Symptoms of patellar ligament injury

There are ligaments in the human body. The ligaments are distributed in different places and have different effects on different people's bodies. Many people have problems due to patellar ligament injuries, which makes them feel unstable when walking and they feel particularly painful when going up and down stairs. It also affects the wear and tear of bones and has a certain impact on the patient's body. So everyone should know that there are many symptoms caused by ligament damage.

Patellar Ligament - Overview

Patellar ligament is a medical term that mainly refers to a certain object in the body. When the knee joint is suddenly extended or forcibly flexed by external force, the quadriceps muscle contracts sharply and a strong force acts on the thickened and tough ligament, which can cause damage to the patellar ligament. It is generally not easy to be torn apart. Most of the time, it is caused by partial fiber avulsion or tearing at the attachment point of the tibial tuberosity, or partial fiber and blood vessels on both sides of the starting point of the patellar ligament are damaged. As the disease progresses, during the repair process, tissue hyperplasia occurs, local blood flow is obstructed, and metabolic disorders occur, causing adhesions, scarring, contractures and other changes, which in turn cause intractable chronic pain.

Patellar ligament - clinical manifestations

(1) History of trauma.

(2) There is pain at the attachment point of the patellar ligament and the tibial tuberosity. The knee joint is difficult to straighten and there may be a limp when walking.

(3) The quadriceps muscle contracts, causing pain. The patient can go upstairs but has difficulty going downstairs.

(4) Tenderness at the origin and insertion of the patellar ligament.

Recommended on 2017-11-24

The patellar ligament originates from the lower end of the patella and inserts at the tibial tuberosity on the upper part of the tibia. It is thick in shape and tough in nature, and is one of the larger ligaments in the human body. When the patella moves upward, the patellar ligament pulls the tibia of the calf to straighten the knee joint. At the same time, the patellar ligament also has the function of stabilizing the knee joint.

1. Cause: The position of the patella can change during movement, especially when the knee is flexed. The junction between the patellar ligament and the patella can bend into an angle. Therefore, the direction of the pulling force on the starting part of the patellar ligament often changes. In addition, this pulling force is large, which makes the starting part of the patellar ligament prone to lesions. In daily life and work, the knee joint is frequently flexed and extended, and the diseased tissue does not get the proper rest, which can easily turn the disease into a chronic disease and make it difficult to consolidate the treatment effect.

The patellar ligament can be damaged by direct violence such as collision or blow. When you lift your leg forcefully or straighten your calf suddenly, the starting part of the patellar ligament may be pulled suddenly and with great force, which may also damage the patellar ligament. If acute injuries are not treated promptly and effectively, they may become chronic. The most common clinical condition is chronic strain lesions of the patellar ligament caused by long-term, repeated traction.

2. The initial symptoms are soreness and discomfort in the knee, followed by persistent dull pain. The pain increases when you start to move, decreases after a little movement, but increases significantly after excessive movement. Going up and down stairs, squatting and standing, walking with weight, and kicking a ball hard can all cause pain at the lower end of the patella; the pain is most obvious in the half-squatting position. Severely ill patients also experience pain when walking on a daily basis. The patient feels weak in the knees and gets easily tired when walking, which makes him unable to carry weights with his shoulders or hands, let alone walk with heavy objects on his back.

3. Check and find obvious tenderness in the attachment area of ​​the patellar ligament at the lower end of the patella. When touched, the patellar ligament can be felt to be swollen, blunt and thick. Asking the patient to stand in a half-squat position will cause pain in the lower end of the patella. This is a positive half-squat test. When the patient lies on his back and extends his knee, a certain amount of resistance is applied. If the knee pain worsens, it is called a positive knee extension resistance test. These tests are helpful in the diagnosis of this disease.

4. Treatment

(1) Rest: The front, back, left and right sides of the knee joint should be fixed with appropriate splints to allow the affected knee to rest. This is very necessary for the recovery of early and acute lesions.

(2) Simple massage technique: Use the tip of your thumb to scrape the patellar ligament back and forth 20 to 30 times at the lesion site at the beginning of the patellar ligament, and then press hard at this point for 3 to 5 minutes. The symptoms of most patients will improve or disappear. However, if the patient does not get adequate rest after treatment, the patellar ligament will continue to be stretched and the symptoms may reappear the next day. If you can persist in the treatment and use local immobilization and rest, the treatment effect is still quite optimistic.

(3) Acupuncture: Insert a needle vertically in the middle of the lower edge of the patella, and then insert a needle on each side, with the needle tip pointing to the middle of the lower edge of the patella. Leave the needle in place for 10 to 20 minutes. Placing moxa or burning medicinal moxa sticks at the end of the needle during the needle retention period will significantly increase the efficacy of acupuncture.

(4) Injection therapy: Use 5 ml of a conventional mixture and inject it along the lower edge of the patella once every 5 days. This usually produces good results.

For a small number of patients who do not respond to non-surgical treatment, scar release surgery at the posterior inferior edge of the patellar ligament attachment area can be performed, with satisfactory results.