What is knee ligament injury?
The knee joint has a number of ligaments (cords) and one of them is the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).
Advertisement
The ACL is a strong cord that connects the back of the thighbone to the front of the leg bone, thereby providing the knee joint with enough stability to perform a lot of movement and activities.
The strong cord prevents over extending/ straightening of the knee and stops the knee joint from twisting too far.
Injuries of the knee ligament vary from mild such as tiny tears to severe when the ligament is completely torn.
There are many ways this ligament can be injured. The most common is when the knee is bent too much toward the back and when it goes too far to the side.
Small tears in the ligament also take place when the knee receives a direct blow from the front while the leg is firmly on the ground.
The injury is usually associated with high impact sports or events where extra stress is placed on the knee to make sudden or quick changes in movement and during sharp stops from high speed.
When you keep on involving an injured knee in sporting activities without appropriate treatment, you continue to damage the knee joint.
Symptoms
Individuals may have different symptoms after an injury. Usually, there is an audible pop, snap or tearing sound at the time of the injury but in the case of minor tears, the individual may be able to continue with the activity with little pain in the beginning.
Swelling of the knee occurs within a short interval after the injury due to bleeding into the knee joint because of torn blood vessels.
There is also instability associated with a torn ACL and this may cause insecurity as the individual thinks the knee will give way whenever he/she attempts to change direction.
The individual experiences pain in the knee joint and this increase with the area becoming slightly stiff, particularly following a period of rest after the incident. The pain and swelling in and around the knee joint decreases after a couple of weeks although the knee still feels unstable.
Movement of the affected knee joint will be limited, especially due to the pain and the knee may collapse under any movement or weight. The knee may also become stiff after a prolonged period of immobility.
How injuries occur
Some ACL injuries occur because of a sudden slowing down or stop, over-straightening of the knee joint or sudden turning of the knee joint while the foot is firmly on the ground.
Mostly ACL injuries are sport-related.
The injury may also result from a blow directly to the knee joint when the foot is on the ground and not in the air.
Another sport such as football may result in ACL tears because it involves sudden change of direction with the foot on the ground and a direct blow (body contact).
Diagnosis
The knee and leg may be placed in a number of positions and a force applied to the joint to check particular movement of the leg bone.
X-rays of the knee may be conducted to rule out broken bones (thigh and leg bones). Ligaments or cords that connect bones together do not show up on X-rays.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging or an MRI should be obtained to provide an accurate test for diagnosing a torn ACL without essentially looking into the knee joint.
The MRI machine uses magnetic waves rather than X-rays to make other parts of the body seen or made visible.
Advertisement
The results of these tests will be of assistance to the physical therapist to determine the extent of injury and the best way to begin treatment.
• The writer is a Senior Physiotherapist at the 37 Military Hospital