Thank you for asking Healthcare majic. My name is Dr Ehsan Ullah & I have gone through your query. The knee joint is a union point of three bone your thighbone (femur), shinbone (tibia), and kneecap (patella). Two wedge-shaped pieces of cartilage act as shock absorbers between your thighbone and shinbone. These are called meniscus. They are tough and rubbery to help cushion the joint and keep it stable. whenever there is trauma to knee , frequently during the sports injuries, these is risk for meniscal tears. Older people are more likely to have degenerative meniscal tears just an ackward walk e twist can cause tear of meniscus. anyone at any age can tear a meniscus. this tear has various type like longitudnal, transverse, flap, torn horn etc your second question was regarding course of treatment; the answer 1).you need a physical examination by the orthopaedic surgeon which after investigations (Like X-Rays & MRI) will determine the nature of the injury and its location as some tears has location which have rich blood supply and can heal on their own while others tear have location where blood supply is not enough for healing on its own To Cut this Long details into short; the Treatment is A) Non-Surgical Treatment ; when the Tear is small and is in good blood supply region of the meniscus (Outer zone) all you need is RICE which stands for Rest: break from activity ICE: Use ice packs several times a day for about 15-30minutes (Don t apply ice directly to skin) Compression: wear an elastic compression bandage which will reduce swelling Elevation: put your leg up higher than your heart by placing a pillow below your leg while on bed , this will reduce swelling Additional aspect is use of Pain relieving drugs (NSAIDs) Like aspirin & Ibuprofin which will reduce Pain & Swelling B) Surgical Treatment If your symptoms persist with nonsurgical treatment, your doctor may suggest arthroscopic surgery. which can be either Meniscus repair or Meniscectomy Hope this may help you. kindly write a review about this answer and Let me know if anything not clear. Thanks.