3 Knee Injuries You May Have Suffered Without Realizing

Knee injuries are among the most common sports injuries out there, and can be extremely painful to both the sufferer and the witness alike. Some of these knee injuries can be more serious than others, but all of them can keep you from enjoying the physical activity that you once loved doing so much, so it’s important to know about them in order to protect yourself from them in the future. This article will cover three common knee injuries you may have experienced at some point without realizing it, as well as how best to prevent them from happening in the first place!

1) Patellar tendonitis (also known as jumper's knee)

Patellar tendonitis is an inflammation of the patellar tendon. When the quadriceps muscles contract, they pull on the patella and this pulls on the patellar tendon. This condition is often seen in athletes who jump a lot (especially basketball players), and it can be brought on by doing too much too soon, or if you have weak quads. 

To combat this injury, try to rest your legs as much as possible and stretch your quads before jumping up from sitting or lying down.

2) Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury

An ACL injury is one of the most common knee injuries. The anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, is a band of tissue on the inside of your knee that connects your shinbone (tibia) to your thighbone (femur). When you pivot, turn or twist the front of your foot inward (inversion), an ACL injury can occur.

 ACL injuries are often misdiagnosed because pain can also be felt in other parts of the knee like the meniscus and cartilage. Other symptoms include swelling, instability and difficulty walking without a limp. 

A physical exam and MRI can help diagnose an ACL tear. If surgery is needed, it usually takes about two hours and may require hospitalization for up to two days. The surgeon will repair the torn ligament with stitches from its attachment at the top of the tibia all the way down to its attachment at the bottom of the femur bone. For many people who have had surgery, recovery includes rest, elevation and ice treatments. 

Range-of-motion exercises should be avoided for six weeks after surgery while strengthening exercises can begin soon after recovery begins.

3) Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury

The PCL is a ligament that stabilizes and strengthens the knee. It helps to prevent the shin bone from sliding too far forward on the thigh bone. The PCL is often injured in automobile accidents, when the driver's foot becomes caught under the gas pedal or brake pedal. The injury usually occurs when the knee is bent at a 90-degree angle and twisted, or when it twists while bearing weight.

The symptoms of a PCL injury are pain behind or around your kneecap, swelling of your joint behind your kneecap, and instability in your knee. The most common injuries to occur with a PCL injury are an ACL tear and MCL sprain. These two injuries can happen together, resulting in a Grade III rupture. 

Other conditions include meniscus tears (torn cartilage), chondromalacia patella (irritated patches of cartilage), and iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) - all resulting from the destabilization of the knee due to damage done to its supporting structures.