Rupture of the ligament of the knee joint is a serious pathology that requires serious treatment and long-term rehabilitation of the patient. It is characterized by the separation of connective tissue fibers from the bone. Often, the bundle can simply break in half.
Why does damage happen and how is it defined?
As was said, this situation is typical for athletes who are forced to constantly train and keep their muscles in tension. Sometimes they can not withstand and break. The same situation happens after a direct blow to the knee due to some kind of fall.
Of course, not only athletes can suffer. For example, an ordinary person who accidentally stumbled and fell can get a knee ligament rupture. At the same time, his muscles are not trained, so the injury can be more complex. A disease of the skeleton can also provoke damage to the joint. The risk of rupture increases in the elderly.
Signs of the presented disease appear very quickly. A knee ligament tear is characterized by the following symptoms:
- swelling inaffected area;
- severe pain;
- redness of the skin at the site of injury;
- distinct crackling is heard during break;
- a serious restriction in movements (a person cannot not only walk, but simply step on his foot).
Traditional methods of treating pathology
It should be noted that the patient will not be able to cope with the situation on his own, therefore, in any case, he needs the help of traumatologists. A torn ligament of the knee joint is repaired using a complex of various procedures. First of all, a cold compress should be applied to the injured area, which will help to partially ease the pain. In most cases, the patient is prescribed non-steroidal drugs ("Ibuprofen", "Diclofenac"), which help relieve inflammation.
Naturally, the affected person should rest as much as possible and completely limit their movements. The leg should always be in an elevated position. To do this, you can put a pillow or a roll of clothes under it.
Special elastic bandages and bandages are often used to fix the joint. It is impossible to put heat on the leg immediately after injury, as it will increase blood flow to the damaged area.
Special ointments are used to quickly heal the rupture. Naturally, the doctor can also prescribe physiotherapeutic procedures (electrophoresis, UHF), but he does not do this right away. Treatment of ligament rupture of the knee joint is carried out with the help ofmassage. However, it is carried out already during the rehabilitation period of the patient, as well as physiotherapy exercises.
When is surgery used?
If the gap is partial (which is easily determined by X-ray examination), then the above methods are quite enough for treatment. In difficult cases, surgery is performed. Rupture of the ligaments of the knee joint is eliminated by a radical method even if the tissues grow together incorrectly or if traditional treatment has not worked.
The operation consists in sewing together damaged fibers. It is done under local or general anesthesia. For the intervention, very thin instruments are used, thanks to which it is not necessary to make large incisions on the skin. At the same time, after the procedure, the patient recovers faster, and the period of his rehabilitation is reduced.
If the ligament cannot be stitched together, then the patient's own tissues are autotransplanted into the damaged area. In extreme cases, an artificial prosthesis is used.
