Meniscus Tear

Patient presents with complaints consistent with a meniscus tear.  Onset of symptoms, including knee pain, swelling, stiffness, clicking, popping, catching, or locking, began [duration] ago after [mechanism of injury, e.g., twisting injury while playing sports, insidious onset].  Patient reports [specific activity limitations, e.g., difficulty with stairs, squatting, prolonged standing].  Pain is localized to the [medial, lateral, or both] aspect of the knee and is characterized as [sharp, dull, aching, throbbing].  The patient rates the pain as [pain scale rating] out of 10.  Physical examination reveals [positive, negative] McMurray's test, [positive, negative] Apley's grind test, and [positive, negative] Thessaly test.  Joint line tenderness is [present, absent].  Range of motion is limited to [degrees of flexion and extension] with [pain, crepitus, or both] noted.  Effusion is [present, absent].  No signs of ligamentous instability are noted.  Differential diagnosis includes meniscus tear, ligamentous injury, osteoarthritis, patellofemoral pain syndrome.  Preliminary diagnosis is meniscus tear.  Plan includes obtaining knee MRI to confirm diagnosis and assess the extent of the tear.  Conservative management options including rest, ice, compression, elevation, physical therapy, and NSAIDs will be discussed.  Surgical intervention, such as meniscectomy or meniscus repair, may be considered depending on MRI findings and patient response to conservative treatment.  Patient education provided regarding activity modification, pain management, and potential complications.  Follow-up appointment scheduled in [duration] to review MRI results and discuss treatment plan.