Midlateral Tear

[sltate]

Last night my daughter, Tia, was playing basketball and went down fighting for the ball...and she tore her mid something or another tendon in her knee? I rushed her to the hospital since we were in Hobart, which is out in the sticks in western/southwestern Oklahoma, we went to Lawton. They x-rayed for bone damage, and then they examined her knee, which was about the size of a football by then even though we iced it right away. Her coach said it could be ACL, but the doctor said MCL????? She is in a hip to ankle brace, not any weight is to be put on it for 1 week, heavily sedated for 24 hours,once the swelling goes down then they will do an MRI and look for more damage and possibly physical therapy..those are the worst case scenerios...she could heal quickly and be able to play in two weeks if the damage is not as severe as it looks right now. I need some good advice and some info on what can be done for her as far as healing and what the extent of this damage could be. The doctor gave me a worst case scenerio and scared me to death, then said well, she could be good to go in 2 weeks, depending on the healing ability of her body. Please advise...I don't want her sedated for pain anymore than need be, you know? She does not handle medication all that well, she is healthy as a horse, is my right hand man, can do the work of two people, she is just a good hardworking kid and I hate to see her all hobbled up and know she is in pain. The knee made a popping sound when she went down and the pain was a heat-burning pain on the inside of her knee.????

[wyo_rose]

Here's a good website that shows the different ligaments of the knee. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_r...?Thread_ID=157

The MCL is the Medial Collateral Ligament that is on the inside of the knee joint. I tore mine about 15 years ago when skiing. It did make a popping sound but didn't swell up too much. I wasn't in that much pain, but walked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame until I went to the orthopedist.

He did orthoscopic surgery and I was in a cast for a month and then on crutches for a couple more weeks, then limped around for another month. In about 3 months total I had strengthened it enough to go hiking around the mountains again.

I know you hate to hear something like that - probably the worst case scenario - and I'm sure they've advanced in how they deal with injuries like that. In reading a little online it looks like partial tears could heal in a couple weeks for minor tears and 3-4 weeks for a more serious partial tear.

Unless your daughter is in a lot of pain, I wouldn't sedate her too much. But make sure she follows the doctors orders! I didn't and it took longer to get back to 100%.

[chapindad]

I do have a little experience in this subject but I am not a doctor by any means. My daughter is a avid soccer player and I am on the board for the State Soccer association and this is very common among females and sports.

Best case it is just a bruise or a sprain and she will be back in a few weeks.

Worst case it is a MCL, ACL or both. She should be able to deal with the pain once the swelling goes down, swelling is the major enemy here. Kepping the swelling down is the MOST important thing to do now. They will then do the surgery and she will need pain medication for a few weeks after that. She should be able to walk after that in about 6 weeks and the rehad will need to start soon. It is VERY important if she wants to play basketball soon that she do the rehad to the letter. Swelling will always be the enemy and will need to be controlled and watched. Most people are able to move around and do most normal things after about 3-4 months but sports is out of the question for 6 months and I would tell you to not rush it and wait 8-10 months before starting heavy duty sports again. Let me know what you find out and I will give you advice from other parents that have been there.

My daughter torn her left cartilage, so I have been through some of the pain also.

[ok24stacey]

I hate to hear that, too. I played softball and basketball and saw this happen to a lot of girls. I'll think of her and hope that it's not worse case. She's young and healthy so hopefully that will give her an advantage in the healing process. Please keep us up to date on the diagnosis.

[tcumonster]

From what you have described, it sounds like she could have torn her ACL (the football-sized swelling is one sign). Usually, MCL tears don't swell to that extent, but if she knicked a little piece of her meniscus (the cartilage cushion in the knee between the femur and tibia) she could experience that kind of swelling. Of the two, the ACL is the worse to tear as it usually requires some form of surgical repair (if that is your decision). The MCL will usually heal itself in about 6-8 weeks, depending on the severity of the sprain.

Regardless of which one she injured, the keys for a quicker recovery is making sure she follows the doctor's/athletic trainer's/physical therapist's instructions. Having full extension and full flexion are important, as is not pushing herself before her knee is physically ready. Depending on the type of sprain, she could find a brace helpful in the future.

Keep us posted as to how she is doing. For those who are wondering, I am a certified athletic trainer and have seen numerous athletes with similar injuries. Just my $0.02.

[sltate]

Wow!!! You guys are incredible..thanks so much. I learned more on here than I did trying to literally pull information out of her doctor. LOL You have answered many questions I had about this type of injury and I truly appreciate your kind and sincere consideration for my daughter. May you receive a great blessing during this miracle season....sandy