Summary
Knee ligament injuries are often the result of rotational movement of the knee joint (e.g., cutting and pivoting movements in sports). Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) result in knee pain and instability. Various maneuvers aid in demonstrating knee instability and are usually sufficient for the diagnosis of collateral ligament tears. An MRI is the best confirmatory test for cruciate ligament tears. Isolated ligament injuries are usually treated conservatively, but surgery is recommended for complex injuries, severe knee instability, and patients with physically demanding occupations.
Anatomical overview
- ACL and PCL connect the femur to the tibia.
- The MCL merges with the joint capsule of the knee.
- The LCL connects the femur and the fibula; It does not merge with the joint capsule of the knee.
Anterior cruciate ligament injury
Epidemiology
Mechanism of injury
- Low-energy noncontact: sports injuries with a twisting mechanism, e.g., football, soccer, basketball, baseball, alpine skiing, and gymnastics [3]
- High-velocity contact injuries (less common): direct blows to the knee causing forced hyperextension or valgus deformity of the knee
Clinical features
- History: Patients often report a popping sound shortly before the onset of symptoms.
-
Physical examination findings
- Knee swelling (e.g., due to hemarthrosis), pain, and instability
- Positive Lachman test (most sensitive test)
- Positive anterior drawer test
- Positive pivot shift test
-
Commonly associated injuries
- Most commonly lateral meniscus damage (often together with acute ACL and MCL injury)
- Unhappy triad: simultaneous injury of the ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus (the medial meniscus is attached to the MCL)
Diagnostics
- Joint aspiration (in severe joint effusions): hemarthrosis
- MRI (confirmatory test)
Treatment
- Conservative treatment: for mild knee instability, less physically demanding occupations, premorbid inactivity, or postoperatively
-
Arthroscopic surgery: for multiligament injuries, chronic knee instability, and for highly competitive athletes
- Allograft from Achilles tendon or patellar tendon
- Postoperative care: knee brace, crutches, physical therapy [4]
- Double-bundle ACL graft using the semitendinosus and/or gracilis tendons (hamstring muscles)
- ACL graft from the patellar tendon
Complications
- Meniscal degeneration
- Osteoarthritis
- Patella fracture
- Patella tendon rupture
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Postoperatively: graft failure, graft impingement
Posterior cruciate ligament injury
-
Mechanism of injury
- Noncontact injury involving hyperflexion of the knee with a plantarflexed foot (seen in athletes)
- Direct posterior blow to a flexed knee, seen in motor vehicle accidents (dashboard injury) or athletic contact injury
-
Clinical features
- Initially vague symptoms: minimal (or absent) posterior knee pain, swelling, decreased functional range of motion
- Positive posterior drawer test
- Positive posterior sag sign
- Positive quadriceps active test
- The patient is placed in supine position with the knee flexed at 90° with the foot flat on the bed.
- The patient is asked to contract the quadriceps which, if there is PCL injury, should move the tibia forward.
- If the tibia moves forward by more than 2 mm, then the test is positive.
- Positive posterolateral drawer test
- The patient is sitting on the edge of the examining table (thighs supported) with the legs hanging over the floor.
- A posterior drawer test is performed which moves the lateral tibial plateau posteriorly around the axis of the PCL.
-
Diagnostics
- X-rays initially; : bony avulsions and posterior sag of the tibia
- MRI (confirmatory test)
-
Treatment
- Conservative therapy for isolated injuries
- Surgery for multiligament injuries, chronic knee instability, and for highly competitive athletes
Collateral ligament injury
Overview of collateral ligament injuries | ||
---|---|---|
Medial collateral ligament injury | Lateral collateral ligament injury | |
Mechanism of injury |
|
|
Associated injuries |
|
|
Clinical features | ||
Diagnostics | ||
Treatment |
|
MCL injuries are more common than LCL injuries.