Menisci can get torn during forceful rotation or twisting of the knee, but significant trauma is not always necessary for a tear to occur. There are various patterns of meniscal tearing depending on the cleavage plane such as vertical tears (perpendicular to the tibial plateau), horizontal tears (parallel to the long axis of the meniscus and perpendicular to the tibial plateau), or bucket handle tears (longitudinal tear where the torn portion of the meniscus forms a handle shaped fragment which gets displaced into the intercondylar notch).