Non-surgical Treatment

Reviewed by Greg Jaroszynski MD, FRCSC | Last updated May 2026

Many meniscal tears, particularly degenerative or stable tears, improve without surgery. The goals are to reduce pain and inflammation, restore motion, improve strength, and return safely to activity.

Lifestyle adjustment

Temporary avoidance of deep squatting, twisting, kneeling, running, and pivoting may reduce symptoms. Low-impact activity such as walking on level ground, cycling, swimming, and elliptical training is often encouraged. Weight management can reduce knee joint load in patients with degenerative tears and arthritis.

Physical therapy

Therapy usually focuses on restoring range of motion, decreasing effusion, strengthening the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal muscles, and hip stabilizers, improving balance, and progressively returning to activity. Randomized evidence supports exercise-based therapy as an appropriate first-line option for many degenerative meniscal tears.

Medications and ointments

Acetaminophen, topical anti-inflammatory gels, and oral anti-inflammatory medications may help pain control. Medication choice should consider kidney function, stomach ulcer risk, blood pressure, cardiovascular risk, anticoagulants, and other medical conditions.

Bracing

A sleeve or hinged brace may provide comfort and support. In selected patients with unicompartmental arthritis, an unloading brace may reduce symptoms. Bracing does not heal the tear, but it can help function during recovery.

Injections

Steroids

Corticosteroid injections can provide short-term relief of pain and synovitis, especially when meniscal symptoms overlap with osteoarthritis or an inflammatory flare. They do not repair the meniscus and are best viewed as short-term symptom control.

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid injections are intended to improve symptoms related to osteoarthritis rather than heal a meniscus. Guideline recommendations vary, and some guidelines do not recommend routine use for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Recent comparative studies generally favor PRP over hyaluronic acid for knee osteoarthritis outcomes.

PRP

Platelet-rich plasma may reduce pain and improve function in selected patients with degenerative meniscal pathology and early knee arthritis. Based on the most recent research papers, I currently believe PRP is the best injection option for this group when an injection is appropriate. PRP is still not a guaranteed meniscal healing treatment, and it should be combined with an appropriate rehabilitation plan. It has also been studied as biological augmentation during repair in selected acute tears.

Stem cells

Stem-cell treatments for degenerative knee conditions should be approached cautiously. Health Canada has addressed point-of-care autologous stem-cell products for orthopedic applications, including osteoarthritis and pain, as products requiring regulatory oversight. They are not established standard treatment for degenerative meniscal tears or knee osteoarthritis.