Many patients ask me whether meniscus injury can be treated conservatively, whether surgery can be avoided, and why arthroscopic surgery is needed for meniscus injury. Here is a detailed explanation. Due to the poor blood supply to the meniscus, it is difficult for a general 3rd degree injury to heal on its own, so once a 3rd degree injury is found, early arthroscopic surgery is recommended. For general 1-2 degree injuries, if the symptoms persist after 3 months of rest, we also recommend arthroscopic surgery. The meniscus is supposed to be a cushion to protect the joint, but if it is damaged, it becomes a foreign body that destroys the joint. Imagine a foreign body in your knee joint that is constantly jamming your joint, and every time you have pain, you are wearing down your joint cartilage. To use an analogy, it’s like having a stone stuck in a gear, which eventually wears out more and more. The only way to recover from a 3rd degree injury, or a 1st or 2nd degree injury to the meniscus, is to remove the “stone” through arthroscopy.