Meniscus tears are among the most common reasons for orthopaedic surgery. If you have a meniscus tear, do you need surgery right away, or can you play sports with a meniscus tear? Can you make the tear or your knee worse? In this Ask Dr. Geier video, I answer those questions about a young athlete with a meniscus tear in his knee.

Mayra in Riverdale, CA asks:
What can happen if a young athlete has a torn meniscus and needs surgery, but he continues to play sports before having surgery?

The meniscus is the shock-absorber cartilage in the knee. Frequently active people will have pain, catching and locking of the knee that limits their ability to exercise or play sports. Often they choose to undergo surgery to overcome those symptoms.

In this video, I talk about the surgical options for meniscus tear. I also discuss whether an athlete or active person needs surgery right away or if he can wait. We also discuss whether you could avoid surgery altogether and play sports with a meniscus tear.

Can you play sports with a meniscus tear?
Surgical image of a meniscus repair

Also read:
Ask Dr. Geier – Do you need surgery for a meniscus tear?
Ask Dr. Geier – Failure of meniscus repairs

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