How to stretch the leg to check for meniscus injury

Meniscus injury is a relatively common condition, mainly occurring in people who often play basketball or do strenuous exercise. When it occurs, a relevant examination needs to be carried out as soon as possible so as to determine the severity of the patient's condition. The most direct examination method is to stretch the legs, so that a preliminary judgment can be made, which will be of great help for subsequent surgery and conservative treatment.

1. Tenderness

The location of tenderness is generally the location of the lesion, which is important for the diagnosis of meniscus injury and the determination of its injury site. During the examination, place the knee in a semi-flexed position, and press point by point from front to back along the upper edge of the tibial condyle (i.e. the edge of the meniscus) in the medial and lateral gaps of the knee joint with the thumb. There will be fixed tenderness at the site of meniscus injury. If the knee is passively flexed or the calf is internally and externally rotated while pressing, the pain will be more obvious, and sometimes the abnormally active meniscus can be touched.

2. McMurray test (rotational extrusion test)

The patient lies on his back, and the examiner holds the calf ankle with one hand and the knee with the other hand to flex the hip and knee as much as possible, and then abducts and externally rotates the calf, or adducts and internally rotates, or adducts and externally rotates, and gradually straightens it. The test is positive if pain or sound occurs, and the location of the injury is determined based on the location of the pain and sound.

3. Strong hyperextension or hyperflexion test

If the knee joint is passively hyperextended or hyperflexed, such as if the anterior meniscus is injured, hyperextension may cause pain; such as if the posterior meniscus is injured, hyperflexion may cause pain.

4. Lateral pressure test

With the knee in extended position, forcefully passively adduct or abduct the knee. If there is a meniscus injury, pain will be caused by compression in the joint space on the affected side.

5. Single-leg squat test

Use one leg to hold weight and gradually squat from a standing position, and then stand up from a squatting position. The healthy side is normal, but when the affected side squats or stands up to a certain position, the damaged meniscus is squeezed, which may cause pain in the joint space and even make it impossible to squat or stand up.

6. Gravity test

The patient lies on his side and lifts his lower limbs to perform active flexion and extension of the knee joint. When the joint space on the affected side is downward, pain is caused by compression of the damaged meniscus. On the contrary, when the joint space on the affected side is upward, there is no pain.