LCL Knee Injury
LCL Knee Injury - Introduction
LCL knee injury can sideline an athlete for longer periods of time if not treated properly.
LCL (Lateral Collateral Ligament) is one of the four knee ligaments that hold the knee in place.
LCL ligament is located opposite of the MCL (inside knee ligament).
Unlike the MCL, which connects femur and tibia, LCL ligament connects femur with a smaller bone in the lower leg called Fibula.
LCL knee injuries will occur with impact to the inside of
the knee, causing the outside ligament (LCL) to bend and stretch. This leads to ligament sprain, or a complete tear.
LCL knee injuries will happen to athletes more often, especially soccer players, due to constant change of direction and sudden stops, through 90 minutes of the game or practice.
Soccer players will injure their LCL ligament by running and suddenly stopping, where the planted foot stays in one place while the body keeps moving.
This causes the knee to bend the LCL ligament, causing LCL sprain, or a complete ligament tear.
Symptoms that point towards a sprained or torn LCL ligament will be: sharp pain to the outside of the knee, inability to bend the knee, swelling on the outside of the knee, and instability of the knee.
When an LCL knee ligament injury occurs, player will feel as if the knee is giving away and buckling when trying to walk.
Due to the anatomy of the knee, inside knee ligament MCL, is more prone to injuries than the outside LCL knee ligament.
Injuring any knee ligament may lead to injuring other knee ligaments or joint structures.
LCL knee ligament injuries are graded on severity scale I, II, or III.
LCL Knee Injury - Grade I
Grade I LCL ligament injury happens when the player mildly stretches the LCL ligament, causing mild pain to be felt when putting pressure on the injured leg.
No swelling, or very minimal swelling will be noticeable on the outside of the knee.
Range
of motion will not be effected and players will simply feel discomfort
on the outside of the knee when walking, running and especially changing
directions.
Grade I LCL ligament injury can lead to more severe injury if the athlete keeps playing, without letting the ligament fully heal.
Athletes should take 1 - 2 weeks away from doing any activities that involve running.
RICE Method (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) will help in proper healing of the LCL ligament.
LCL Knee Ligament Injury - Grade II
Grade II LCL knee injuries happen with more severe stretching of the LCL ligament, making it feel very loose and painful.
Pain and swelling is a lot more severe and the knee will feel unstable when walking.
Running will not be possible without a very noticeable gimp present.
This LCL ligament injury will require 3 - 4 weeks of rest.
RICE Method (Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate) to treat the injury and accelerate healing process.
Knee brace should be worn when waling to help stabilize and compress the injured ligament.
LCL Knee Injury - Grade III
Third degree LCL ligament injury happens when the LCL ligament is stretched to the point where it is completely torn.
Third grade LCL ligament injury will follow with swelling, severe pain to the outside of the knee, inability to bend the knee, and instability or giving out (buckling) of the knee.
In most cases surgery will not be required, and ligament tear is treated by wearing a knee brace.
This injury of the knee will take a minimum of 6 - 8 weeks to heal properly.
Treatment begins by letting the pain subside, than working on the range of motion, followed with strengthening of the knee ligament before returning to sports and activities.
Knee brace needs to be worn to stabilize and compress the injured knee ligament.
As with any injury that may be considered Grade III severity, Doctor should be consulted to fully assess the damage done to the knee.
Grade III injury may also injure other parts of the knee, so professional opinion is very important for the long term health of the knee.
For more information on knee injuries take a look at Different Knee Injuries.
| Soccer Related Injuries & More |
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| ACL Injuries ACL or Anterior Cruciate Ligament is one of four knee ligaments holding the knee joint together. |
| ACL Injury Recovery ACL Injury Recovery will be needed after every ACL ligament tear or mild sprain. |
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| Common Soccer Injuries I wanted to create one web page with information on common soccer injuries and what these injuries feel like so that you can sometime recognize what is going on when it does happen to you or your players. |
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| Hamstring Injury Hamstring muscle injuries occur very frequently in athletes participating in various physically demanding sports that require sprinting and sudden change of movement and speed. |
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| High Ankle Sprain Ankle Syndesmosis injuries are often referred to what people call high ankle injury due to ankle swelling and ankle joint pain in the ligaments above the ankle. |
| How To Tape Your Ankle Ankle taping is a big part of preventing ankle injury for players participating in any type of sport where running and change of direction is required, such as soccer, football, basketball etc. |
| Knee Injuries in Soccer Knee injuries are very common in sports that require running and change of direction. Soccer is one of many sports where ligament injuries have a chance to sideline the player for longer periods of time. |
| LCL Knee Injury LCL (lateral collateral ligament) is one of the four knee ligaments holding the knee in place. |
| LCL Injury Recovery When it comes to LCL ligament injury, time is the best healing process and surgery is rarely required for treatment of common lateral collateral ligament injuries. |
| MCL Knee Injury MCL or Medial Collateral Ligament is one of the FOUR major ligaments that hold the knee together preventing it from sliding left and right or back and forth. |
| MCL Injury Recovery MCL rehab is needed after an MCL ligament injury and time is the best friend in getting over the MCL knee injury. |
| PCL Knee Injury PCL ligament crosses with the ACL ligament preventing our knee from moving back and forth. |
| PCL Injury Recovery PCL injury rehab will be different depending on the level or degree of knee injury suffered. |
| Ankle Injury Most sport players have twisted their ankle at least once considering that rolled ankle is one of the top sport injuries so I decided to cover everything about ankle sprain in this article. |
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| Concussion Treatment Following a concussion, rest is the best answer for concussion treatment. |