MCL Injury Recovery
MCL Injury Recovery takes time to fully recover from.
Only
severe MCL ligament injuries will require surgery, while most MCL
injuries can be treated with RICE Method and exercise treatment to heal
the MCL ligament.
Treating an MCL ligament injury will depend on how severe the actual injury is.
MCL treatment should start by letting the pain subside, than working on mobility of the knee followed by strengthening the knee before returning to any sport or activity.
Wearing a knee brace during
an MCL knee injury helps accelerate the healing process as it provides
support to the injured ligament.
As I mentioned above, only very severe MCL ligament tear will require knee surgery to start the healing process.
MCL injury rehab, recovery time and MCL rehab exercises will depend on the degree and extent of the MCL ligament injury.
MCL Injury Recovery
GRADE I Treatment
Grade I MCL injury occurs when the MCL ligament is overstretched, causing less than 10% of ligament fibers to tear.
This
is considered a mild sprain and it is important to take the proper time
off from playing soccer or other activity that involves running and
changing direction.
- Rest 2-4 weeks from any activity that involves running.
- RICE (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) for accelerated recovery.
- Use of anti-inflammatory medicine is recommended to help with any swelling.
- Knee exercises explained at the end of this article will help with strengthening the MCL ligament.
MCL Injury Recovery
GRADE II TREATMENT
The second degree of the MCL knee ligament injury will follow with more severe pain and instability of the MCL knee ligament, preventing athletes from participating in their sport for a minimum of 4 weeks.
Use of hinged knee brace is recommended in the early stages (first 2 weeks of MCL rehab) whenever walking.
Hinged knee brace will help with providing support to the injured ligament every time the knee is bent.
Treatment principles will be the same as for the Grade I MCL ligament injury with recovery time being slightly longer.
- Rest from any activity that involves running for 4-8 weeks.
- Use of RICE (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) to speed up the recovery time.
- Anti-inflammatory medication to help with any swelling.
- Knee exercises to help with the mobility and strengthening of the injured MCL ligament.
Athletes can return to their sport when there is no pain or any symptoms of instability to the knee.
MCL Injury Recovery
GRADE III Treatment
Grade III MCL injury will involve a complete tear to the MCL ligament, in some cases injuring other knee ligaments that hold the knee in place.
Inability to walk is to be expected, so the
crutches or a knee brace should be used for the first 3 - 5 days after
the injury occurs.
Immobilizing the knee should not last more than few days because early range of motion will help in the healing process.
Once able to bend the knee, athletes should start using the stationary bicycle.
Walking and progression to jogging should be started as the pain subsides and allows to do so.
Use of hinged brace after one week is very helpful to
keep the knee stable, especially during the early stages of MCL injury rehab.
RICE (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) to accelerate healing process.
Knee strengthening exercises 4 weeks after the injury occurs.
Athletes will usually need 3 - 6 months before returning to their sport; and should only return when there is no pain or discomfort in the MCL ligament area.
As like with any injury, Grade III injury to the knee may also injure other parts of the knee, so it is highly recommended to seek professional opinion anytime you suspect a Grade III injury happening.
Doctors have access to necessary equipment to fully assess the damage done to the knee.
For more information on MCL knee injury and rehab visit Medial Knee Ligament Injury.
MCL Injury RECOVERY Exercises
| Soccer Related Injuries & More |
|---|
| 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. |
| Ankle Sprain Treatment Causes for ankle sprain can range from playing sports and forcefully rolling the ankle to just taking a walk in the park and twisting your ankle when stepping down from a curb :( |
| 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. |
| Hamstring Exercises Many athletes and regular people have hurt their hamstring at one point in their life and know how discomforting a hurt hamstring can feel. |
| Treatment for Injured Hamstring Hamstring injury treatment will vary depending on the severity of the injury. |
| 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. |
| Hamstring Stretches Stretching the hamstring muscles is very important for our overall health as it reduces lower back pain and gives us strong and lean hamstrings that will help with our lower body range of motion. |
| 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. |
| Concussion Symptoms What is a concussion? Concussion is a traumatic head injury that occurs from mild or severe blow to the head. |
| Concussion Treatment Following a concussion, rest is the best answer for concussion treatment. |