GFY MD's - Anyone here ever torn an MCL? How fucking bad does it hurt?
 

I mean, was it obvious when you blew it out what happened? And does it always require surgery to repair?

I'm pretty sure I blew mine out, can't straighten my leg at all and my whole knee and surrounding area is burning at this point...:helpme

Mom (who is a Dr.) said I could be fucked, but I'd like to hear it from someone who's dealt with it before.

MCL = Medial Collateral Ligament

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/knee.../mclinjury.htm

no one here can tell you anything of use. you need to get an MRI and know how bad its torn exactly and/or if thats what the problem is. asking medical advice on GFY is like asking for spelling lessons from George Bush.

What is the treatment for a medial collateral ligament injury?
Treatment of a medial collateral ligament injury rarely requires surgical intervention. Grade I sprains of the MCL usually resolve within a few weeks. Resting from activity, icing the injury, and some anti-inflammatory medications will usually be all the treatment that is needed.

When a grade II MCL sprain occurs, use of a hinged knee brace is common in early treatment. Athletes with a grade II injury can return to activity once they are not having pain over the MCL. When a grade III injury occurs, patients usually wear a hinged knee brace and protect weight-bearing with a gradual return to normal activities. Patients with more severe injuries usually require physical therapy and will not return to their full level of activity for 3 to 4 months.




w3rd :thumbsup

I know, i just wanted some first hand accounts from anyone who has dealt with it to compare syptoms, etc. I will be calling the Ortho in the morning I guess.

Happened to me several years ago.

You gotta get a MRI to see how bad the damage is. Then the doctor will beable to tell you your options.

I had to have surgery. I am fine now and haven't noticed any problems since.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

the only sympton is your knee hurts like fuck. there can be many reasons for that. actually, my friend two days ago tore his miniscus and ACL in the gym and even though we all heard it, i was the first one telling him that since he did not seem to be in much pain and was walking on it, that it probably wasn't serious. he goes into surgery tomorrow.

Yup, sounds very similar. I have no idea what happened but woke up this morning with a burning pain in my right knee. I did go clubbing last night but the extent of my activity (well, from what I can remember) was going from the booth to the bar and back with hands full...

It hurts like a motherfucker to try to extend my leg straight and I gave up a few hours ago even bothering trying. :(

Lemme get this straight, your mom's a doctor and she said "you're fucked"?

Guess what buddy, you're fucked!

Congrats to the winners! :thumbsup

Yeah, but like most Mother's she tends to over react a bit when i call her to tell her I messed up something else...lol If she doesn't put it to me like that she knows I will not do anything about it and just ends up worse.

If its just your mcl then it should heal with time and you can get by with no surgery. I'm curious why you think its your mcl and not your acl, lcl or miniscus also? I've had 2 acl reconstruction surgeries as well as torn my mcl and miniscus and will probably have a 2nd arthroscopy on it next month as its still fucked. As most have said in this thread, an mri will let you know the true extent of the damage, although at times that isn't exact. Just from what little you've said I'd guess you have some torn miniscus (cartlidge) which over time can be far more debilitating than a partial ligament tear. How did you do it and what part of your knee hurts when you push on it?

dude, go check out a specialist. that injury might result in further complication. :(

Hmmm, best way for me to describe it is...

Looking down toward the very outside of my right knee, that's where the epicenter of pain is. If I push on the thingy that feels like a wirey thin bone, where it connects to my knee, it feels like a really bad bruise. Same when I try to extend my leg to straight. There is some very minor swelling around that area, but no visible bruising. Pretty much the same when I keep my leg bent but in that position it burns a little.

I'm going to call and set up an MRI in the morning if it still feels anything like this in the morning.

i ripped my acl--when idid it it felt like getting shot without seeing the bullet coming

BUT--not straigtening your leg sounds like your meniscus which i also did later--thats easy surgery that takes less than 30 minutes and is fine after aweek or 2

and if your heavy that hurts your recovery and causes nore pain--the thinner you are the less stress on your legs

bTW--you can usaully tell if you need surgery even without a mri

usually bad rips will only fully recover with surgery

meniscus surgery is nothing

mcl if its the same as acl is 6 months of hell!!--sorry--just being honest

Well dude. I had what they call the unhappy triad. ACL, MCL, Lateral and Medial Miniscus (cartilidge). MCL ripped of the bone and torn in 2 places. ACL was torn in half too. I was a senior in HS when it happened, during a game. I had a great surgeon, took 1 year off, played one year at a junior college and ended up getting a scholarship to CU. If you tore it, you wouldn't be able to walk unless it was a small tear. Sounds like you hyper extended it. Possibly an ACI.
When I blew out my knee, I knew right away I was fucked. My knee felt like a bowl of Jell-O. The next day it felt like if I put ANY pressure on it, my leg would collapse. But like I said, 5 hours under the knife, both scoped and cut open I was on my way. I ended up getting scar tissue on my knee and couldn't straighten it out all the way. I went back in and had that removed and that was all.

ugh,this brings back horrible and painful memories of a football injury that happened to me

Its going to be a bit difficult to assess what it is until the swelling subsides. Go see an orthopedic specialist and he'll tell you if he thinks you need an mri. An mri is nothing if you don't have someone good to interpret it. You didn't really say how you did it, which might shed some light on what part you injured.

Im sorry that would really suck, you see there are benefits to sitting in a chair alot and not moving around lol.

2 ACL reconstructions and 1 scope torn meniscus removal here too. How you did it is the best indication of what exactly is injured. MCL injuries most commonly occur as a result of impact to the outside of the knee, like a football player getting hit on the outside of the knee and tend to heal on their own or can be surgically repaired with minimum invasiveness. Worst case scenario would be that you damaged your ACL which usually occurs as a result of twisting or a fast stop and go cutting movement. I've had lots of experience with doctors and my knees and the best advise I can offer is that nobody except for a good orthopedic surgeon can tell you for sure. If you're going to make an appointment tomorrow, I would say either make it with an orthopedic surgeon or don't make one at all. Good luck man.

My friend tore his I think. He has had problems with it for a long time. Just the other day he almost collapsed. He really can't do anything intensive on it anymore. No more running sports and such