Ligament Tears: Definition, Symptoms, Causes, & Treatment
Are you facing joint pain, or have you heard a pop? If yes! Do not delay in such a situation of ligament tear injuries. Furthermore, before discussing in depth about ligament tear, let’s go through a short introduction about it.
Ligaments are connective tissues that bind bones to each other. In the human body, there are more than 900 ligaments. Ligament tears are one of the common injuries that happen when you tear or overstretch a ligament. In many cases, ligament injuries happen from minor accidents. However, precise exercises can help manage your ligament’s strength and make you less prone to further injuries.
Moreover, on this page, we will discuss the imperative information about ligament tears. Whether you want to understand the basic definition of it, crucial symptoms, causes, or treatment, you will find all the precise information below.
What are Ligament Tears?
A tough band of soft tissues that connects bone to bone is known as a ligament. Additionally, it connects cartilage to bones, a key component of the bone joints in your body. Ligaments are exceptionally strong but can be torn when you overstretch, resulting in countless levels or grades of sprain injury. Furthermore, pushing a joint out of its precise position can result in a ligament tear. It can happen with a blow, a fall, a sudden twist, an accident, and many more.
These ligament tear injuries are common during athletic or sports activities since joints are continuously in motion and under a lot of pressure. The above sports activities commonly affect ligaments in the knee, wrist, and ankle.
What are the Imperative Types of Ligament Tears?
Ligament and tendon tears affect multiple joints in the body, but our knees are one of the top joints that bear the brunt of these injuries. Here we have mentioned the two common knee ligament tears or injuries that you must be aware of if you are experiencing severe pain in your knees.
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tears
- Meniscus Tears
What are the Stages of Ligament Tears?
There are three stages present in ligaments. Therefore, each stage defines the exact position of your ligament injury. Check them out one by one.
a. Stage 1:
In this first stage, a mild sprain occurs that damages the ligament. Nevertheless, it is not harmful at this point, and curable with necessities.
b. Stage 2:
A medium or moderate tear sprain occurs, which is also noticeable in a partial tear. The joint might be unexpectedly loose in its strength, which causes immense pain.
c. Stage 3:
It is a severe condition that indicates that your ligament is entirely torn. In this stage, joints will not be able to move or be used for daily activities.
What are the Major Symptoms of a Torn Ligament?
Here, we have mentioned some major symptoms you must notice if you experience unbearable pain in your joints. These symptoms might include:
- Bruising and Swelling
- Find Trouble Putting Weight on the Joints
- Signs that get Most Painful Over Time
- Inability to straighten your Joint
- Immobility
- Clicking or Popping Sensation
- Tenderness, Stiffness, and Pain to the Touch
Common Ligament Injuries
Stretching it too hard or forcing it to move in the incorrect direction are two of the top reasons you might sprain your ligament. However, this tears or stretches the ligament fibers, which causes unbearable pain. Sprains often occur due to an unexpected fall, accident, twist, or impact. Here we have mentioned some common ligament injuries that can happen in your body:
- Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury (in your Elbow)
- Back Sprains
- Sprained Finger or Thumb
- Scapholunate Dissociation (in your wrist)
- Knee Sprains (including MCL, LCL, PCL, and ACL tears)
- Ankle Sprains
- Round Ligament Pain (During Pregnancy)
- Neck
- Shoulder
Significant Causes of Ligament Tears
There are numerous common causes of ligament tears, including sudden trauma or accident, and constant movement during physical exercises. Yet, this injury typically happens in the area where the joints are located, like the elbow, shoulder, ankle, or knee. Hence, check out the common causes of ligament tears that are mentioned below:
1. Accident
Unexpected falls from a certain height, car accidents, experienced joint trauma, or sudden twisting of the joint can directly lead to a ligament tear.
2. Sports Injuries
It involves rash movements and physical crashes, such as those in badminton, cricket, hockey, basketball, baseball, football, etc., which could significantly stress the ligament.
3. Repetitive Movement
Overstretching or using a joint in constant activities, such as throwing, running, swimming, or jumping, weakens the joint over time and could lead to ligament tears.
4. Improper Technique
Indulging in physical exercises or activities with wrong posture or form, like lifting heavy weight, sleeping improperly without an accurate posture, can tear the ligaments.
5. Weak Muscles
Muscles might not give enough support to the ligament after muscles weakening. Thus, it makes the ligaments more prone to severe injuries.
Diagnosis of Ligament Tears
The identification of a ligament tear starts with a physical examination and a prior medical record. Furthermore, your doctor will question what you were when you got injured. They will examine the entire joint to study the depth of the injury. Here are some other medical tests that might be requested by the doctors:
- X-Ray
- MRI
- Arthroscopy
What are the Essential Treatments of Ligament Tears?
It is likely that a torn ligament will heal on its own with only conservative management, but this injury must always be assessed by a medical professional. You might require surgery to assist in accelerating healing and enhance your ability to regain full mobility.
The duration of healing of a torn ligament varies with the degree of injury and the site of the injury. For instance, a grade 2 ankle sprain with a partial tear will take approximately three to six weeks, whereas a grade 3 sprain with a complete tear can take months.
1. Self-Care
The R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation) method is one of the most effective and popular treatments for ligament injuries.
- Rest
When you feel a sudden pain in your joints, leave everything on hold no matter what activity you care doing and rest for a good amount of time. Thus, it allows a bearable time for it to recover. - Ice
After resting, apply an ice pack to the harmed joint area to reduce the swelling and pain. Afterwards, when you find that the swelling is reduced then put an elastic bandage on the injured joint. - Compression
Wrap an elastic bandage around the injured ligament area to reduce the pain and swelling. - Elevation
Lift your injured area above heart level. Therefore, it will help you control blood flow and reduce swelling.
2. Medications
Even after treating your ligament tear with the R.I.C.E. method, it’s time to visit a doctor if you do not find relief. They will prescribe over-the-counter medicines like ibuprofen (Advil). Additionally, they might recommend medicines for reducing swelling and pain.
3. Physical Therapy
Once the swelling and pain are gone, doctors might suggest you opt for physiotherapy or home exercises to help recover the ligament and joint’s function or mobility. The recovery time might vary from a few weeks to a year. Hence, it entirely depends on the severity of the ligament tear.
4. Surgery
Some ligament sprains might require surgery to repair the joint. However, a separated joint that causes prolonged pain might be treated with the right surgery to help recover from the ligament tear.
Wrapping It Up!
This write-up has provided you with all the precise and detailed information regarding the ligament tears. Likewise, we understand how painful the torn ligament can be, and sudden injuries might affect your entire well-being. So, if you are searching for the best orthopedic & health centre near me, it will never be a surprise. However, your search ends here. Kush Orthopedic & Health Centre is one of the best health centres that aims to provide the best treatment to recover from any injuries. We have a wonderful team of skilled and experienced professionals willing to provide top-notch medical assistance to every patient for their desired pain relief. Do not waste a single minute calling us. Also, you can book an appointment with our qualified doctors to discuss the severity of your injury.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, of course. With the right care and precautions, ligament tears can heal independently in most minor cases. On the other hand, more severe cases might need surgery.
It is entirely dependent on the severity of your ligament tear. However, generally, a stage 1 ligament tear will take at least 4 to 6 weeks to recover. At the same time, a stage 2 ligament tear will take 6 to 10 weeks. Moreover, in stage 3, doctors will recommend that you opt for surgery.
ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction surgery) is generally a day-case surgery. Nevertheless, this would still be considered one of the major ligament surgeries.