The largest joint in the body, the knee has been the subject of intense investigation since the late 1970s. The driving force behind this research has been a very practical one: owing to its location at the middle of the weight-bearing lower extremity, the knee is subject to a great variety of traumatic and degenerative conditions. Before going to the question’s answer of “How long does it take for a torn ligament in your knee to heal?” we will know about the torn ligament of your knee briefly.
Outwardly simple, the knee is actually quite complex. The knee’s unique anatomy consists of three separate joint compartments (medial, lateral, and patellar), the body’s largest and strongest muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings), four main ligaments (medial collateral ligament [MCL], lateral collateral ligament [LCL], anterior cruciate ligament [ACL], and posterior cruciate ligament [PCL]), five major Bursal sacs, and the body’s largest synovial cavity.
Ligament tear meaning
A ligament may be a tough band of animal tissue that connects bone to bone or bone to cartilage. While ligaments are extremely strong, they will be stretched or maybe torn, leading to different grades of sprains.
A ligament tear usually occurs thanks to extreme force to a joint like with a fall or another high-impact event. Common ligament tears are to the ankle, knee, wrist, thumb, neck, or back ligaments.
Knee Ligament injury
It is easy to separate from other patients with knee ligament injuries. The role of the cruciate and collateral ligaments is to stabilize the knee joint. These structures connect the femur and tibia in a way that allows normal motion (flexion and extension) but resists the forces that create abnormal motion.
Without trauma or injury, it’s quite impossible to tear a ligament because the knee ligaments of a given patient are about the same length and diameter as that patient’s pinky finger.
If you have knee pain but no history of trauma or injury is not like1y to have a ligament injury. You may have a history of a “knee sprain” that occurred years ago that seemed to heal well. But you have had a “trick knee” that will give out once or twice a year if you twist just right.
Some patients tell that they felt, or even heard, a “‘pop” when the ligament was injured. Knee ligaments are very strong structures. They can store an incredible amount of energy before failing. If the load is large enough to fail the ligament, then the ligament will rupture, which stored energy is released suddenly, creating what the patient perceives as a pop.
If the patient reports a “‘pop!’ then it is important to clue that strongly suggests a knee ligament injury. When trying to distinguish ligament injuries from meniscal tears an effusion and the timing of its onset can also be important clues. Ligaments are more vascular than meniscal tissue, and patients with ligament injuries will in general create effusions inside an hour of their physical issue. Still, we have the question, “How long does it take for a torn ligament in your knee to heal?” right? We will go for the answer below!
Types of Knee ligament injury
Knee sprains are injuries to the ligaments that hold the knee together. There are multiple ligaments that stabilize the knee and keep it in alignment. Those are-
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL): The ligament, located within the center of the knee that controls rotation and forward movement of the tibia (shin bone). An ACL injury is perceived as a “sprain”; sprained knee symptoms brought about by minor ACL injuries may tenderness and swelling, while more serious, complete tears will cause instability, a decreased ROM (range of movement), and a serious level of pain and swelling. Skiing, basketball, and football are sports that have a higher risk of ACL injuries.
- Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL): The ligament, located within the back of the knee that controls backward movement of the tibia (shin bone).
- Medial collateral ligament (MCL): The ligament that provides stability to the inner knee. During playing hockey or football MCL injury can be happened.
- Lateral collateral ligament (LCL): The ligament that provides stability to the outer knee, an LCL injury can cause symptoms of severe pain on the surface of the knee, alongside instability or immobility.
What are the symptoms of a torn ligament in your knee?
The main symptoms of torn ligament in your knee is as follows-
- Pain, often sudden and severe
- Swelling within the primary 24 hours after the injury
- A loud pop or snap during the injury
- Inability to place weight on the joint without pain, or any weight in the least
- A sense of looseness within the joint
- Heat
- Tenderness
- Difficulty of bending the knee
- Brushing
- Locking of the knee
What are the Causes of ligament tear in knee?
Most knee injuries are caused by an external force bending or twisting the knee in a manner that it had been not anatomically designed for.
Common causes of torn ligaments in your knee are from a twisting mechanism from falls, sports, or accidents.
High-force injuries like sports-related injuries and automobile accidents can disrupt multiple parts of the knee anatomy, causing multiple sorts of knee injuries.
What are the risk factors of torn ligament?
- High-impact sports, including running, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, cycling, etc. can increase the danger of knee injury.
- Using inappropriate shoes in sports, sudden changes in direction are made, alongside contact sports, are common risks for knee injury.
- Exercise, like high-impact cardiovascular activity or yoga, also can cause knee injury.
- Women could also be at higher risk for anterior cruciate ligament injuries (ACL) and patellar injuries. This is often thanks to the anatomy of a woman’s hips and femur and therefore the angle at which the knee is tilted. This will cause chondromalacia patella (CMP), an inflammation or irritation of the underside of the patella.
- Overuse and overtraining, improper or insufficient training for a sport, or not properly rehabilitating acute injuries also can predispose an individual to knee injuries.
- The elderly could also be at higher risk for knee injury thanks to falls and osteoporosis.
- Being overweight are often a risk factor for knee injury, as excess weight puts more stress on the lower extremity joints.
How long does it take for a torn ligament in your knee to heal?
Now we will come to the question-answer of “How long does it take for a torn ligament in your knee to heal?”
This will depend upon which knee ligament you’ve got injured and also how severe your injury is. Also, if you’ve got injured by quite one ligament in your knee, recovery may take longer.
Normally milder Grade I and Grade II Medial collateral ligament (MCL) or Lateral collateral ligament (LCL) sprains heal within 2 to 4 weeks, but other sorts of knee sprains may take 4 to 12 months.
If you’ve got surgery to repair your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), it always takes around 6 months before your knee has recovered enough for you to return to your previous sporting activities. However, in some people, it’s going to be longer. Generally, surgery to reconstruct an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has good leads to up to 8 out of 10 people. Within the short term but the danger of a second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is high, especially in young athletes. In the long run, many of us who have had an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear develop osteoarthritis in our knee, whether or not they need to have their ACL reconstructed.
If your Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) has been treated using surgery, it can take between 9 and 12 months before complete recovery.
After a stretch injury (sprain) or partial tear to the Medial collateral ligament (MCL), the ligament has completely healed in most people after three months. If there’s an entire tear, recovery may take a touch longer but most of the people are back to their usual activities after 6-9 months.
About 80 to 90 percent of individuals with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and 80 percent of these with Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries will experience a full recovery. Medial collateral ligament (MCL) and Lateral collateral ligament (LCL) sprains tend to heal quite well.
What is the Treatment of torn ligament?
The treatment of torn ligament will depend on the severity of your injury and what part of your knee was damaged. To know the treatment you must visit a specialist who can take care of your injury. But for knowledge purposes, we are providing you a short brief of the treatment of torn ligament.
If you’ve got a Grade I or Grade II knee sprain, your doctor probably will recommend that you simply follow the RICE rule. It’s called a primary treatment for ligament injury.
- Rest the joint.
- Ice the injured area to scale back swelling.
- Compress the swelling with a bandage.
- Elevate the injured knee.
In more serious cases, one of the following three treatment options may be recommended:
- Physical Therapy
- Bracing
- Surgery
Source