In the following you will find an overview and short informative explanation of the most common ligament injuries of the knee joint. For detailed information, you will find a reference to the main article on the respective injury at the end of each section. The inner ligament runs along the inside of the knee and is attached to the lower thigh and the upper tibia.
It is loaded when pressure is applied to the fixed joint from the outside of the knee and typically tears in sports injuries where patients claim to have “twisted the knee”. The therapy of a torn inner ligament is usually performed conservatively by immobilising the joint with a splint, which must be worn for about 6 weeks. You will find detailed information under Torn ligament in the knee.
Torn ligaments are the little sister of torn ligaments. The inner ligament has been overstretched but has not torn. In order to support the healing of the ligament and prevent further injury, the knee should still be immobilised.
Depending on the extent of the stretching, tape bandages, bandages and splints can be used. In addition, a sports break should be taken and the knee should be cooled and elevated. You can find detailed information under Inside ligament stretching in the knee.
The outer band is the pandant to the inner band on the outside of the knee. It runs from the outer lower thigh to the head of the fibula. It stabilizes the knee joint against lateral pressure from the inside and tears accordingly if too much pressure is applied to the joint from the inside.
In the case of simple tears of the outer ligament without bony involvement, the therapy is usually carried out conservatively, also by wearing a splint for about 6 weeks. Physiotherapeutic exercises for muscle building and joint stabilization are also an important part of the therapy. You will find detailed information under Torn outer ligament in the knee.
Even in the case of an external ligament rupture, the most important part of the therapy consists of immobilising and protecting the joint using tape bandages, bandages or splints. In addition, the affected knee should be cooled and elevated. Similar to the rupture of the external ligament, physiotherapy should also be carried out when the external ligament is stretched in order to build up the muscles of the joint and thus stabilise it to prevent a new injury. You will find detailed information under stretching the outer ligament in the knee.
Injuries of the cruciate ligaments
The anterior cruciate ligament runs inside the knee joint from the rear lower thigh to the front upper tibia. Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament are much more common than those to the posterior cruciate ligament. They typically occur in accidents involving rapid stop/rotate movements in the knee, for example when skiing or playing football.
Cruciate ligament tears heal much more slowly than injuries to the outer ligaments, which is why surgical treatment of the injury is often performed, especially in sports patients. The cruciate ligament is usually replaced by muscle tendons, e.g. by the tendon of the so-called semitendinosus muscle of the rear thigh. You will find detailed information under Torn anterior cruciate ligament.
The posterior cruciate ligament runs inside the knee joint in a “crossing” direction to the anterior cruciate ligament. Tears of the posterior cruciate ligament are much less common than those of the anterior cruciate ligament and are not a classic sports injury. For example, a typical injury is more likely to occur in a car accident in which the knee hits the dashboard.
To diagnose torn cruciate ligaments, the attending physician first conducts specific clinical examinations of the knee. However, an MRI examination is essential to confirm the diagnosis. For the conservative therapy of a torn cruciate ligament, muscle strengthening can be carried out through physiotherapy, although this form of therapy is more suitable for older patients who are no longer active in sports.
Patients who place high demands on their knee joint, e.g. athletes, are more likely to undergo surgical therapy, which is similar to that for a torn anterior cruciate ligament. You will find detailed information under Rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament.
