Abstract
Cases of simple injury to the medial meniscus without ligament damage are rarer in youths than injuries to the lateral meniscus. Here we report a case of simple injury to the medial meniscus that occurred bilaterally over a short time period in a 16-year-old male school baseball player, who initially suffered right knee pain upon sudden extension of the joint and became unable to walk. Arthrocele and restricted range of motion were confirmed, and blood without lipid droplets was sampled via aspiration. A simple bucket-handle tear of the medial meniscus was confirmed on MRI, and meniscus repair surgery performed. Ten months later, the patient suffered a similar tear in the contralateral medial meniscus via a similar mechanism of injury, and meniscus repair surgery was also performed. At 3 months postoperatively, the patient had no pain during motion and no re-tear.
Simple meniscus injuries are generally due to degenerative tears in the elderly or discoid meniscus injury. In young athletes, stress from inverted alignment of the legs and repetitious knee-in/toe-out movements during sport are likely contributory, and therefore leg posture safety training for such sports is recommended.
