Knee injuries: brief presentation, diagnose and cure

Knee injuries: brief presentation, diagnose and cure

With the arrival of winter, all you snow fans are hitting the slopes hard, shredding powder or the unlucky ones ice. With all the winter craze going on, one of the most common injury you can find is related to the knee joint. Even if in most cases it is jut a mild injury and surgery will not be required, it will ruin your vacation and send you to rest for a few days, up to one week.
So let’s take a closer look at knee injuries, what are they, how can you prevent getting injured and what is the cure?
Most of the knee injuries are actually related not to the knee but to the ligaments.
These ligaments supply stability to your knee for side to side movement and even during normal walking. Injury to these areas usually occurs after a strike from the side such as a football tackle, or any sort of twisting while falling or getting off the chairlift. The pain is usually located over the sides of your knee and is worse during any activity and is better with rest. Swelling can be anywhere from very mild to quite significant.
Tears of the collateral ligaments are graded on a scale of 1-3:
• Grade 1: A minor stretch ("sprain") of the ligament.
• Grade 2: A partial tear of the ligament.
• Grade 3: A complete tear of the ligament.
There are two collateral ligaments in the knee. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is located on the inside of the knee. It is the most frequently injured collateral ligament. Usually, the mechanism of injury is a blow to the outside of the knee, while the foot is planted firmly on the ground. Sometimes, stepping into a hole can also cause the twisting necessary to tear this ligament. The good news, however, is that it often can heal on it's own, if properly protected with a hinged knee brace. Sometimes, an MCL tear is associated with a tear of the ACL and a meniscus tear. This is known as the "unhappy triad".
The lateral collateral ligament (LCL) is located on the outside of the knee. It is much more rarely injured. Milder injuries can be treated with a brace as well.
Prevention of these injuries is relative and the best way to do it is to stay always sharp and pay a close attention at terrain around you; know your limits and ride according to your skills level.
Good news is that the sprain will eventually cure by itself with proper rest and just a knee brace and maybe some anti inflammation medicine, as for anything else the best advice is to see you’re a knee physician.

own

Do you like this article? If yes, share it with your friends: