A knee sprain is a sudden overstretching of one of the ligaments of the knee, leading to a tear, inflammation, and pain. Knee sprains often affect the ACL or the PCL—the two ligaments that guide the front/back movement of the lower leg. Less often, knee sprains affect the MCL or LCL, which are the ligaments that run along the inner and outer sides of the knee.
Knee sprains are very common. According to the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, this injury affects about 2.3 out of every 1000 Americans. The most commonly injured group is young athletes between the ages of 15 and 19, and they usually sprain or strain their knees playing basketball and football (males) or soccer and basketball (females).
With so many young people in Texas participating in sports today, how can athletes protect their knees and prevent sprains? And non-athletes as well—how can you keep your knee ligaments safe from sprains?
One of the best ways to avoid any injury is to be aware of its causes and risk factors. What are the causes and risk factors of knee sprains?
Most of the time, a knee sprain is the result of a sudden movement or force.
Are any of these common knee sprain causes likely to affect you? Possibly, if you have the risk factors.
Preventing a knee sprain is largely a matter of keeping your knees, legs, and hips in good condition. If your form and posture are correct and your muscles are warmed up and strong, your knees are better protected from all kinds of injury, including sprains.
You can keep your knees safer by:
Checking your equipment and environment helps, too. Exercising on uneven ground (for example, running on a soccer field full of rocks or gopher holes) is an easy way to twist an ankle or land funny on a planted foot, which in turn can wrench or jam the knee. Make sure your workout area is level and clear of obstructions, if possible.
Wear appropriate footwear, and rotate new shoes in to replace old, worn ones. Bad treads, broken cleats, or poorly fitting gear can harm both your performance and your body. If you need to wear special shoe inserts to correct a problem, do that; excessive ankle pronation or supination can affect how stable you are on your feet, and this affects how you run, jump, and land.
If you believe you’ve sprained your knee, in the short term you need to take your weight off it; rest your leg; ice the knee; and take NSAIDs to manage pain and swelling.
Then get to a doctor. A sports medicine physician or orthopedist can examine you and take imaging if needed to confirm the knee sprain and its severity.
In some cases, knee arthroscopy may be needed for diagnosis, to get inside the joint and take a closer look to diagnose the damage to the ligament and maybe even to the bones and cartilage of the knee joint itself.
After your exam, your doctor will give you a diagnosis. Treating the sprain depends largely on its Grade, or severity. However, every knee injury is different just as every patient is different.
A Grade I knee sprain is a mild sprain: an overstretching of the ligament, but not a tearing of it. You’ll experience mild pain and swelling and possibly slight instability, but in all likelihood you can use your knee and put weight on it. However, it’s vulnerable to further injury if you don’t stop to rest it properly.
Treatment is conservative:
Grade I knee sprains usually heal within about 2-3 weeks, with full strength returning to the knee ligaments at 6 weeks. Take care to return to full-strength activities gradually as you recover.
A Grade II knee sprain is considered moderate. Your ligament is partly torn but not completely severed. You’ll have swelling and pain and some knee instability, but you may not need surgery.
Treatment is usually conservative:
If you treat your Grade II sprain properly, you may be able to return to normal activities, including sports practice and games, after 4-6 weeks.
A Grade III sprain means you’ve torn one or more ligaments entirely. Your knee cannot support weight. You’ll experience a good deal of swelling, some bruising, and possibly some bleeding beneath the skin.
Treatment:
If you see an orthopedic physician promptly and treat the ligament injury properly, completing all prescribed physical therapy and rehab, the prognosis is excellent. You should be able to get back to playing sports within a few months.
Contact Coastal Orthopedics if you or a loved on has questions or concerns about a knee sprain to scheduled an appointment today at (361) 994-1166.
Article written by: Rob Williams, MD
Sources
Society for Academic Emergency Medicine