"The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of tough, rubbery cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between your shinbone and thighbone. It can be torn if you suddenly twist your knee while bearing weight on it." - Mayo Clinic

The following is from OrthoInfo
Meniscus tears are among the most common knee injuries. Athletes, particularly those who play contact sports, are at risk for meniscus tears. However, anyone at any age can tear a meniscus. When people talk about torn cartilage in the knee, they are usually referring to a torn meniscus.

You might feel a "pop" when you tear a meniscus. Most people can still walk on their injured knee. Many athletes keep playing with a tear. Over 2 to 3 days, your knee will gradually become more stiff and swollen.

The most common symptoms of meniscus tear are:
Pain
Stiffness and swelling
Catching or locking of your knee
The sensation of your knee "giving way"
You are not able to move your knee through its full range of motion
Without treatment, a piece of meniscus may come loose and drift into the joint. This can cause your knee to slip, pop, or lock.

The outside one-third of the meniscus has a rich blood supply. A tear in this "red" zone may heal on its own, or can often be repaired with surgery. ... Without nutrients from blood, tears in this "white" zone cannot heal. These complex tears are often in thin, worn cartilage.

Knee Cartilage Injury blend by Valerie Worwood in The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, page 107.
12 drops Ginger
10 drops Nutmeg
8 drops Clove
Dilute in 2TB carrier

• Apply ice to reduce swelling and inflammation. In many cases, it helps to ice at least 3 times daily and alternate with hot washcloth. Then massage the injury with essential oils.
• Wrap the knee to prevent further injury

Testimonies
I had my meniscus repaired 8 years ago and tore it again last month. I'm using Pain Repair, Pain-X and Resolve. It is important to ice the knee at the end of the day also (especially if there is some swelling). Posture and walking correctly are also key (walking heel to toe and rolling from the heal to toe with each step helps tremendously. There are also some exercises I do before getting out of bed so the knees are not so stiff. The exercises also helps with circulation too. I finish with self massage in the shower. - Cassie

For a torn meniscus, you must ice like you've never iced before. I taped my knee for support, and it reminded me to treat it carefully (once it started feeling better). I rotated using Resolve and DeepEase in roll-on applicators. I purchased them in larger bottles and kept refilling the applicators. - Lauren

For a torn meniscus, I'd layer Lemongrass and Helichrysum. Use more carrier if it irritates the skin. I talked to a guy who tore his ACL, meniscus, broke six ribs, suffered lung damage and other issues from his horse rearing up and falling over on him. He lathered on and ingested oils at the hospital. He passed the Doc in the hall the next morning on his way out, after getting back some internal tests. Four weeks later he was back riding. I talked to him six weeks post trauma, and all you could smell was essential oils - I was 5-feet away at the fuel pumps. Awesome!!! I used these same oils (Lemongrass and Helichrysum) on a fractured wrist a year after injury and it saved me from an 8k surgery. - Tom

I just wanted to report again on Assist! On Tuesday evening my knee started bothering me. It hurt to walk, but I could. It really hurt when I straightened it from sitting. As I have not only inflammatory arthritis but some osteo as well, I figured it was that. I tried several pain blends I have (Fire Power, Pain Arrest, Pain-X and Resolve) that night and Wednesday, but nothing seemed to help. Today I went to my Chiropractor for a weekly visit due to some neck issues and mentioned my knee. He examined it and said it was my meniscus, which I had injured a few years ago. He said that I had slightly retorn it. When I got home I was trying to find something to help with the pain and pulled out the Assist blend. I thought: "Might as well try it!" And within 10 minutes the pain was greatly diminished! I have been using it all day, and now it hardly hurts at all! I looked up the ingredients and found that the Lemongrass in it is good for torn ligaments! Well...who knew!!!??? - Mary Ann

I totally loved Nerve Pain when I tore my meniscus. :) - Brenda

I had a meniscus fissure. My knee was completely swollen and filled with liquid so that I could hardly sleep or move for that matter. I have a cabinet full of essential oils that I used for some relief, but what really pushed me forward was: Cabbage leaves!! I made compresses and wrapped them up around my knee nightly (and would have done this during the day if I could have). The juice from the cabbage leaves heal internal wounds and work well with essential oils. - Mark

If the problem is the back of the kneecap, bicycling would not be advised. Exercises for a meniscus should be straight leg ones, to straighten out the kneecap allignment and movement. Once that is done, the cartilage there can heal, and then allow the other exercises for total strengthening. - Susie

I apologize in advance for the length of this, but it will give hope to people who have torn meniscuses. I first tore mine in two places in the late 80s. The MRI showed a bucket handle tear and another tear. When I returned to my Dr, he said I didn't have enough pain for that. Huh? Anyway it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I did not have surgery. Instead, I was forced to quit running for a few years. It did eventually heal with no special treatment by me. The second time I tore it doing karate. The (new) Dr confirmed that I had scars where it had healed before. But this time, the tear was located more toward the back of my knee, and the blood flow was not as good there, but he felt that it may heal. Once again I avoided what made it hurt, but added gelatin and MSM at the advice of a coworker. I took 2 gelatin capsules and 300 mg of MSM daily, it took about 18 months to heal this time. If I were to tear it again, I think I would use Great Lakes gelatin powder (starting that now) and powdered MSM, and some other things that are showed to help (see this article about that and how useless surgery is: Another Study Finds Arthroscopic Knee Surgery No Better Than Sham Surgery by Dr. Mercola) I would also certainly add essential oils. I believe most essential oils increase blood flow, and that seems critical to the healing as my doctor stated. Of course, many essential oils also help with the pain and discomfort. - Mary

Bromelain, Turmeric and MSM supplements help with inflammation.