Can symptoms of a meniscus tear be confused with plain knee arthritis?

Yes: Some time the patient come to us because of knee pain, after we take MRI we see that he have degenerative tear in the meniscus, most likely started as torn meniscus was not treated then end up with arthritis. Good luck.

Yes: Often a meniscus tear and knee arthritis such as loss of cartilage are seen in the same joint, particularly in older people. In these people they are called degenerative meniscal tears. Symptoms of an acute meniscus tear are swelling, pain, the knee having a catching feeling with bending and restraightening or locking of the knee, also many people report a sense of instability in the knee.