Causes and treatments of the Torn Ligament

Ligaments are fibrous connective tissues that are responsible for bonding bones together throughout the body. They facilitate movements between bones which allows you to perform multiple and complex movements. If the ligaments are extended beyond limits, they can tear.

There can be a number of reasons for ligament tear. Tears usually occur when there’s a stretch or strain that goes beyond its normal capacity. Activities like walking, running, awkward landing, ankle twist can result in a torn ligament or ankle sprain. Some sports activities like hockey, football, basketball, and tennis require multi-directional movements that make the person involved in it more prone to injuries. Since the knee and ankle ligaments are more at risk of getting injured as they are the weight-bearing joints, maximum pressure is exerted on these joints, making their ligaments more prone to injuries. But, the question is how to know that the ligaments are damaged? The torn ligament symptoms include sudden and severe pain, loose joint feels, and uneasiness while putting on weight, swollen joints within 24 hours after the injury, etc.

Different locations of injuries are focused separately and hence the treatment plans also differs. Knee ligament injuries include; ACL tear, MCL or LCL sprain and patella dislocation while ankle ligament injuries are of two types, ankle sprain and Achilles tear or rupture. Talking of shoulder dislocation, AC joint injury and rotator cuff tear comes under ligament injuries of shoulder. Also, wrist and hand ligament injuries include finger sprain or thumb sprain.

The more intense the injury is, the treatment is decided accordingly. There are typically 3 specific ways of treating ligament injuries; physical therapy, bracing and surgery.

First, physical therapy is the course of action for patients who are aiming to regain strength and function after a surgery. It provides stability to knee as well as its neighboring parts such as muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Secondly, wearing knee braces can help to stabilize the injured part and catalyzes the healing procedure since it will avoid the unnecessary or sideways movements of the joints. Last but not the least, some injuries are so severe that it won’t heal on its own. So it is advised to go under surgical procedure for torn ligament treatment to fix the ligament.

After the surgery, the patient will have to stay under observation for a while and will be advised to take pain reliever tablets for soreness. Also, using ice bags to knee 5-6 times a day for the first few days will help with the pain followed by the physical therapy session for coming weeks.

Torn ligament healing is a gradual process. The recovery time depends on the degree of the injury. Torn ligament recovery time may vary from the type of the injury and its extent. For minor tears, it can take up to 6 weeks and for major ones, it can take up to months to heal.

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