What is a Knee Ligament?

A ligament is a short band of tough fibrous connective tissue composed mainly of long, stringy collagen molecules. Ligaments connect bones to other bones in and around joints. They do not connect muscles to bones; that is the function of tendons. Ligaments limit the amount of mobility of a joint or prevent specific movements altogether.

What Causes Knee Ligament Injuries?

You can injure a ligament through a sharp change in direction, landing wrong from a jump, or the most common a blunt force hit to the knee, such as in football tackle. The incident usually needs to happen at speed. Muscle weakness or incoordination predispose you to a ligament sprain or tear.

Major Knee Ligaments

• ACL: Anterior Cruciate Ligament
• PCL: Posterior Cruciate Ligament
• MCL: Medial Collateral Ligament
• LCL: Lateral Collateral Ligament
• Coronary Ligament

How Do You Know If Your Knee Injury Is Serious?

While it is always best to seek the professional advice of a highly skilled practitioner trained in knee injuries such as your doctor or physiotherapist, here are seven signs that could indicate a severe knee injury.

• Obvious deformity. You may have a fracture or dislocation.
• You heard a “pop” or “snap”.
• You’ve experienced swelling
• Greater than normal movement
• Less than usual movement, e.g. can’t straighten
• You are unable to weight-bear on your leg
• Your knee “gives way” or “buckles”.

Symptoms & Severity of Knee Ligament Injuries?

The severity and symptoms of a ligament sprain depend on the degree of stretching or tearing of the ligament.

In a mild, grade I sprain, the ligaments may stretch, but they don’t tear. Although the joint may not hurt or swell very much, a mild sprain can increase the risk of a repeat injury.

With a moderate, grade II sprain, the knee ligament tears partially. Swelling and bruising are common, and the use of the joint is usually painful and challenging.

With a severe, grade III sprain, your ligament tears completely, causing swelling and sometimes bleeding under the skin. As a result, the joint is unstable and unable to bear weight. Often there will be no pain following a grade III tear as all of the pain fibres are torn at the time of injury.

What’s the Healing Time of a Knee Ligament Injury?

Treatment of a ligament injury varies depending on its location and severity.

Grade I sprains usually heal within a few weeks. Maximal ligament strength will occur after six weeks when the collagen fibres have matured. Resting from painful activity, icing the injury, and some anti-inflammatory medications are useful. Physiotherapy will help to hasten the healing process via electrical modalities, massage, strengthening and joint exercises to guide the direction that the ligament fibres heal. Better aligned scar tissue helps to prevent a future tear.

When a grade II sprain occurs, use of a weight-bearing brace or some supportive taping is a conventional early treatment. This protection helps to ease the pain and avoid stretching of the healing ligament. After a grade II injury, you can usually return to activity once the joint is stable, and you are no longer having pain. Healing may take up to six weeks. Physiotherapy helps to hasten the healing process via electrical modalities, massage, strengthening and joint exercises to guide the direction that the ligament fibres heal. Well-aligned scar tissue helps to prevent a future tear and quickly return you to your pre-injury status.

When a grade III injury occurs, you usually wear a hinged knee brace to protect the damage from weight-bearing stresses. The aim is to allow for ligament healing and gradually return to normal activities. These injuries are most successfully treated via physiotherapy and may not return to their full level of activity for 3 to 4 months. We strongly recommend that you seek professional advice in these cases.