Mountain View Pain Center Doctors talk about MCL (medial collateral ligament) Injury Treatment

Feb. 18, 2010 - PRLog -- You should ice for about 20 minutes per hour, and no longer than 20 minutes at a time, as it is possible to over ice. If you keep the ice on the area for an extended period of time, then that portion of the body will think it is going into hypothermia, will pull more blood to the area, and will make the swelling worse. For the same reason, do not use heat at all. Even though the heat will feel good, you will cause further swelling to the area and will cause more pain later.

MCL Injury Treatment

Fortunately, most cases of MCL injuries can be treated without surgery. Only after conservative care has proven ineffective, or if there are multiple ligaments involved, is surgery recommended for MCL injuries. If you have a knee injury, go see your sports doctor. If you have a medical doctor or orthopedist you prefer, you can go to him or her for a diagnosis, however the treatment will more than likely come from a chiropractor or physical therapist, so you could save yourself a trip.

It is important to describe exactly how the injury happened to your doctor, as the history of the injury is one of the most helpful portions of the diagnosis. Your doctor will first perform an X-ray to rule out any underlying fracture or dislocation. A series of orthopedic tests will also be performed to assist in the diagnosis.

One specific test is to lock out the knee in full extension, and provide a slight valgus force (pushing from the outside of the knee inward). If this provides laxity or pain on the medial portion of the knee joint, then it is a very good indicator of an MCL injury. If your doctor believes there may be further instability or possible damage to the ACL, then an MRI will also be ordered, as x-rays do not reveal any soft tissue injuries.

Once the severity of the MCL sprain is determined, the length of treatment and time away from sports will be determined. It is possible not to miss more than a week, but a good rule of thumb is to expect about two weeks off after a grade 1 sprain. If you follow through with the treatment plan and give adequate rest you should be back to full strength within two weeks.

The most important step here is resting and icing. If you want to be back on the ski hill then take two weeks off and don’t push it, or else this could become a chronic issue.

Step two is dealing with the pain. During your therapy your doctor should apply some electrotherapy to not only diminish pain, but also remove swelling from the area. As the swelling goes down, the range of motion will increase and the stiffness and difficulty walking should improve.

At our office, Mountain View Pain Center, we prefer the use of interferential therapy as this provides both pain relief and removes edema (swelling). After the initial treatment, we also apply kinesio tape to the area. This tape is applied in a spider web fashion around the medial portion of the knee to assist in the removal of swelling. The tape can be worn for several days and will speed up the healing process.

The next step is to strengthen the area, and provide soft tissue release to regain the full range of motion. As with any ligament injury, there is scar tissue and restriction to the ligament after the healing process begins. To counteract the buildup of scar tissue we will strip out the ligament with soft tissue massage and other release techniques to free the ligament.

After this, micro-current therapy is used to allow the ligament and tissue to heal faster. Knee braces can be worn, but we often keep patients away from braces for long-term use, because some will use them as a crutch and not proceed with the proper treatment, and can even end up re-injuring the area. However after the injury it is advised to use a brace for around 2-4 weeks while in treatment and building up the area.

This article contains the opinions and examples of treatment plans for MCL injury from Mountain View Pain Center in Centennial, CO, and is not intended as a substitute for specific medical advice from a doctor regarding your individual injury or condition. If you have any further questions or concerns feel free to contact our office at 303-221-1569 or you can visit our website at www.mountainviewpaincenter.com

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Here at Mountain View Pain Center we are committed to relieving your pain and restoring you to good health and wellness.