1. Ligaments and Knee Injuries

2. Ligaments
Fibrous, usually stretchy bands of connective tissue that link one bone to another

3. Purpose of Ligaments
Besides joining together ends of bones, ligaments serve several other important purposes:
Provide stability to a joint during movement
Control range of motion
Restrict excessive movements to make it difficult to hyper-extend
Can prevent movements in certain directions
Support some internal organs such as the uterus and the bladder

4. Ligament Injury
Because ligaments are so important in stabilizing a joint, they are very susceptible to injury
Ligaments withstand a lot of stress in every day life, so add any extra stress on top of this and you can see how it’s pretty easy to injure one
Also, there is very little blood supply to ligaments, so injuries take longer to heal

5. Torn Ligament
A torn ligament usually means that the ligament was twisted while bearing weight

6. Knee Ligaments
When talking about ligaments tears, most often we are talking about ligaments within the knee
There are 4 knee ligaments I want you to know:
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL)
Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL)
Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL)
Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL)

7. Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Ligament located towards the front of the knee
Connects the femur to the tibia
Functions to hold the bones of the knee together; required for proper knee movement
Prevents the tibia from sliding beneath the femur

8. ACL Injury Causes Ways to injure your ACL: Changing direction rapidly
Stopping suddenly
Slowing down while running
Landing from a jump
Direct contact or collision, like a football tackle

9. ACL Injury Symptoms
You might hear a popping noise and feel your knee give a little
You actually may not feel pain right away
Within 2-12 hours, your knee will start to swell
You will feel pain when you try to stand

10. ACL Injury Treatment
Nonsurgical: nonsurgical treatments are done when the patient is very young, very old, or has a low level of activity
Usually the patient has to wear a brace and do pretty extensive physical therapy to try to strengthen the ligament
Surgical Treatment: surgical treatment is done in anyone not fitting the above categories
Done especially on younger athletes
Reconstruction done by replacing torn ligament with a tendon from the knee or hamstring
This will be followed by an extensive strengthening and rehabilitation program

11. Posterior Cruciate Ligament
Causes the tibia from sagging backwards
If the PCL is torn, it can cause the bones in the knee to rub against each other directly
Not nearly as common and usually not as severe as ACL injuries
Usually a rehabilitation program will strengthen the ligament without surgery

12. Collateral Ligament Injuries
Collateral Ligaments are located on the inside (medial) and outside (lateral) of the knee joint
MCL: also connects femur to tibia
provides stability to inner part of knee
Keeps knee from buckling inwards
LCL: connects thigh bone to fibula
stabilizes the outer part of the knee
Treat using RICE right away
Usually good outcome after rehabilitation