Polynucleotide Injections for Degenerative Meniscal Tears: A Scoping Review of Current Evidence

Degenerative meniscal tears are a common cause of knee pain and functional limitation, particularly in middle-aged and older adults. Conservative management remains the first-line treatment, with increasing interest in injectable therapies aimed at symptom relief and tissue preservation. Polynucleotide (PN)-based injectables have shown potential benefits in knee osteoarthritis; however, their role in degenerative meniscal pathology remains unclear. This scoping review aimed to map and synthesise the current clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of PN injections in adults with degenerative meniscal tears and to identify gaps in the literature. A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Electronic databases, including MEDLINE (Ovid and EBSCO), PubMed, ScienceDirect, SAGE Journals, Wiley Online Library, and the Cochrane Library, were searched from inception to January 2026. Eligible studies were human clinical investigations involving adults with degenerative, non-traumatic meniscal tears treated with PN-based injections and reporting clinical or radiological outcomes. Study selection, data extraction, and risk-of-bias assessment were performed descriptively. The search identified 72 records, of which 20 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. One prospective clinical study involving 30 patients met the inclusion criteria. Intra- and perimeniscal PN injections were associated with improvements in pain and functional outcomes, as measured by validated patient-reported outcome scores, including the Visual Analogue Scale, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, International Knee Documentation Committee score, and Tegner Activity Scale. No serious treatment-related adverse events were reported. Given the limited number and heterogeneity of eligible studies, quantitative synthesis was not undertaken. Current evidence on PN injections for degenerative meniscal tears is limited but suggests potential symptomatic benefit and a favourable safety profile. High-quality randomized controlled trials are required to better define the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and clinical role of this emerging treatment.