Anterior horn tears of the lateral meniscus in soccer players

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective study was to define the clinical and arthroscopic characteristics of anterior horn tears of the lateral meniscus. Type of Study: Case series. Methods: Fourteen patients with mean age of 20.2 years were enrolled in this institutional review board-approved study. All patients were soccer players with tears of the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus. All patients underwent physical examinations, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and arthroscopic treatment. Results: Common symptoms were a catching sensation in 10 patients (71.4%), pain at squatting in 9 patients (64.3%), and sense of giving way and effusion, each in 7 patients (50%). Five patients (35.7%) had lateral joint-line tenderness. McMurray's test was positive in 6 (42.9%) and tears were diagnosed by MRI in 13 (92.8%) patients. Arthroscopic examination showed multiple longitudinal tears in the avascular white zone of the meniscus in 7 patients (50%). Conclusions: These data show that the McMurray test and joint-line tenderness had a low diagnostic value in diagnosing anterior horn tears of the lateral meniscus. MRI, however, had a high diagnostic value. Common arthroscopic findings included multiple longitudinal tears within the white zone of the anterior horn. Level of Evidence: Level IV.