What are the knee ligament tears I should be aware of while playing sports or having any trauma?
-Knee joint is the most complex hinge joint with four kind of ligaments attached to it and also the medial and lateral meniscus which acts as cushion in knee joint.
-Most common ligament injuries are anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), Medial collateral ligament (MCL) and Lateral collateral ligament (LCL).
-Meniscus injury is most commonly associated with ACL injury resulting in pain & effusion in knee joint. Ligament injury results in feeling of pop or click in joint.
-In case of only ligament injury, most commonly pain goes away with time and instability persists but if it is associated with meniscus injury, pain persists along with instability.
How do I get knee injury diagnosed?
-First your orthopaedic surgeon will evaluate you clinically by performing certain tests such as lachman test, Pivot shift test, Mc Murray’s test etc. and depending on clinical finding your doctor will suggest you to undergo radiological intervention such as MRI which will help the surgeon in making diagnosis and suggesting you the further treatment. X-ray have limited role in case of ligament & meniscus injury but still necessary to rule out any bony pathology/fracture.
What will happen If I don’t get it treated?
-In case of ligament injury not getting proper treatment then with every movement of knee joint, the cartilage i.e. a smooth shiny surface of joint gets to rub against each other i.e. of both femoral & tibial side resulting in cartilage degeneration which further leads to pain with every movement & ultimately leading to secondary arthritis of the joint.
So it is advised that sports person & a patient of young age must undergo surgical reconstruction procedure. At the same time if patient is of old age may be your doctor won’t advise you for surgery because of less physical activity.
What is the best treatment for this?
-Unlike few decades earlier, today minimally invasive i.e. Key hole surgical procedure popularly known as arthroscopic surgeries are used for treating joint problems. It involves couple of holes for inserting camera & fine instruments.
Advantages of arthroscopy surgeries are faster recovery, less hospital stay, minimal pain & cosmetically very acceptable as it does not leave any scar.
Another advantage of arthroscopic surgeries is rapid physiotherapy with early return to sports & job.
Shri Krishna Neurospine & Multispeciality Hospital provides excellent track of records of treatment for such kind of sports injury with the help of sports injury specialist along with dedicated and experienced OT staff, OT technician, and physiotherapist. Large number of players have received successful treatment making it a leading medical destination for sports injury.
For Queries and appointment with Dr. Naren Gaur
(Arthroscopic, Joint Replacement, Trauma & Sports Injury Specialist)
Call 9828423235