Knee Ligament Damage: Information
Are you into sports or active in motocross racing? If yes, then you are at a higher risk of getting knee ligament damage.
Knee ligament damage is common among athletes and many other active individuals. Ligament and tendon damage are among the most common knee injuries, though the bones are also prone to damage. The knee joint is comprised of three bones: the shinbone (tibia), thighbone (femur), and the kneecap (patella). The kneecap is situated in front of the joint to provide protection.
The three bones are connected to each other by ligaments. The ligaments hold the bones together to limit mobility from side to side and to provide stability. There are four ligaments in the knee joint to serve these purpose and are classified into two groups.
Collateral ligaments are composed of medial and lateral collateral ligaments. The medial collateral ligament provides strength on the inner side of the knee joint and runs between the femur and the tibia. The lateral collateral ligament runs between the thighbone and the fibula and strengthens the outside of the knee joint. Both collateral ligaments control the side to side motion of the knees and prevent it from any unusual movement like rotation. Injuries on collateral ligaments do not occur on its own but usually caused by outside forces, and the most commonly injured is the medial ligament due to outside impact of force like twisting and direct hit.
Another group of ligaments are the cruciate ligaments, anterior and posterior. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) prevents the shinbone from moving in front of the thighbone. The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) stops the moving of the shinbone backwards. The cruciate ligaments cross each other with the ACL in front and the PCL at the back, to control the back and forth movement of the knee and provide stability.
Knee ligament damage mostly happens when the knee is hyper-extended, over-flexed or twisted. This usually occurs during sudden changes of movement during running and jumping, accidents and the knee strongly hit a hard thing like dashboard, and a bad landing like in motocross sports.
The injury can be treated using self care measures that include rest, ice application, pain reliever drugs and physiotherapy. However, if the damage is severe, surgery is needed to repair the damaged knee to be able to return into normal activities. Self care measures are applied within 48 hours, and if the pain does not subside, refer to a medical professional for accurate diagnosis and treatments to address the problem. Light exercise with resistance tubes can also help the pain.