Don’t treat a knee injury lightly
Your foot slipped on a grassy field while you were running or playing a game. You fell, and now your knee hurts. It hurts even more when you walk on it. Then it suddenly starts to swell, which increases the pain.
Never, never, never just apply ice to the knee and hope the pain and swelling will go away. Any knee injury needs to be medically examined and diagnosed. It can be a completely torn ligament, requiring surgery. It may be a partially torn ligament, which will recover by itself if allowed to rest so it can heal. Don’t take a risk of further injury by not getting a professional opinion.
According to the popular site WebMD.com, “The knee is one of the largest and most complex joints in the body. The knee joins the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia). The smaller bone that runs alongside the tibia (fibula) and the kneecap (patella) are the other bones that make the knee joint.” The site states that “Every year, at least 200,000 Americans undergo ACL reconstruction,” which certainly makes orthopedic surgeons very wealthy.
There are four major ligaments that hold the knee together and keep it stabilized. Each of these ligaments also holds the femur in place. The femur is the longest and thickest bone in the body, which is why it requires four ligaments to hold it in place. These ligaments are located in the front and back of the knee, with one also on each side of the joint.
Three of the ligaments are the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in the back of the knee, the medial collateral ligament (MCL) on the inner side of the knee, and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL), which is on the outside of the knee. Of these rope-like connections, the one that is most frequently injured is the ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, on the front of the knee.
It’s an athletic injury that most often happens in football, skiing, basketball and baseball — any sport requiring active movement of the lower leg. It’s caused when the femur slides backward on the tibia. The tibia is the larger of the two lower leg bones, and is on the inside of the leg. If it slides forward, the ACL will be stretched or torn, or ‘ruptured,’ which means a complete tear that should always require surgery. Without repair, the knee will not be as stable, and there is a big risk of a ’wobbliness’ that can also sprain or tear any of the three remaining healthy ligaments.
New studies have shown that a torn ACL, which is not completely ruptured, can often be healed by aggressive rehabilitation or physical therapy thus eliminating the need for surgery.
The time frame for complete recovery from an ACL surgical reconstruction is nine months. However, more than half the subjects in a clinical trial that used a structured PT program instead of surgery recovered without needing an operation.
While there are many orthopedic surgeons in every big city, there’s a good way to find the best ones, or the best physical therapy clinic. Find out the name of a professional team or sports franchise trainer and contact that person. Ask them who would be the best surgeon or physical therapist for your knee injury. Because professional athletes can get injured anywhere, team trainers often know who is the best medical person or the best clinic for your injury in an area near you, whether the one you need is a surgeon or a physical therapist.
For an excellent, self explanatory image of the knee, go to: webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/picture-of-theknee#1