Now that you have seen how a normal knee functions, let's look at some problems your doctor may find during knee arthroscopy.

The special tissue covering that surrounds and wraps the knee joint is called the synovium. The synovium has folds in it called plicae. Plicae are commonly found on the inside portion of a normal knee. Occasionally, these folds or plicae can become inflamed after mild trauma. With time, this inflammation can make the plica larger and create a tight feeling in your knee. This can eventually lead to knee pain, because the enlarged plica will rub or snap over the bones in your knee, especially during motion.

It is possible that your doctor may find more problems in your knee than just an inflamed plica. If this is the case, your doctor will attempt to treat these problems at the same time.