Sports Injuries, Posterior Cruciate Ligament Tear.

The Injury The PCL is in the center of your knee just behind the ACL. It connects the femur to the tibia and it limits the backward motion of the tibia and functions as one of the stabilizers of the knee joint. Injury to the PCL is relatively rare and certainly less common that an ACL injury. Fortunately, PCL injuries can be less debilitating to patients than ACL injuries. Most commonly, PCL injuries occur during …

…the knee, especially when trying to change direction of the knee. The pain and swelling from the initial injury will usually resolve after 2 to 4 weeks, but the instability remains. The symptom of instability, and the inability for the patient to trust the knee for support is what requires treatment. Also important in the decisions about treatment is the growing realization by orthopedic surgeons that long term instability can lead to early arthritic of the knee.