Your knees are among the most important and complex joints in your body. Without full use of your knees, your mobility is severely restricted. Don’t wait to seek treatment from the best pain management doctors in Manhattan at pain management in New York City to avoid more serious complications and to restore your knees to their full functionality. Your local pain doctors focus on your health and your lifestyle goals with the latest treatments for knee ligament tears that unfortunately are all too common in New York City.
Your knee joint is protected by tough, elastic bands of connective tissue called ligaments. These ligaments not only support the knee joint, they limit its movement so it doesn’t bend the wrong way or too far in certain directions. If a knee ligament is damaged or torn, your whole knee joint becomes unstable. If you suffer a knee ligament tear, your knee joint won’t allow you to pivot, twist or turn your leg.
Search for an injury clinic near you that’s available for emergency appointments, especially if you’re in pain from a recent accident or injury. The sooner you seek treatment and pain control, the sooner you can get out of pain and back to your normal routine.
Types of Knee Ligament Tears
Your knee is connected to the femur in your thigh and the tibia in your lower leg with four separate ligaments:
- The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) controls rotation and forward movement of your shin bone. It runs down the center of your knee.
- The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) helps the backward movement of your shin bone. It’s located in the center of your knee.
- The lateral collateral ligament (LCL) helps stabilize your outer knee.
- The medial collateral ligament (MCL) stabilizes your inner knee.
You can damage or tear any of these ligaments, although an ACL tear is the most common knee ligament tear. Because your knee is such a complex joint, you must seek treatment at the first sign of knee pain. The pain management doctors at Pain Management NYC are experienced in the treatment for an ACL tear, as well as treatment for a PCL tear, an MCL tear and an LCL tear.
Causes and Symptoms of a Knee Ligament Tear
Sports injuries, accidents and falls are the most common ways that a knee ligament tear occur, although even turning quickly while running can cause a ligament tear. Any sudden twisting movement when your foot is planted — from skiing or playing sports like football, tennis or basketball —can result in an ACL tear. A car accident can result in a direct blow to your knee, causing a PCL tear injury. The MCL and LCL are most often affected by a blow to the outside or inside of your knee, such as in a tackle on the football field.
The most common symptom of knee ligament tear, no matter which ligament is involved, is pain. You may also experience difficulty walking, tenderness, swelling and sometimes heat from the inflammation. Some individuals don’t feel any pain. But if you hear a popping sound when the injury occurs and then have issues with your leg buckling when you try to stand, chances are that you’ve torn one of those important ligaments.
Treatment for Knee Ligament Tears
Because knee ligament tear symptoms can mimic other knee problems, get a reliable diagnosis by nationally recognized pain doctors who rely on the most advanced diagnostic equipment. At pain management center, the pain specialists provide the latest pain treatment options. To reach an accurate diagnosis, your doctor may:
- Examine your knee
- Listen to you describe the incident that caused your discomfort
- Test your knee’s strength and flexibility
- Order imaging tests
- Perform arthroscopic exploratory surgery
Before pursuing more aggressive forms of treatment, the top pain management specialist in NYC suggests conservative approaches, such as:
- Resting your knee with as much elevation of the joint as possible to help reduce inflammation
- Regular applications of ice packs to also help with inflammation and reduce pain
- Over-the-counter or prescribed pain relievers
- Elastic bandages to provide compression and stability
If these modifications don’t help resolve the damage and your pain, you may need surgery. A healthy tendon from your knee or hamstring is harvested and grafted into position to provide your knee stability. The tendon can come from you or a donor.
Potential Complications
An injured ligament is rated on a scale according to its severity. Grade 1 indicates a minor sprain that usually responds well to rest. Grade 2 injuries are referred to as a partial tear. Pain medication or a nerve block injection can provide sufficient relief while you heal. A grade 3 tear is considered a complete tear, leaving your knee joint unstable and requiring more invasive treatment.
You can injure more than one ligament at a time, and if they’re left untreated, the injuries can lead to serious complications. The blood supply can get cut off, affecting the nerves in your leg. Untreated multiple ligament tears can even lead to the possibility of amputation.
Don’t attempt any activities until your doctor gives you the go-ahead. You may otherwise aggravate the condition or create more damage. If you wait too long for treatment, you may end up with permanent ligament deficiency, and your knee will never be able to support your passions.
If you’re in pain or feel you may have damaged or torn a knee ligament, contact a pain specialist in New York. The pain doctors at Pain Management NYC subscribe to a multidisciplinary rehabilitation approach to pain that may include:
Leon Reyfman, MD, is a top-rated, best-in-class interventional pain management doctor. He is a nationally recognized pain relief specialist and is among the top pain care doctors in New York City and the country. He is an award-winning expert and contributor to prominent media outlets.
Dr. Leon Reyfman has been recognized for his thoughtful, thorough, modern approach to treating chronic pain. He has been named a “top pain management doctor in New York” and one of “America’s Top Doctors™” for advanced sports injury treatments. Among other accolades, he was voted by peers as a “Castle Connolly Top Doctors™” and “New York Super Doctors™”. Dr. Leon Reyfman was a part of the medical team at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.