Who and how makes the diagnosis?

The duration of the complaints following a twisting of the knee joint depends primarily on the extent of the injury. In the case of a minor injury, improvement is rapid and the patient is free of complaints within a few days. More severe strains and compressions can cause complaints for several weeks.

If ligaments are torn or other structures in the joint are damaged during the accident, the healing process takes longer. If surgery was necessary, this is usually followed by an intensive rehabilitation period, in which physiotherapy plays a particularly important role. The load on the injured knee joint may then only be increased again slowly. This process can last for 3-4 months, until sport can be carefully resumed outside of physiotherapy. It can take up to a year until the knee has healed completely, the symptoms are gone and sport can be practiced again without restrictions.

Associated symptoms

A twisted knee usually manifests itself as very severe pain, which occurs immediately after the trauma. The knee can hardly or no longer be loaded at all because the pain is too strong. Often the knee swells up and is reddened and overheated.

If blood vessels have been injured, bruises (hematomas) form. A joint effusion can also develop. If the menisci are also injured, cartilage fragments that have been blasted off can lead to a joint blockage.

The knee can then no longer be bent or stretched. Rubbing or cracking noises in the knee joint can also indicate an injury to cartilage tissue, as small pieces of cartilage rub in the joint gap when the joint is moved. In general, the symptoms of a twisted knee depend on the extent of the injury and can vary greatly between individuals.

In the case of knee pain, the most important thing to consider is the exact localization. If pain occurs in the outer area of the joint after a twisted knee, this may indicate an injury to the outer meniscus or outer ligament. As a result of the trauma, the ligament structures of the knee joint are overstretched or compressed and can tear or even tear off.

The menisci can also tear as a result of the impact. This is very painful and should be clarified by a doctor. If the pain is more on the inside of the knee, it could be an injury to the inner meniscus or the inner ligament.

Here too, the cause is the strain on the ligamentous apparatus as well as the force applied to the joint when it hits the ground. Pain in the hollow of the knee after twisting in the knee can also indicate a meniscus injury. In this case, the posterior horn of a meniscus is most likely to be affected.

If the pain in the popliteal fossa occurs later after the trauma, it can be a Baker cyst, for example. This is caused by a bulge in the joint capsule that fills with fluid, for example in the context of a meniscus injury. The Baker cyst is characterized by pain and a soft, palpable swelling in the hollow of the knee.

If pain occurs in the calf after twisting the knee, it could be a nerve contusion or a torn muscle fibre as a result of the accident. During a fall, large forces act on the knee joint and the entire leg, which can cause painful injuries. Persistent and severe complaints should be clarified by a physician as a precautionary measure in order to rule out injuries requiring therapy.

You can read more detailed information on this topic in the next article: Knee pain – What do I have? Swelling of the knee after twisting can indicate a joint effusion. If the injury has affected blood vessels, it can lead to bleeding into the joint capsule.

The joint swells. Injuries to the menisci also often result in an effusion. Trauma also causes the tissue around the knee joint to swell, since blood and lymph vessels also run in the soft tissue.

When these are damaged, fluid leaks into the tissue and this swells. However, not every twisted knee causes joint effusion. The swelling is therefore not an obligatory symptom in this type of injury.

If swelling in the hollow of the knee occurs following a knee injury, it may be a Baker cyst. This occurs when the joint capsule bulges and fills up with more fluid.A swelling in the hollow of the knee can then be palpated, which can also be accompanied by pain in the hollow of the knee. If there is a cracking in the knee joint following a twisting of the knee, this may indicate an injury to the cartilaginous joint surface.

Due to the trauma, the joint is subjected to great forces, which lead to a compression or distortion of the structures there. The menisci, which consist of cartilage tissue, can tear, and small fragments can become detached and float freely in the joint space. When the corresponding knee is moved, the pieces of cartilage in the joint gap rub together, which can be felt as a cracking sound.

Under certain circumstances, such cartilage fragments can also lead to a joint blockage if they are trapped at an unfavorable location in the joint gap. The knee can then suddenly no longer be bent or stretched. A cartilage injury in the knee joint often results in an additional joint effusion, which is noticeable by a swelling of the affected joint. Such symptoms should definitely be clarified by a doctor so that the extent of the injury can be determined and the appropriate therapy can be chosen. This is the only way to avoid secondary injuries, as free cartilage or bone fragments could otherwise lead to further damage to the joint.