Sprained MCL: Part 2 - More About Cookie's Sad Left Knee Injury

At the beginning of this year, I had a slip and fall in the kitchen with enough time to choose between hitting my head or hitting my head. I hit my leg badly, and realized that I couldn;t bear any weight on it.  It was both painful and didn't feel stable or solid.  Connie had Harry bring me an ice pack, which I put on it immediately..

I went to the doctor, who ordered an MRI and sent me to an orthopedist.  The MRI showed medial (inside of the knee) ligament tears, diagnosed as a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) rupture. That doctor had me go to an orthopedic supply place where I was fitted for and placed in a knee immobilizer. The first week, I found myself in a lot of pain, and went back to the doctor, who re-fitted the immobilizer so that it was aligned better. That brace required me to keep the leg straight at all times, and I was admonished from putting weight on it, using one or two crutches when going out of the house.

Anyway, the tear didn't heal as quickly as the orthopedist had expected, and during my physical therapy for the leg, Kathy was worried about the degree of laxity of the knee -- so I arranged for an appointment with Dr. Dragoo at Stanford Hospital and Clinics.  The appointment in Dr. Dragoo's clinic was fascinating, and it seemed very high tech.  They did some x-rays and did a LOT of tests moving my leg and putting pressure on the joint when bending it at different angles.  They determined that there is another ligament, the Posterolateral Corner or "PLC", which was ruptured also (completely torn through). Unlike simple tears, as this had originally been treated as,  PLC tears generally do not generally heal without surgery.   I'm to return later this month for re-evaluation, but the expectation is that I will probably be facing knee surgery in May. The other thing I got from the visit was a new brace, which allows the knee to bend, but provides serious support and lets me do more than the immobilizer did.

After surgery, I am expected to be on crutches for 2 weeks, and then hoping to be able to switch to one crutch or a cane for an additional 10 to 12 weeks. Physical therapy starts the day after surgery, and patients typically do very well regaining use of the knee.  Since the knee gives me pain and feels really unstable, I am trying to see the likely need for surgery as a step toward healing and having better function.  I really miss dancing, and look forward to when I will be able to get back to it.