A Hospital Clinic Experience with Isolated Lateral Meniscal Tears in Sports: A Chart Review on Rugby

Rugby is a contact sport, and the frequency of injuries is high. In our clinical experience with patients diagnosed arthroscopically with lateral meniscus tears in the middle segment, rugby players are more prevalent than players of other sports. We hypothesized that a meniscus tear in the middle segment is a common injury in rugby players and is associated with specific positions in rugby.

This study aimed to describe a series of lateral meniscus tears in rugby players.

We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of cases with an arthroscopically confirmed isolated lateral meniscus tear in the middle segment associated with rugby players in our center between 2006 and 2020. We investigated the epidemiology of injury, including the player position and phase of play, the symptoms; as well as imaging and arthroscopic findings.

Of 4452 cases (4666 knees) diagnosed arthroscopically with meniscus tears, 27 cases (28 knees) were isolated radial lateral meniscus tears in the middle segment, 26 of which were sports-associated, including 11 cases related to rugby. Among the 11 rugby players, 10 were forwards, 5 of whom were in the front row. The injury was associated with a tackle in 4 patients, while the phase of play of injury was unknown in 6 patients. In the clinical manual examination, tenderness and a positive hyperextension test had a relatively high sensitivity. In imaging examination, MRI depicted a characteristic image of a partial meniscal defect in the sagittal view. All patients underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy. The postoperative course was favorable. All patients returned to play rugby at the pre-injury competition level.

In this study, radial lateral meniscus tears involving the middle segment frequently occurred in rugby players, mostly in forward positions. Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy achieved a return to play in all players.