MCL Tears
The MCL is the most injured knee ligament, especially in young athletes. An MCL tear may be an isolated injury or occur in combination with other knee ligaments, especially the anterior cruciate ligament.
The medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in the knee are the primary restraints to side-to-side knee movement. The MCL is located on the inside of the knee. The LCL runs on the outside of the knee. These collateral ligaments attach the end of the femur (thigh bone) to the top of the tibia (shin bone) and control the side-to-side motion of your knee. The collateral ligaments stabilize the knee with the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).
MCL tears are caused by trauma during popular sports like soccer, skiing, and ice hockey. An MCL tear is commonly caused by a direct blow on the outside of the knee or by cutting maneuvers when planting the foot and suddenly shifting direction or speed.
MCL injuries are graded on a scale from 1 to 3, with grade 1 being a mild injury (also called a sprain), grade 2 being a moderate injury (a partial tear), and grade 3 being a complete ligament tear. With a grade 3 MCL tear, the ligament has been torn in half or pulled directly off the bone, leaving the knee joint unstable. Treatment depends on the severity and location of the injury. The good news is that because the medial collateral ligament has a high healing capacity, it can often be treated non-operatively, unless there is damage to other knee ligaments that requires surgery or in unique circumstances.
An MCL tear may cause the following symptoms:
- pain and tenderness on the inside of the knee
- swelling, bruising, and stiffness
- hearing or feeling a pop
- knee instability or “giving way” sensation with a grade 2 or 3 injury
- decreased range of motion in the knee joint.
Immediate treatment is important to reduce swelling and tenderness with icing and over-the-counter pain medication. This will help knee surgeon Dr. Daniel Kaplan to provide an accurate diagnosis.
Dr. Kaplan will review your medical history and inquire about how your injury occurred and the symptoms you are experiencing. He will perform an orthopedic examination of the knee, testing knee stability, and perform special tests to identify damage to other knee structures. He will also order imaging studies, including X-rays to evaluate the bones and an MRI to evaluate the knee ligaments.
If the MCL tear is part of a multi-ligament knee injury, surgery may be necessary or if the injured portion is near the tibial (shin bone) insertion. When the medial collateral ligament tear is combined with an anterior cruciate ligament tear, it is a well-established practice to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament and treat the medical collateral ligament tear nonoperatively in most cases.
Schedule an orthopedics consultation today.
If you’ve suffered an MCL tear, schedule an orthopedic consultation today with Brooklyn’s leading knee surgeon, Dr. Daniel Kaplan. Dr. Kaplan is an Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan and Brooklyn. He is also the chief of sports medicine at Bellevue Hospital and the chief of sports medicine at the VA hospital in Manhattan. He is a Sports Medicine and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in diagnosing and treating knee conditions. You’re in expert hands.
At a Glance
Dr. Daniel Kaplan
- Fellowship-trained Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgeon
- Expertise in Complex Shoulder Hip and Knee minimally-invasive reconstruction procedures
- Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU
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