Editorial Commentary: Meniscal Root Repairs: Let the Biology Help You!

Abstract

Meniscal root tears are increasingly being recognized as important entities by the orthopaedic community. This is probably due to the catastrophic consequences of not identifying or addressing a root tear in a timely fashion, leading to the need for a total meniscectomy. The majority of the studies on root tears have been focused on natural history, diagnosis, biomechanical consequences, and fixation techniques. Conversely, rehabilitation concepts have been extrapolated from those applied after other meniscal tears/repairs, even though root tears probably constitute a completely different pathology from biological and biomechanical standpoints. Time zero studies are important to determine the effect of certain loads on the repaired structure without taking into consideration the healing process. This allows for examination of the effects that an accelerated protocol would have in the immediate postoperative phase after a root repair. As with any repaired structure, allowing time for the repaired tissue to heal is vital because failing to do so might lead to unrecoverable failure of the root fixation.