PCL
Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is one of four important ligaments that help in providing stability of knee joint. This ligament helps in preventing tibia (shin bone) from sliding too far backwards. With support from ACL that sits in front, it keeps tibia from sliding off too far forward and maintaining its position below the femur (thigh bone).
Injury Causes of PCL
The most common of the causes of injury of PCL is called 'dashboard injury' that occurs when knee is in bent position and an object forcefully strikes shin backwards. Commonly seen in car collisions when shin forcefully strikes dashboard, some of the other reason that allows occurrence of this injury is when athlete falls on front of their knee. In this case knee is bent all the way back with foot held pointing downwards. These types of situations put stress on PCL with a resultant tear.
Symptoms of PCL
Some of the common symptoms of PCL tear are:
· Knee pain
· Swelling
· Decreased motion
If complaint of instability comes from the patients (a problem after PCL injury) then it may be indicator of surgery that needs to be performed to correct the issue.
Diagnosis
Initial part of diagnosis of PCL tear is done by knowing how injury happened. Other than this, specific manoeuvres performed by doctors also help in testing the function of PCL of which most reliable is posterior drawer test. Further, other diagnostic procedures include:
· X-rays
· MRIs
These are helpful in clarifying diagnosis and detecting other structures of knee including ligament injuries or cartilage damage that may be injured when a PCL tear is found. The tears are graded by severity of injury (from grade I to grade III) with the grade determined by extent of laxity which is measured during examination.
In general terms, grading of injury defines the following:
· Grade I: Partial tears of PCL
· Grade II: Isolated, complete tear to PCL
· Grade III: Tear of PCL with other associated ligament injury
Treatment for PCL Tear
The initial treatment comprises of using crutches, ice and elevation that helps in subsiding the pain and swelling. Once the symptoms are brought down to normal, physical therapy is used for improving knee motion and strength. Surgeons recommend non-operative treatment for most grade I and grade II PCL tears.
As per Senior Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. L. Tomar surgical reconstruction of PCL is recommended for grade III PCL tears which helps in improving knee stability and lowering likelihood of problems in the coming years. Being a difficult and complicated surgery, generally, surgical PCL reconstruction is reserved for patients having:
· Severe injured major knee ligaments
· Patients who cannot do usual activities because of persistent knee instability condition
Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is one of four important ligaments that help in providing stability of knee joint. This ligament helps in preventing tibia (shin bone) from sliding too far backwards. With support from ACL that sits in front, it keeps tibia from sliding off too far forward and maintaining its position below the femur (thigh bone).
Injury Causes of PCL
The most common of the causes of injury of PCL is called 'dashboard injury' that occurs when knee is in bent position and an object forcefully strikes shin backwards. Commonly seen in car collisions when shin forcefully strikes dashboard, some of the other reason that allows occurrence of this injury is when athlete falls on front of their knee. In this case knee is bent all the way back with foot held pointing downwards. These types of situations put stress on PCL with a resultant tear.
Symptoms of PCL
Some of the common symptoms of PCL tear are:
· Knee pain
· Swelling
· Decreased motion
If complaint of instability comes from the patients (a problem after PCL injury) then it may be indicator of surgery that needs to be performed to correct the issue.
Diagnosis
Initial part of diagnosis of PCL tear is done by knowing how injury happened. Other than this, specific manoeuvres performed by doctors also help in testing the function of PCL of which most reliable is posterior drawer test. Further, other diagnostic procedures include:
· X-rays
· MRIs
These are helpful in clarifying diagnosis and detecting other structures of knee including ligament injuries or cartilage damage that may be injured when a PCL tear is found. The tears are graded by severity of injury (from grade I to grade III) with the grade determined by extent of laxity which is measured during examination.
In general terms, grading of injury defines the following:
· Grade I: Partial tears of PCL
· Grade II: Isolated, complete tear to PCL
· Grade III: Tear of PCL with other associated ligament injury
Treatment for PCL Tear
The initial treatment comprises of using crutches, ice and elevation that helps in subsiding the pain and swelling. Once the symptoms are brought down to normal, physical therapy is used for improving knee motion and strength. Surgeons recommend non-operative treatment for most grade I and grade II PCL tears.
As per Senior Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. L. Tomar surgical reconstruction of PCL is recommended for grade III PCL tears which helps in improving knee stability and lowering likelihood of problems in the coming years. Being a difficult and complicated surgery, generally, surgical PCL reconstruction is reserved for patients having:
· Severe injured major knee ligaments
· Patients who cannot do usual activities because of persistent knee instability condition