Xu Mengtao won the championship, won the fifth gold of this Winter Olympics for our country, and fulfilled the gold medal dream of the Chinese women's air skills team!
I believe that when you see her shouting " We won " when she wins the championship , you will be moved!
But you know what? This is Xu Mengyao's fourth olympic competition, during which she has experienced many injuries, has undergone many surgeries, and her medial meniscus removal of her left knee has reached 70%, do you know what problems she may face in the future? Dr. Xie has a good talk with you today.
What does a meniscus do?
The meniscus, which is a cartilage structure located in our knee joint, is divided into the medial meniscus and the lateral meniscus, because its shape resembles the crescent, so it is named meniscus.
A long time ago we thought that the meniscus was an unimportant structure that could be removed at will, but with the advancement of medicine, we slowly realized that the meniscus has a very important role, it is very important for lubricating our joints, reducing the impact of the joints, matching the knee joint, maintaining the stability of the joint, and better completing the function of the knee joint.
The surface of the meniscus is very smooth, which is the lubrication of our joints, the meniscus is full of elasticity, there will be morphological changes outside when we run and jump, helping us to better cushion the joints, withstand the pressure, better match the knee joint, and it is precisely because of the existence of the meniscus that our entire knee joint is better matched to complete a very smooth flexion and extension movement, which also plays a very important role in maintaining the stability of the entire joint.
How is meniscal injury graded, and why should it be removed after injury?
When the impact of our knee joint exceeds the limit that the meniscus can buffer, then the meniscus is prone to injury or even tearing, especially the axial twisting of the knee joint, which can easily lead to the damage of the meniscus.
Based on the imaging manifestations of MRI, we usually classify meniscal injuries into three categories.
The first degree is equivalent to some small damage inside the meniscus, which can be ignored; the second degree of injury, there will be a linear or patchy damage signal in the meniscus, which proves that the structure inside the meniscus has a certain abnormality and requires symptomatic treatment. And the meniscus of the tertiary damage, the overall shape has undergone a very serious change, this situation we can call the meniscus tearing.
So why does Xu Mengtao's meniscus need to be removed? Is there nothing there's to keep her meniscus?
Here we have to talk about an important anatomical problem of the meniscus, that is, its blood supply is not very rich, under normal circumstances, we divide the meniscus into three parts, near the joint capsule of the 1/3, there is a part of the blood supply, called the red zone, after the injury, it is possible to heal; near the joint cavity 1/3, we call it the white area, this part is basically no blood supply, after tearing almost can not heal; and located in between the two we call the red and white junction zone, after the injury may heal.
And like Xu Mengtao such a professional sports population, the injury is often very complex, it is very likely that in the long-term exercise process, the meniscus has undergone serious wear, the damage to the meniscus is a very complex situation, at this time and then violent injuries, if you can not try to suture, then you can only choose to partially remove, so that patients can reduce pain, through rehabilitation can return to the field as soon as possible.
What problems will I face after removal?
As mentioned earlier, the meniscus has a very important role, then if the meniscal is removed too much, it may lead to the pressure on the knee joint becomes larger, which in the long run is likely to lead to the distal femur in the knee joint and the proximal tibia of the joint surface cartilage wear, cartilage wear will eventually lead to arthritis, joints will slowly appear osteophytes (bone spurs, bone hyperplasia) formation, joint space narrowing, and eventually may even lead to disability.
This problem plagues many athletes, and as the injury time increases, the possibility of traumatic osteoarthritis after retirement is still relatively high.
For Xu Mengtao, her knee joints have also experienced tears in the anterior cruciate ligaments and tears in the medial collateral ligaments, and even after surgical reconstruction, the possibility of traumatic arthritis in the future is not low.
Here Dr. Xie also wants to fully express his respect for Xu Mengtao, to know that the tear of the anterior cruciate ligament is known as the nightmare of athletes, and Xu Mengtao's bilateral anterior cruciate ligaments of the knee joint have experienced tearing, have undergone surgical treatment, and the bilateral meniscus has also undergone partial resection surgery, with such injuries, each injury represents long-term rehabilitation, pain torture, how much perseverance, can persist in standing on the field, and finally get a valuable gold medal for our country, which is bitter, As a sports medicine doctor, you can definitely understand.
How to avoid the risk of meniscal injury during exercise?
So as a sports lover, how can we avoid the risk of meniscal damage as much as possible during exercise? First of all, it is recommended that everyone must warm up well before exercising, and insist on stretching after exercise, so as to avoid sports injuries to the greatest extent.
When performing some strenuous exercises, such as playing basketball or soccer, you can wear professional knee pads to enhance the stability of the knee joint and help us avoid the risk of sports injuries as much as possible.
When the knee joint is uncomfortable, do not force strenuous exercise, which can easily lead to sports injuries.
summary
Finally, thank you again To Xu Mengtao, to all the athletes standing on the Olympic field, to the team behind each athlete, and to the great motherland!
"We won!"