Duration of healing

Ligaments are tissues with poor blood supply, which results in a longer healing process. Conservatively, i.e. without surgery, the knee is immobilized for about 6 weeks. However, months will pass before the knee is fully functional and able to bear weight again.

Athletes who regularly put a lot of weight on their knee should consider an operation. In general, it is advantageous to obtain opinions from various doctors or therapists. The inner ligament, ligamentum collaterale mediale or also tibiale, runs on the inside of the knee longitudinally over the joint gap between the thigh bone and the tibial bone on the lower leg.

For improved stability, deep portions of the ligament are connected to the inner meniscus on the same side of the knee. The menisci are cartilaginous devices between the articulating bones to compensate for their incongruities and distribute the forces acting evenly. The inner ligament is tensioned when the inner joint gap is separated – this is called valgus stress.

It is also tensioned when the knee is extended, which prevents the lower leg from rotating relative to the upper leg in this position. Basically, any position in which the inner ligament is tensioned can lead to a tear in extreme excess. Be it a kick from the outside against the knee, which suddenly causes extreme valgus stress, a malposition of the leg axes in the “X-leg position”, in which the inner ligament is exposed to constant valgus stress, or a rotation of the knee outwards.

In unfortunate cases, this last movement leads to an injury combination of three structures: inner ligament, inner meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament, an “unhappy triad”. This last injury mechanism usually looks like the following: The slightly bent leg stands on the floor, while the upper body suddenly turns to the side and continues to cause an external rotation in the knee, while the foot is fixed. An often seen injury in footballers who stand with one leg on the ground, swing with the other leg and shoot after the ball.

At the same time, another player kicks from the outside against the supporting leg, also while trying to shoot, and the Unhappy Triad is complete. Other ball sportsmen and skiers are also often seen patients of an inner ligament rupture or the combination of an Unhappy Triad. The outer ligament is the partner of the inner ligament on the opposite side.

So it also pulls longitudinally across the joint space on the outside of the knee, from the lower end of the thigh bone to the upper end of the fibula on the lower leg. In contrast to the inner ligament, it is not fused with the meniscus, which results in greater freedom of movement of the outer meniscus and thus fewer injuries. The position of this ligament now ensures that the outer knee is spread apart (varus stress).

A typical overloading of the outer ligament occurs in the case of a “bow-leg” malposition. Not only the outer ligament is affected, but also the tractus iliotibialis. Pain on this ligament is found more frequently in runners, hence the name runner’s knee.

In general, the tear of the outer ligament of the knee is less common than a tear of the inner ligament, but is also often caused by trauma in athletes. These topics might also be of interest to you:

Exercises for an injury to the inner and outer ligaments
ITBS – Iliotibial Band Syndrome
Torn meniscus – Physiotherapy

The cruciate ligaments are located in the middle of the knee and connect the ends of the thigh bone and shin bone. As the name suggests, they cross over each other when viewed from the front.

Since the collateral ligaments are mainly there to prevent the knee from slipping sideways, the cruciate ligaments are now there to protect the knee from the forming bones slipping forward or backward. They also limit the insertion of the lower leg in relation to the thigh. The anterior cruciate ligament runs from the top back outside to the bottom front inside.

Its position prevents the lower leg from slipping forward.A typical injury mechanism that leads to a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament is an extreme bending position (in which the tibia physiologically already slides forward a little) and a twisting of the lower leg, often with a fixed foot. The posterior cruciate ligament runs from the upper anterior side of the inside to the lower anterior side of the outside. It mainly protects the lower leg from sliding backwards. The injury mechanism is often a kick from the front against the shin or a fall on the knee. Car accidents are also regular triggers.