Ligaments are strong threads of connective tissue that link bone to bone. Four ligaments connect your femur, or thigh bone, to your tibia, or shinbone. Excessive force to your knee might tear one or more of these ligaments, necessitating a long and complex therapeutic process. Untreated or improperly treated ligament tears make you susceptible to future knee injuries.
Reduce Inflammation
Inflammation is a process that mobilizes your body's white blood cells and chemicals to protect you from infection, explains the Cleveland Clinic. After a ligament tear, your body inappropriately releases chemicals from its white blood cells into the blood or affected tissues. This chemical release increases the blood flow to your knee. Inflammation occurs when the chemicals leak fluid into the tissues surrounding your knee. Reducing inflammation is the first order of business after a torn knee ligament. Scar tissue and permanent stiffness may result if a doctor performs surgery while the knee is still swollen, warns orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert J. Zehr.
RICE
RICE is an acronym for rest, ice, compression and elevation. This basic form of therapy reduces inflammation to the affected area. The amount of rest depends on the severity of the knee ligament tear. The most severe tears demand a complete rest from any weight-bearing activity, whereas partial tears may allow you to walk but restrict you from running or athletic activity. Applying ice packs for 20 minutes four to eight times a day, as well as elevating the leg so that it is 12 inches above the heart, reduces inflammation, advises the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Compression bandages also reduce swelling. Your doctor also may prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, called NSAIDs, to reduce pain and inflammation.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapists provide effective treatment before surgery, after surgery or in lieu of surgery. The therapeutic process begins with flexion and extension range-of-motion exercises. Extension exercises include pressing the back of your knee into a table or lying prone, with your legs hanging off the edge of a table and allowing the forces of gravity to straighten your legs. Examples of flexion exercises include sliding your leg along the table to bend your knee or pedaling on a bicycle. Your physical therapist may have you lie prone, while she manually attempts to bend your knee. As your range of motion improves, your physical therapist adds strength and balance exercises.
Surgery
Surgery depends on the type and severity of the injury, as well as your professional and recreational activity level. For example, the medial collateral ligament, called the MCL, provides lateral stability for the knee. MCL tears rarely require surgery, says Dr. Asheesh Bedi, team physician for the University of Michigan Athletic Department. Anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, tears are more severe. When the ACL tears, other ligaments might tear along with it. This type of tear usually requires surgery.
Surgical Options
Surgery is optional, but the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons warns that opting out of the surgical process may trigger chronic knee instability. Your doctor will ask questions about your lifestyle. Professional and avid recreational athletes, ski instructors and athletic coaches usually require surgery, but people who live a more sedentary lifestyle may choose to avoid it. Surgical options include autografts, which use tissue from your own hamstrings, quadriceps or patella tendons, and allografts, which use the lower leg tendon of a cadaver.
References
- Cleveland Clinic: Inflammation: What You Need To Know
- Naples Orthopedic Surgeon: Why Do I Need Physical Therapy Before Knee Surgey?
- University of Iowa Healthcare: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation
- SportsMd; Medial Collateral Ligament Injuries of the Knee; Asheesh Bedi; January 2011
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: ACL Injury: Does It Require Surgery?
