can occur even with minor twisting movements in older patients,

for example, standing from a seated position with an awkward twist in the knee.

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