MCL Injury Desoto, MO | Sports Rehab

MCL Injury | Desoto, MO Physical Therapy

MCL Injury in Desoto, MO. If someone plays sports or engages in other physical activity, it’s easy to fear the worst when you feel sudden pain on the inside of your knee: Did I injure my MCL? Is it significant? How long will it take to recover? Will I have to permanently give up the things I love doing? At Axes Physical Therapy in Desoto, MO, we are driven by positive patient outcomes. While we can’t, we can help ensure you get back to feeling like yourself with safe, evidence-backed treatments. Physical therapy has proven to be a critical part of recovering from any MCL injury. Our physical therapists in Desoto, MO are all licensed and average more than 15 years of individual experience. For lasting and meaningful recovery, call the Axes location most convenient for you you or schedule an appointment online.

What is the MCL?

MCL is an abbreviation for “medial collateral ligament.” A ligament is a tough, flexible of connective tissue that connects bones to each other and keeps joints stable. The MCL connects your upper shin bone to the inner surface of the bottom thigh bone, running along your inner knee, and keeps the knee from moving side to side. Its primary purpose is to resist valgus stress, or the knee being forced unnaturally towards the other one. It combines with three other ligaments to keep the knee stable:

ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), which runs down the center of your knee and provides rotational stability and prevents the knee from bending inward
PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), which crosses the ACL in the middle of the knee and the femur from sliding off the tibia
LCL (lateral collateral ligament), which affixes the femur to the fibula (the smaller bone the small bone behind the tibia) and prevents the knee from being forced too far outward

The knee is one of the most complex joints we have. Healthy structure and movement depends on surrounding bone, muscle, tendons, and ligaments. When any knee injury, such as an MCL tear, occurs it can greatly affect your mobility and pursue the activities you love most, or just get around the house pain-free. Particular physical therapy techniques and other physician-prescribed treatment plans have been demonstrated through research and studies to help patients manage their symptoms and return to normal mobility.

MCL Injury Desoto, MO | Sports Rehab | Injury Prevention | Physical Therapy Near Desoto

What Types of MCL Injuries Are There?

Generally speaking, an MCL injury is either a sprain, which stretches the ligament beyond its normal limits, or a tear, where the ligament may fray partially or entirely separate from the bone. There are three grades to MCL injuries:

Grade 1 — A grade 1 sprain or tear means that the ligament has been stretched, and less than 10% of the the fibers in your MCL are torn. These injuries are typically not especially painful or debilitating, and your knee will still be stable. Symptoms will likely be tenderness and some soreness.
Grade 2 — This injury is when the MCL suffers more significant tearing, generally to the superficial part of the MCL. You will probably lose some stability in the joint, and your joint may be loose when moved by hand. Symptoms of a grade 2 MCL injury generally include much more noticeable pain.
Grade 3 — This occurs when your MCL is entirely torn, both the fibrous and deep parts. You will retain little to no stability. Pain will be intense and you’ll likely feel several other symptoms. The injury may actually caused by or accompanied by other serious knee injuries such as ACL tears.

Whatever grade MCL injury you have, the team of expert Desoto, MO physical and occupational therapists at Axes can, along with your physician, create a comprehensive and tailored plan aimed at returning you to the life you’re used to safely.

How Do MCL Injuries Occur?

Ligament injuries account for 40% of all knee injuries, and most of the time that ligament is the MCL. MCL injuries occur due to the knee suddenly being forced too far inward. MCL injuries can also occur if the knee is rotated more than the ligament can support. They can also take place when landing or excessive bending, such as if a cleat is stuck in grass while the rest of your body moves.

Athletes in contact sports are the most likely to sustain an MCL injury. They can also occur in people who lift weights or lift heavy objects at their employment.

Common Symptoms of MCL Injuries

Most MCL injuries are accompanied by immediate, noticeable pain. Other symptoms may include:

Hearing or feeling a popping sound or feeling
Instability
Pain or discomfort when trying to bear weight
Bruising
Tenderness on the inside of your knee
Swelling, either on the inside of the knee or the entire knee joint

Sometimes you may feel a “wobbly” sensation, or in other cases the knee feels too stiff. Any time you feel pain or instability in your knee, do not participate in any more strenuous activity and seek medical treatment for a diagnosis.

Diagnosing and Treating an MCL Injury in Desoto, MO

Diagnosing an MCL injury requires going to a doctor’s office, emergency room or at a physical therapy center. In the examination, your Desoto, MO doctor or physical therapist will go over what led to the injury, will feel for swelling and how your knee is different from your healthy knee, and gently see if your knee is unstanble while bending inward, and your pain level.

Most physical therapists or doctors that specialize in mobility of the human body in Desoto, MO will be able to determine if you have an MCL injury with a physical examination. Other tests to check severity or to confirm may include:

An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), which uses a magnetic field and radio waves to take detailed images of the inside of your knee
An ultrasound, which uses sound waves and can help determine the grade of your injury
An X-ray, which does not show soft tissue, to insure your femur, patella, tibia, and fibula have not fractured

Axes Physical Therapy also offers injury screening injury screenings at no cost or obligation to you. While we can offer you an evaluation, Missouri Revised Statute §334.506 requires that physical therapy be prescribed by a physician.

How to Treat and MCL Injury in Desoto, MO

The initial treatment of an MCL injury consists of basic first aid: reducing swelling, relieving discomfort, and implementing the R.I.C.E. Method of Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. For grade 1 injuries, the R.I.C.E method, over-the-counter pain relievers, and a few days or week or two of rest may be sufficient for your body’s natural healing processes to get you back on your feet.

More significant injuries will require professional physical therapy in order truly recover from your MCL injury and get back to the activities you love. You’ll also need to refrain from most physical until your knee is strong again. Your Axes physical therapist in Desoto, MO can fit you for a knee brace in order to prevent your knee from bending too far inward while your MCL is still healing. With physical therapy, you’ll still continue icing your knee and taking anti-inflammatory pain medication.

Surgery is typically only needed with severe grade 1 MCL injuries, or if the MCL tear is accompanied by an ACL tear or other damage to the knee. The surgery is performed by using a graft, either from one of your other ligaments or from another person, to reconstruct the MCL. The surgery is an outpatient procedure. If you do require surgery in Desoto, MO, our physical therapists specialize in pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation to make your surgery and recovery as successful as possible.

How Do Physical Therapists in Desoto, MO Treat MCL Injuries?

For recovering from any injury, a physically therapist will implement safe and evidence-backed exercises, each aimed at helping a specific part of the body get back to optimal movement health. These treatments and exercises will, over time, build strength in the surrounding muscles, flexibility of ligaments and tendons, and range of motion to the joint so you can get back to what you love most and prevent further injury. Depending on you and your injuries, your treatment plan may include:

To begin, light motions carried about by your physical therapist to slowly get the joint used to normal motion again
Exercised performed by you later to regain strength
Exercises with resistant bands, weight lifting equipment, or cardio machines such as treadmill
Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, which has been proven to help accelerate knee ligament healing
Kinesio Taping®, which provides further stability while your body heals and helps control motion
Trigger point dry needling to further help the body’s natural healing process
Blood flow restriction training to improve strength while lifting lighter loads
Athletic training and sports therapy for athletes who want to improve their performance

At Axes Physical Therapy in Desoto, MO, all of our treatment plans are designed individually to each patient, backed by empirical evidence, and created in concert with your doctor, in order to get you the best patient outcome possible and get you back to doing what you love to do most.

Other services we offer in Desoto, MO include:

MCL Injury Desoto, MO | Athletic Training | Sports Training | Physical Therapy Near Desoto

Call an Axes Physical Therapist in Desoto, MO for Your MCL Injury

An MCL injury is scary and anxiety-inducing at first, especially if you’re an athlete or someone who finds joy in an active lifestyle, but there’s no reason it has to put you on the sideline forever. We know you place a lot of trust in your physical therapists, so we repay that trust with safe and effective treatments that are backed by evidence. We also strongly believe in patient education so you can stay as healthy and active as possible. For meaningful and lasting recovery from your MCL injury in Desoto, MO, call the location nearest you and request an appointment online.