Hello and welcome to HCM Knee injuries are complex because of the complex nature of this joint. Knee joint is formed between two bone- thigh bone (femur) and leg bone (tibia). These two bone are bound together by ligaments on either side. There are two ligaments called cruciate ligaments . One of them runs forward backwards and the other from back to forward. They are strong ligaments which bind the two strong bones together. A pair of semicircular cartilage like structure called menisci are present on upper surface of the tibia. These menisci act as cushion while the movement takes place on the knee joint. An injury to any of these structures take very long to heal. This is because there is no blood supply to any of these structures especially the menisci. A joint cavity is bathed with a fluid called synovial fluid . This fluid provides nutrition to these structures. Injury to ligaments and menisci causes pain, discomfort and restriction of movement. First of all it is important to know whether the injury is in the ligament or the menisci as treatment varies. This information will be provided by a MRI. Secondily the management of soft tissue injury of knee joint varies from person to person depending on the symptoms and degree of injury. Medical treatment is more of providing pain relief, rest to the joint and avoiding activities which cause pain or aggravate the injury. Long term rest may heal the tissue to an extend. However, in cases where medical/ conservative treatment is not very effective (as in your case) surgical intervention is required. Surgery is done arthroscopically ie a small incision is given in the joint cavity and repair of the injured tissue is done with an endoscope. Open surgery is not required. In this surgery the injured tissue is repaired. If it cannot be repaired then then the injured part is removed or fixed. It is a very sophisticated surgery. Consult an orthopedician who has good deal of experience and expertise in joint surgery. Thanks and take care Dr Shailja P Wahal