You might never have heard of your meniscus until the day you injured your knee. Now you realize just how vital having it in full working order is to so many things you do.
The meniscus is a piece of cartilage in the knee that is prone to tearing. It serves to cushion and stabilize your knee joint, so damaging it will limit your ability to move your knee. That, in turn, can affect your ability to walk, run, cycle, skip, crouch, bend down or push a car pedal, among other things.
New help may be on the way
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved an application to run clinical trials of a new drug called AM3101. The drug itself cannot repair a torn meniscus. The hope is that it can reduce the chance of problems and complications for those who have surgery to repair their meniscus.
Why is this so important?
If it results in more people’s surgery being successful, it will allow more people to get back to work and do the everyday things that a damaged meniscus prevents them from doing. The sooner people can do this, the less compensation they will need to claim if injured at work.
One sector with an abnormally high rate of injured meniscus tears is the military. That’s why the Defense Department funded a third of the research costs. The more active your job, the more vital a healthy meniscus is.
If you are injured at work, seek legal help to understand how much compensation you will need and how to increase the chances you get it.
