Mild tears can sometimes heal, with the help of medication to reduce pain and swelling.
Specialized Care for Serious Knee Injuries
If you’ve injured any of your ligaments or cartilage structures within the knee, take our free assessment now to find out how the team at Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute can help.
The ligaments, tendons and cartilage that surround the knee have a big job to do – and sometimes the stress is too much. This leads to tears that can cause significant pain and inflammation. At Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, our experts can help you manage pain, regain function and extend the life of your knee joint.
Take a free knee-pain assessment
Give us details about how your knees feel, and we can offer recommendations on your path to healing.
Understanding knee injuries
The knee is a vulnerable joint that bears a great deal of stress from everyday movements, such as lifting and kneeling, and from high-impact activities, such as jogging or dancing. The knee is where three main bones join: the femur (thighbone), the tibia (shinbone) and the patella (kneecap). Several ligaments attach to the femur and tibia and give the joint strength and stability.
Ligament tears and other common knee injuries
When knee ligaments are stretched or torn, it can lead to instability in the knee. These injuries include:
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is in the center of the knee. It limits rotation and the forward movement of the tibia.
The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is on the inner part of the knee. It provides stability to the inner knee and keeps your shinbone in place.
The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is on the back of the knee. It keeps your bones in place.
The lateral collateral ligament (LCL) is on the outside of the knee. It helps connect your thigh to your lower leg bones and keeps the knee from bending outward too much.
You also can have a meniscus tear, which occurs when you twist or rotate your upper leg while your foot stays in one place. A torn meniscus – a crescent-shaped disk of connective tissue in the knee – can be painful and lead to arthritis in the knee. It causes swelling in the knee, and sometimes locking of the knee.
If you play a sport that involves a lot of jumping, such as basketball or volleyball, you’re at an increased risk for patellar tendonitis, also known as jumper’s knee. It’s an overuse injury that affects the tendon in the front of the leg that connects your kneecap to your shinbone.
Your kneecap is also known as the patella. Patellar maltracking describes what happens when the kneecap doesn’t follow the groove in the femur, known as the trochlear groove. As the knee is used, you might hear clicking or popping, or feel pain. Physical therapy can help strengthen muscles that would keep the patella in place.
Young athletes, and particularly teen female athletes, are at risk for patellar instability, an injury involving the kneecap. Patellar dislocation happens when the kneecap slips out of its normal pathway (the trochlear groove), often due to twisting motion or impact to the leg. With patellar instability, the kneecap can slip back into place but slipping out may reoccur. If the kneecap repeatedly slips out of place, surgery might be needed.
Cartilage is the tough, gliding tissue between joints, such as in the knee where your tibia (shinbone) and femur (thighbone) meet. However, cartilage can become damaged, either through traumatic injury, repeated micro-injuries, or a condition like arthritis. It’s important to have cartilage damage diagnosed as soon as possible because cartilage can’t heal itself. Cartilage restoration surgery is an approach offered by knee specialists with Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute.
Treating your serious knee pain
The experts at Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute excel at finding the right treatment for your knee injury. If you do need surgery, our fellowship-trained surgeons have extensive experience in getting the knee back in working order.
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Medication
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Exercise
Exercises can help you strengthen the muscles surrounding the tear and stabilize the knee.
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Surgery
In many cases, surgery is the best option to give you function back in your knee.
Take the next step to relieve your knee pain today
Ready to take a step toward a pain-free existence? Take our free assessment and find out how the experienced team at Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute can treat your knee injury.