|
Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries make up between 3 and 20 percent of all knee ligament injuries. The PCL prevents the femur from moving too far forward over the tibia. It is the knee’s basic stabilizer, and almost twice as strong as the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The PCL provides a central axis about which the knee rotates.
 How does a posterior cruciate ligament injury develop?
The most common causes of PCL injuries involve athletic, motor vehicle or industrial accidents. Most athletic PCL injuries occur during a fall on the flexed knee with the toes pointing down and the top of the foot in line with the front of the leg. The shin, or tibia, hits the ground first and is pushed backward. During a motor vehicle accident, the dashboard may drive the shin backward on the flexed knee. Hyperflexion of the knee without a direct blow to the tibia can also cause an isolated PCL injury, one in which no other ligaments are damaged. PCL injuries may also occur in conjunction with injuries to other ligaments of the knee, such as an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury or a lateral collateral ligament (LCL) injury.
What are the symptoms of a posterior cruciate ligament injury?
Injury to a cruciate ligament doesn’t always cause pain. Rather, the individual may hear a popping sound, and the leg may buckle when he or she attempts to stand on it. Swelling may occur, and, if it comes on rapidly, it may indicate bleeding within the joint. During later stages of the injury, once the swelling has decreased, the joint may become unstable. Pain occurs only when the posterior cruciate ligament is stressed by gently bending it the wrong way.
Conventional medical treatments may help relieve the symptoms of a PCL injury, but they do not address the root of the problem. By strengthening structural weaknesses in the body, as natural medicine treatments like Prolotherapy do, pain associated with a PCL injury may be alleviated permanently.
|
|
