Everything You Need to Know About Ligament Injury
A ligament is a band of Elastic fibrous tissue that joins bones and supports the joint, resulting in stability.
Here we will learn about the ligaments that are connecting the bones and about their injury. However, the ligaments are strong and flexible because any external force like any unwanted twist or stretching can lead to ligament injury. This external force is mainly due to engagement in any sports activity. There are various types of ligament injuries mainly shoulder ligament injury, elbow ligament injury, and thumb ligament injury. And the most common is knee ligament injury and ankle ligament injury.
About Knee Ligament Injury
There are four types of ligaments around the knee that are responsible for its movement and stability. These are
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL): The ACL knee injury is the most common knee injury that is caused mainly due to sports activities like football, hockey, basketball, etc. ACL tears require surgery or an implant for treatment.
- Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL): The MCL ligament is situated on the inner side of the knee. Injury to MCL is caused due to participating in activities that include heavy pressure on the knee for example skiing.
- Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL): The LCL and MCL injuries in the knee are similar. An inner or outer knee sprain or tear causes the injury to this ligament. The majority of MCL and LCL injuries don't need surgery if not broken fully. In cases of Complete tears Surgery is needed.
- Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL): PCL-related injury is the least common type of ligament injury and occurs due to a fall or direct injury to the knee.
Symptoms Of Ligament Injuries
The symptoms of ligament injury depend on the severity of the injury and the type of ligament injury. But the main and most common symptoms of ligaments are:
- A popping sensation in the area at the time of injury.
- Sudden and severe pain in the area
- Swelling to the area
- Inability and instability in the movement
- Looseness of the joint
Causes Of Ligament Injuries
Ligament injury refers to a tear or sprain in the ligaments of a particular joint. This tear or sprain can be caused when an external pressure results in an unnecessary stretch or awkward twist of the joint. The most common cause of ligament injury is due to involvement in any sports activities like football, basketball, skiing, etc. followed by the other causes like
- Meeting any accident
- Twisting Injury due to any reason – Slip from stairs, slip on wet floor, Sporting injury, while dancing etc.
- Falling from a height
- Or any unwanted pressure on the ligament.
Treatment And Diagnosis of Ligament Injuries
Ligament injuries can be very painful and can affect your daily work and sports activities. Its prompt treatment is necessary as most ligament injuries require surgery or implants for their diagnosis. While some ligament injuries can be treated with non-surgical procedures. Such patients are often treated with a combination of physical therapy, medication, and rest.
Talking about surgical treatments for ligament injuries, arthroscopic surgery is the most effective and affordable treatment. Arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive treatment that enables doctors to directly visualize the entire joint, diagnose the problem, and perform corrective surgery using tiny instruments.
In surgery of Ligaments usually grafts are taken to replace or augment the ligament , advances in Ligament reconstructions are – Remanent preserving , All inside , Anatomical , Double bundle , Using Internal brace , Biological augmented Grafting etc .