OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to review a group of patients with meniscal injuries resulting from structural failure unrelated to trauma or degenerative problems to which was given the name "meniscal injury due to fatigue". MATERIAL AND METHOD: Evaluations were made on 140 patients with meniscal injuries without any apparent cause, who were therefore considered to have meniscal injuries due to fatigue. Among these, 85 patients were male and 55 were female. The medial meniscus was the most affected site (92% of the cases). RESULTS: All these injuries were diagnosed by means of clinical examination and magnetic resonance imaging. The patients underwent meniscectomy by means of arthroscopy and the results were divided into two types: good and poor. Poor results were found in 27% of the cases, among which nine patients progressed to idiopathic osteonecrosis. CONCLUSION: We conclude that injuries due to fatigue must be assessed as injuries caused by failure and, therefore, constituting a syndromic pathological condition that may progress to idiopathic osteonecrosis.
Meniscus; Fatigue; Osteonecrosis
