Diagnosis

Your doctor will inspect both your knees to compare your injured knee with your uninjured one. He or she will check your injured knee for signs of swelling, tenderness and fluid inside the knee joint. If your knee is not locked, the doctor will bend your injured knee and check for clicks, snaps and "catches" within the joint. Your doctor also will evaluate your knee's range of motion and will maneuver your knee to see whether your meniscus is sensitive to pressure. For example, in the "McMurray test," the doctor bends the leg at the knee, and then rotates it inward or outward while straightening it. If you feel pain during this test or if there is a "click" sound as your leg rotates, there is a good chance that your meniscus is torn.

If the results of your exam suggest you have a torn meniscus, you may need more tests, including:

• Knee X-rays to check for bone injuries, including fracture, that can cause symptoms similar to a torn meniscus

• A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan or computed tomography (CT) scan - Nine out of 10 times, a torn meniscus will show up on one of these tests.

• Arthroscopy (camera-guided surgery) to look inside the knee joint and examine the meniscus - When arthroscopy is used for diagnosis, the problem can often be treated during the same surgery.

Expected Duration

If you have arthroscopic surgery to treat your torn meniscus and your job involves sedentary work (mostly sitting), you may be able to return to work one to two weeks after surgery, with full recovery in about four to eight weeks. If you are an athlete or your job requires a lot of physical activity, it may take three to four months after surgery before you feel like you have as much function in your knee as you require.