Aim of the therapy

The aim of every treatment is to heal the torn ligament while maintaining the stability and resilience of the ankle joint. Therefore, the optimal therapy is of great importance in order to regain the condition before the injury. If not treated, the joint may become permanently unstable with premature joint wear (arthrosis).

Treatment of a torn ligament in the knee

There are two important ligament structures at the knee. These are the medial and lateral collateral ligament. They are affected particularly quickly during rotational and flexion movements, such as skiing, and can therefore tear quickly.

Furthermore, the anterior and posterior cruciate ligament and the menisci are also at risk of being damaged in knee injuries. If such a torn ligament is detected by means of appropriate diagnostics such as clinical examination and possibly computer tomography, the appropriate therapy is initiated depending on the severity of the injury. Strains and ruptures of the collateral ligaments are always treated conservatively.

Tension of the medial collateral ligament is therefore symptomatic. The patient is given pain medication and, depending on the pain, can put weight on the affected leg. For support, he or she may receive crutches to relieve the knee and enable pain-free walking.

To prevent inflammation of the affected ligament, local anti-inflammatory drugs (anti-inflammatory drugs) can also be administered. Regular cooling of the injury and elevation of the leg is beneficial. In the case of a torn ligament, on the other hand, the affected leg should initially be relieved with the aid of crutches for about 6 weeks.

In addition, treatment with cold and anti-inflammatory medication is also necessary. Often the rupture heals completely within the 6 weeks of immobilization and the knee is able to bear weight again. Ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament, on the other hand, are usually treated surgically and then with a torn cruciate ligament splint.

Especially for physically active people a reconstruction of the cruciate ligament is performed. In the meantime, the pure suture of the torn ligament is outdated, as it continued to cause instability of the ligament afterwards. A more stable procedure is the arthroscopic reconstruction of the ligament with an autologous transplant.

The relatively long and thus well suited tendon of the seminternal dinosus muscle is often used for this. The success of such a transplantation is very good. Following the healing phase, the patient can often resume his or her sports activities.

A torn ligament of the posterior cruciate ligament is initially treated conservatively, since the instability caused by the tear can be compensated by targeted training of the quadriceps muscles. If the conservative therapy does not show any success, surgical intervention can also be used here. Similar to the reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, transplants are also fixed in the posterior cruciate ligament plastic using drilled bone channels. Sufficient knee stability can thus be achieved.