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Lateral Collateral Ligament Tear, Sports Medicine

David Milo Hirschi, III, MD and Brent S.E. Rich, MD, ATC Reviewed 04/2019
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

  • Partial or complete sprain of the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) owing to an acute force, usually from a medial direction

  • Consists of a cordlike fiber bundle that runs from the lat...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

  • Contact or noncontact varus stress to partially flexed knee in internal tibial rotation from direct force or, more rarely, distal indirect stress (e.g., stepping into a hole) with fix...

TREATMENT

  • Acute treatment 3

  • Analgesia:

    • Ice and compression in acute setting

    • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) until acute pain subsides

    • Narcotics appropriate for 24 to 72 hr for grade II or II...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Referral to orthopedic surgery for any fracture, associated ligament injury, complex meniscal tear, or grade III injury that is not amenable to the initial 2 to 4...

REFERENCES

1
Wilson WT, Deakin AH, Payne AP, et al. Comparative analysis of the structural properties of the collateral ligaments of the human knee. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther.  2012;42(4):345–351.
...

ADDITIONAL READING

Duke University. Wheeless’ Textbook of Orthopaedics. Durham, NC: Duke University; 2012. http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/lateral/collateral/ligament

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • Average return to play for grade I injury approximately 4 wk; grade II approximately 10 wk. Return to play is greatly dependent on the type of activity.

  • Once healed, there are no data t...

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