Degeneration of the Meniscus and Progression of Osteoarthritis

Our understanding of the role that meniscal degeneration plays in the natural history of OA of the knee would benefit from observational studies that address the natural history of intrasubstance signal change with compositional imaging, the clinical significance of different meniscal pathologies, and the relation of meniscal alteration to altered contact area and joint loading. In addition, the weak evidence base for many of the current treatments suggests a great need for well-designed, randomized, controlled clinical trials to assess the true effects of arthroscopic meniscal resection, meniscal repair or transplantation, or nonsurgical treatments.