MCL Tear

Understanding How Physical Therapy and Chiropractic Care Can Help a MCL Tear

MCL tear injury is one of the most common knee injuries. The medial collateral ligament is one of the four ligaments that maintain the knee’s stability, so MCL injuries usually occur after an outside impact of the knee, upper leg, or lower thigh. The ligament becomes stressed and a combined movement of the external flexion leads to tearing in the fibers.

When you experience MCL tear, you might feel an unstable feeling along with stiffness, swelling and bruising, pain on the inner side of the knee, and difficulty when trying to straighten or bend the knee.

How Can Physical Therapy Help with a MCL Tear?

At Action Physical Therapy, we work together with our patients so that we can design a specific treatment plan that will speed up the recovery process. Our goal is to help our patients to return to their normal everyday activities as soon as possible.

In the first 48 hours, we will advise you to avoid any activity that might cause pain to your knee. We even recommend using crutches when walking so that you can remain safe from any further strain on the MCL. Every 2 hours, you should apply ice packs to the knee area for 20 minutes, and after each ice therapy, the knee should be compressed with an elastic bandage wrap.

After 48 hours, we can start the MCL tear treatment which includes ice/heat, taping, electrical stimulation, exercises, and massages. In order to improve your motion, we will choose specific activities that will help you restore a normal movement in your leg. We will also show you which exercises will quickly restore your agility and strength, and which will improve your balance skills.

Action Physical Therapy MCL Tear Rehabilitation Program

There are different types of treatments in our program, including:

• Mobility exercises – we start with these exercises as soon as your pain will allow you to maintain a full joint mobility.
• Strengthening exercises – we continue with these exercises as soon as your pain allows us to begin with static contractions.
• Proprioception exercises – these include balance and coordination exercises.
• Functional exercises – and last, the advanced exercises which fill the gap between the mobility exercises and the return to normal everyday activities.

How Long Does Therapy Treatment Last?

In most cases, the healing time for MCL tear is a few months, even though it depends on which tissues are affected and how severely they are damaged. With the right treatment and exercises, you will return to your normal daily activities quite fast.