1. Football

2. Most Common Injuries Torn meniscus Heat sickness Concussion
Football demands both endurance and strength

3. Definition Torn Meniscus: each of your knees
has two menisci pieces of cartilage
that act like a cushion between
shinbone and thighbone. Causes pain, swelling,
stiffness and feel a block in
knee motion.
Another word for meniscus-cartilage.
Other names: Cartilage tear

4. Method Of Injury MOI: In the back of part of
the knee, the meniscus is caught
between the two bones and tears
when the joint suddenly straightens.
Specific MOI in Football:
Being tackled

5. Signs and Symptoms What the athlete might feel/describe-
A popping sensation
Swelling or stiffness
Pain, especially twisting/ rotating your knee
Difficulty straightening your knee fully
Feeling your knee is locked in place

6. Signs and Symptoms What an AT might see-
swelling, tenderness and fluid inside the knee joint
What the AT might palpate for-
If your knee is not locked, the
doctor will check for clicks, snaps, motion
and "catches" within the joint.

7. Questions
It can cause arthritis by eliminating the amount of cartilage which acts as a shock absorber, and it can cause poor posture because the support and stability of the knee is due in part to the meniscus.
Without surgery, meniscus tears often become larger. Fragments of the meniscus can injure the knee cartilage, which can result in pain and a higher risk of developing arthritis.
 Occurs mostly in women because they tend to have an imbalance in the strength ratio between with quadriceps muscles and their hamstring muscles. A female athlete is more likely to use their quads to slow down from a sprint, causing instability in the knee.
It affects younger athletes more prevalently because those tears are from injury more than age and are usually worse and need more attention.

8. Assessment
McMurray’s test
Apley’s Test
Thessaly’s Test

9. Diagnosis
Range of motion tests
X-ray
MRI
Arthroscopy

10. Treatment Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate Medicine (RICE)
Physical Therapy and possibly surgery
A support system throughout the PT and surgery

11. Strength and Conditioning Program Early Stage
Static Quadriceps Contractions: Simply contract the
quad muscles, hold for count of
10 and relax. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Static Hamstring Hold: Lie on your
stomach, knee bent at 45 degrees.
Repeat 10 to 20 times.

12. Mid Stage Calf Raises: Raise up and down toes on the edge of a
step. 3 sets of 20 repetitions.
Leg Curl: Perform with either ankle
weights, a resistance band. 3 sets
of 10 repetitions.

13. Hip adductors/ abductor exercises
Late Stage
Squats
Hip adductors/ abductor exercises

14. Prevention Warm up and stretch before exercising Use proper gear
Lace footwear properly
Learn proper techniques

15. Interesting Information
Different locations of tears:
Posterior (back) horn medial meniscus tear
radial tear of medial meniscus
horizontal medial meniscus tear
complex medial meniscal tear
meniscal root tear

16. Citations
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2017). Torn meniscus. Retrieved from causes/dxc
Harvard University. (September, 2012). Torn meniscus. Retrieved from
Millstein, Eric, S. (2016). Dangers of playing through meniscus tears. Retrieved from playing-through-meniscus-tears/
Virtual Sports Injury Clinic. (2017). Lateral meniscus tear. Retrieved from pain/lateral-cartilage-tear
Osborne, Maria. (2012). Why do females injure their knees four to six times more than
men…and what can you do about it?. Retrieved from Doc uments/WISH_SPORTSMED_Female%20Knee%20Injuries%20and%20ACL.pdf
The Nemours Foundation. (2017). Meniscus tears. Retrieved from