Save the Meniscus

There’s a lot to be said for living an active lifestyle. Regular exercise increases longevity and improves brain function.

But certain types of movement—squatting, running, sudden turns, or even simply kneeling—can play havoc on your knees. If you are experiencing intermittent knee pain that becomes worse with these types of movements, you may have a meniscus tear.

What’s a meniscus? They come in pairs, actually, one pair per knee joint. This C-shaped cartilage helps cushion the impact between the shinbone (the tibia) and thighbone (femur). When one of them is torn, the pain starts.

That pain may wax and wane over weeks, months, or even years. All the while, you’re living a diminished lifestyle and wondering if you should see a doctor about your pain.

Yes, you should see the doctor

Early diagnosis and treatment is key to the best long-term outcome when you suffer a torn meniscus. In a recent interview, Dr. Halbrecht, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, discussed the treatment of meniscus tears and the innovative technology she uses to repair the tissue and accelerate healing.

You want a healthy meniscus

The cushioning that is provided by the meniscus helps keep the cartilage on the ends of your leg bones (tibia and femur) in the knee joint healthy. When there is a tear, the cushioning provided by the meniscus is decreased. Depending on the size and orientation of the tear, loads or stress on the knee cartilage are increased. This can lead to osteoarthritis, or make an already arthritic knee even worse.

If you continue to be active with a meniscus tear, Dr. Halbrecht cautions, it will tear more, which increases the stress on the knee cartilage. Most meniscus tears are small, and if treated in time, can be removed (it’s much like trimming a fingernail, Dr. Halbrecht explains)or repaired.

Advanced treatment for serious tears

To restore the normal cushioning properties of the meniscus, meniscus tears should be repaired. In the past, for a meniscus tear to be repairable, it had to be in a certain orientation and location. Meniscus surgery was rarely performed with patients who were older than 40. In the past, it was thought that older patients or certain types of tears would not heal due to the blood supply, but a recent study has shown that meniscus repair success rates were the same, regardless of age.

Dr. Halbrecht uses advanced technology to stitch the injury with micro-accuracy. The minimally invasive procedure uses the Ceterix device, which was specifically designed to suture meniscus tears that other instruments could not.

The second phase of Dr. Halbrecht’s treatment is focused on healing, through the use of biologics, a procedure that harnesses the regenerative power of the patient’s own cells to accelerate healing. Dr. Halbrecht’s groundbreaking work in this area has earned her a reputation as an expert in reparative medicine and stem cell therapy. She has appeared on CBS’s American Health Front and NBC 9News in Denver to speak on the subject, has lectured at national orthopedic meetings and taught other orthopedic surgeons how to perform the procedure.

Medically sound, FDA compliant

“The method we use is FDA-compliant,” Dr. Halbrecht says. “We harvest the patient’s own fat tissue, process the fat, and then inject it into the injured area. The whole process is done in our office using local anesthetic and only takes about one hour.

“Reparative medicine is delivering results that are truly amazing,” Dr. Halbrecht says. The oldest patient for whom she performed a meniscus repair followed by cell therapy is 52. His surgery was two years ago, and today he is lifting weights and skiing without pain and is happy to have received treatment that saved his meniscus and restored his ability to be active.

Pairing state-of-the-art technology to repair the injury with post-operative adipose cell therapy provides greater potential for successful healing.

Pain can come from other sources, too

In some cases, the tear may not be the source of pain. Instead, it may be due to more severe arthritis. Repairing the meniscus will not relieve pain and will not improve the arthritis. A thorough history, physical examination, X-Ray and MRI is the only sure way to diagnose the nature of your pain, and ultimately, the most effective treatment.

Halbrecht Orthopedics Biologics and Sports Medicine is at the forefront of cell therapy.  To learn more about Dr. Joanne Halbrecht and Halbrecht Orthopedics Biologics & Sports Medicine call 208-758-8893.