Professional  basketball player, came in today for evaluation and treatment. Patient states that two years ago while playing in a game he injured himself by twisting his right knee, since then his performance is not quite the same.

He really has no pain when he walks; discomfort is only during playing especially the jumping affects his game. His past medical history is unremarkable; he is very healthy and athletic. Hardly takes any anti-inflammatory, never smokes and does not drink.

Patient still has several more years on his contract, and he is concerned about preventing arthritis in future.

On physical exam twisting of the knee produces pain in the lateral region; he is also tender at the level of Lateral (medical lingo: the ligament is on the outside of the knee) collateral ligament.


Discussion:

Lateral Collateral Ligament or LCL is located on the outsides of the knee. Typically the injury occurs when the knee is forced to bow in. another words this ligament is mostly injured by a large amount of pressure placed on the knee-joint from the inside, resulting a large amount of stress on the outside of the joint (medical lingo: this process is also known as varus stress).

Depending on the severity of ligament’s damage the result is instability. The injury could be from a simple stretch, partial tear, or complete tear . The instability could produce arthritis and future needs for surgical corrections and possible  total knee replacement.