Laurens Fitness

Rehab. Performance. Health.

Knee Ligament Damage

Knee ligament damage is a common injury, and can occur from a wide range of mechanisms. A ligament is a short band of connective tissue that attaches from bone to bone. Ligaments are in the joint to stop and limit mobility, this is why they are injured often due to outside forces. This can happen during a collision, a change in direction or a bad landing. When the knee is forced into a movement range that the ligament restricts, there is trouble. Usually these injuries happen at a higher speed, as the forces generated are much greater.

Knee Ligament Classifications

There are four major ligaments that stabilize the knee and we can group them into two separate groups.

  • Collateral Ligaments
  • Cruciate Ligaments

Check out this diagram to see exactly where the four major ligaments are.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28918521@N08/4292432388/

Collateral Ligaments

The medial and the lateral collateral ligaments make up this group. The lateral strengthens the outer side of the knee and runs between your thigh bone and the top of your fibula. The medial ligament strengthens the knee joint on the inner side and runs between your femur and tibia. They both resist the side to side movement of the knee and prevent rotation. The lateral ligament is commonly damaged when your knee twists, or you are hit on the inner side of the knee. This is hard to occur on its own and usually happens due to outside forces.

The medial is a more common ligament to injure, and can also happen because of a direct hit to the outside of the knee or twisting of the knee.

Cruciate Ligaments

These basically cross each other and both join your tibia to your femur. The anterior cruciate ligament runs from the front of the tibia, to the base of your femur. It stops your shin bone from moving in front of your thigh bone. A tear in the ACL is quite a common injury amongst athletes, and it can happen when you change direction rapidly, decelerate when running, landing, or from receiving a hit to the knee. This is quite a serious injury as your stability is affected greatly. Surgery is often necessary to repair it.

The posterior cruciate ligament runs from the rear of your tibia to the base of your femur. It stops your shin bone moving backwards in relation to your thigh. It is stronger than the ACL. Tearing it is less common than other ligaments of the knee, and it can occur when your knee is hyper extended, or over flexed and the shin is forced backward. This will often heal with a rehab program and an injury to the PCL alone does not usually require surgery.

Different Grades Of Knee Ligament Damage

Although different ligaments are affected differently, they are graded the same. There are three grades of injuries that will help to classify what has actually occurred to the ligament that is injured. The symptoms and treatments vary according to the different ligament that you have damaged, however this system makes it easier to grade knee ligament damage.

Grade 1: This is a mild injury, and usually the ligaments have been stretched, but not torn at all. This is not a serious injury, and you may not have a lot of pain or swelling, but left untreated and you will be predisposed to a repeat of the injury.

Grade 2: In a grade 2 injury, the specific ligament will have a partial tear. It is common to experience both swelling and bruising, and using and moving the joint through a range of motion can be quite painful.

Grade 3: A grade 3 injury is the most severe, and the ligament will be completely torn. This will cause swelling and often bleeding under the skin. You will find that your joint is very unstable and weight bearing proves very painful.

We will look at and discuss the various treatments for the different knee ligament damages in a later post.

Comments

  1. Hi Lauren, I’ve been following you for a while and I just wanted to stop in and say thanks for what you’re doing here. I find much of what you write helpful and informative. I’m commenting specifically on this post because I just wanted to say that this is one of the best descriptions of the knee ligament situation I’ve ever read. I wish my textbooks had been this succinct and helpful.

    I’m going to be linking from my blog to this article in the near future. Today if the new modem has made it to the house by the time I arrive home.

    Thanks again and keep up the great work!
    Sharon

  2. I want to say a big thank you as well! I just came across your site tonight (I was looking for ways to deal with hip flexor spasming – a fun result of my ACL being torn for months and lots of other muscles compensating for it – and your post on that was excellent, which led me to browse around to other ones). Honestly, this is the first site I’ve found that describes my injury in a way that’s simple and straightforward, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that. I’m thankful I’ve found it before I go into surgery to have my ACL reconstructed in 3 weeks – nice to feel like I have a better idea of what I’m going to be dealing with! 🙂

  3. hi. when or what tells shows you if you are to have surgery to repair your knee-ligaments? i think i damaged first my ACL and LCL. each occurred on two different occasions. first it was the ACL (I think), when i was l chasing a soccer ball during a match whilst attempting to shoulder charge an opponent. felt as though my knee buckled and i just fell to the ground. i had no swelling but a little pain and stubbornly after a 30 or so minute brake i continued playing. it re-occurred as i was braking from a high speed-run. this time there was swelling and my knee couldn’t take any weight. 3 weeks later i could walk again and run even though my knee was slightly bigger than the uninjured one. (as an active athlete i couldn’t help it, i tried paying soccer again and something on the side of the knee felt a twitch in my knee as though something was preventing my knee from bending backwards, (this time my knee didn’t buckle but rather like something held my knee from moving in cyclic motion)……felt a horrible pain, this time, to the outer side of my knee.

    i have been injured for 9 months although there is progress because of rehab. after 3 months i could ride a bike and from the 7th month to now (9th) i can do road running. my worry is i cannot sprint and it has been 2 months without progress. even as i jog i feel a liitle (insignificant pain) in my knee and i cannot squat on that knee or on both for a long period.

    how long will it take before Im back to full speed road running and playing contact sports (soccer). please assist by providing any further helpful information as i have been attending a government hospital with limited resources and time for the 1st 4 months of the injury until i was stopped. pardon me for the long note; sports is a good part of my life.

    kind regards.
    Qiniso; South Africa

Trackbacks

Popular Posts

Recent Posts