MCL Injuries

In competitive sports, athletes are estimated to be 10 times more likely to have a serious knee injury than in other organized sporting athletes. In most of these competitive sports, knee injuries account for approximately a quarter of the injuries and often take the longest time of any injury to recover from. Over the last 15 years, ankle sprains have decreased by 86% and tibia fractures by 88%, but knee ligament injuries have increased by 172%. The most common types of knee injuries include various ligament and tendon sprains and tears.

MCL is usually injured indirectly by traumatic forces in the outside of the knee. These are certainly common in contact sports from tackles or “clipping injuries” in football and soccer. The injuries can also occur from noncontact mechanisms such as awkward landing or pivoting events in basketball or slides into base with baseball. An MCL tear or sprain can occur in isolation or in combination with injury to the meniscus, cartilage, or cruciate ligaments.

Symptoms depend on the severity of the injury and are classified according to the extent of the injury.

MCL injuries are classified as grade I thru III:

 Pain on the inside of the knee  Tenderness to touch

 Swelling, stiffness  Internal bleeding (grade 2)

 Somewhat unstable joint (grade 2)  Unstable joint (grade 3)

 Unable to put weight on the leg (grade 3)

Swelling over the torn ligament may appear and bruising or general swelling of the joint is not uncommon. In more severe injuries, patients may complain that the knee is unstable and feel as though their knee may “give out.”

All MCL injuries are not created equal, therefore, the time for an athlete to return-to-play is highly variable and dependent on the severity of the injury.

MCL Tear Symptoms (And What To Do About Them). (2015, September 28). Retrieved March 3, 2017, from https://www.rothmaninstitute.com/stories/news-and-blog/mcl-tear-symptoms-and-what-to-do-about-them

Medial Collateral Ligament Injury Of The Knee (MCL Tear). (2017, February). Retrieved March 3, 2017, from http://www.healthline.com/health/medial-collateral-ligament-mcl-injury-of-the-knee#overview1

Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) Tears. (2017, August). Retrieved March 3, 2017, from https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/Patients/Health-Conditions/Medial-Collateral-Ligament-MCL-Tears.aspx