[Assessment of the relationship between trauma and meniscal lesions]

Until the 1930s all meniscal lesions were considered to be of traumatic origin. The efforts of Magnus and his pupils led to a more differentiated medicolegal interpretation of wear and tear of the meniscus and classification of at least some types of meniscal lesions as nontraumatic in the sense of accident insurance. This caused controversy, continuing to the present day, as to whether trauma or degeneration is essential for a meniscal tear. This debate can now be closed. Numerous investigations of meniscus pathology have proved that the isolated, essentially traumatic meniscal tear does not exist. Only if the viscoelastic properties of meniscus tissue are changed may indirect force cause a rupture. There is no longer any reason to follow principles for the assessment of meniscus damage differing from those for tendon or intervertebral disc lesions. Only penetrating joint injuries or joint fractures may lead to a direct meniscal lesion (corresponding to penetrating spine trauma or vertebral body fracture with concomitant disc lesion). Separation of the meniscus from its insertion is the analog of discoligamentous spinal trauma. Post-traumatic meniscus degeneration due to joint instability is equivalent to the instability of the motion segment with intervertebral disc degeneration. Isolated meniscal tears and isolated intervertebral disc ruptures cannot be caused by indirect force. The conventional, inconsistently applied criteria to distinguish traumatic and degenerative meniscal lesions are no longer necessary.