The knee is a complicated structure with many components, making it vulnerable to various injuries. For instance, some common knee injuries include sprains, ligament tears, fractures, and dislocations. Most injuries are treated with simple bracing or rehabilitation exercises.
Knee ligament damage is typical in sports professionals, such as those playing football, skiing, and baseball. Mostly female athletes are more prone than men. Ligament damages are also caused by trauma, such as car accidents. A torn ligament restricts the movement of the knee. The patient won’t be able to lift, twist or turn the injured leg.
What is knee ligament damage?
Knee ligaments are the short, flexible, rugged bands of tissues holding the knee together. The causes of knee ligament damage include sudden twisting of body parts and hard or awkward landings.
What are the symptoms of knee ligament damage?
With the below symptoms, you can understand that your knee ligament is damaged.
- Swelling and stiffness: The joint is swollen with unbearable pain when the ligament is stretched too far and torn. Swelling of the knee is an indication of a fracture or torn ligament. With the swollen joint, you experience incredible pain.
- Redness and warmth when touched: Redness is a sign of knee infection within the joint. The infected knee feels warmer than your other knee, and you need to see a doctor immediately.
- Popping noise: A torn ligament or broken cartilage mainly causes the “popping” sound.
- Inability to straighten the knee completely: The inability to bend or strengthen may be due to a locked knee, a condition in which torn knee cartilage becomes wedged in the joint. The severe pain hampers the knee movement.
Knee ligament tear care
- The patient should avoid weight-bearing activities
- Ice should be applied for 15 to 20 minutes every 2 to 4 hours.
- Wrapping elastic bandages may help reduce swelling
- Painkillers should be taken as per the doctor’s prescription.
How is the damaged knee ligament diagnosed?
- An X-ray usually can only show bones and joints and does not show tendons, ligaments, nerves, cartilage and blood vessels. An MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field to create images of the complex and soft tissues in the body. An MRI scanning can clearly show the internal injury and the extent to which the knee tissues and the cartilage are damaged.
- The ultrasound technique uses sound waves to visualize internal structures to check for knee ligament, tendon, and muscle injuries.
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