Medial Collateral Ligament Injuries
Overview
Your knees play a major role in helping you carry out routine activities such as walking, bending, supporting your legs, and balancing your body weight. Knee injuries can make any of these efforts challenging and painful.
One such problem is a tear or sprain within the medial collateral ligament, which is also abbreviated as the MCL.
Anatomy
The knee is the largest joint in the body. It is made up of a collection of bones, soft tissues, muscles, and blood vessels. The knee is considered a hinge joint because it allows the leg to perform different movements like bending and twisting without easily popping out of place.
Three major bones are contained within the knee – the tibia, femur, and patella. Connecting these bones are collections of strong, elastic tissues known as ligaments. The medial collateral ligament prevents knee bones from sliding and shifting. Additionally, it helps the knee rotate and maintain stability.

Description
Damage to this ligament, such as sprains or tears, can interfere with its ability to perform these roles and cause a host of uncomfortable and possibly debilitating symptoms.
Causes
Typically, these injuries are caused by immediate trauma to the knee. Such sprains or tears are common in athletes competing in contact sports like football. The biggest risk factor is participating in activities in which your knees experience a great degree of a person-to-person contact or where they are forced to twist and turn repeatedly.
Athletic competition is not the only known cause of these mishaps. Other traumatic events, including car accidents and serious falls, also result in a high number of cases.
MCL injuries are divided into three categories or grades:
- Grade One. With this grade, the ligament stretched but did not sustain any serious damage.
- Grade Two. The ligament is partially but not completely torn. You may experience noticeable pain and instability.
- Grade Three. These most severe events occur when your ligament is completely torn, leaving your knee significantly unstable.

Symptoms
Symptoms often vary depending on what grade injury you sustained. You might have the following:
- Pain.
- Swelling, especially in your knee’s inner part.
- The feeling that your knee is locking in place.
- A popping sound that typically occurs immediately following the initial injury.
Should you experience a Grade Two or Three injury, your knee might grow unstable, be unable to bear any weight, and interfere with your ability to walk or even stand.
If not addressed quickly, ligament injuries can worsen, possibly impact other important knee components, and lead to permanent pain and disability.

Diagnosis
Ligament injury symptoms often mimic other common knee problems. Experienced orthopedic specialists can usually diagnose the problem simply by performing a careful visual examination.
Should your doctor believe you injured a knee ligament, they will likely first bend your knee and place a certain amount of pressure on the outside. If the inner part of the knee appears loose or unstable, there is a good possibility your medial collateral is damaged.
If these tests do not confirm the diagnosis, your doctor will likely order diagnostic imaging tests like x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These tools capture photos of your knee’s inner workings to help reveal any damage.
Treatment Overview
The injury’s severity is often the most important factor your doctor considers when creating a treatment plan. Therapy usually ranges from rest and careful observation to surgery.
Non-Surgical Treatment Options
Mild cases often heal on their own provided you rest your knee and follow home care tips such as:
- Compressing your injured knee using some type of brace.
- Staying off your feet as much as humanly possible.
- Using crutches when you must move around.
- Placing ice on the injured area.
- Keeping your leg elevated above your heart to increase blood flow to the injured knee.
If you experience pain, over-the-counter medications like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, (NSAID’s) such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and naproxen (Aleve), can relieve your discomfort.

Moderate injuries can also benefit from physical therapy. A physical therapist will create a number of exercises designed to ensure your knee and surrounding structures maintain their strength and range of motion.
MCL Tear Surgical Intervention
In a severe Grade Three MCL tear, surgery might be needed to repair and reattach the damaged ligament. Occasionally, arthroscopic surgery (when a tiny camera is inserted into your knee) is performed before the actual ligament repair. It enables surgeons to determine the injury’s severity and if any other potentially complicating issues are present.
In MCL surgery, your surgeon repairs and then reattaches the torn ligament to the bone it separated from. Typically, this action is completed using devices such as anchor sutures, staples, or screws.
Most people experience complete recovery regardless of whether surgery used.
Next Steps
Medial collateral ligament damage is a serious but manageable injury. If you believe you might have torn your medial collateral or are experiencing symptoms suggesting that you may have, please contact us. Talk to your Florida Orthopaedic Institute physician today to learn more about medial collateral ligament injuries.
Areas of Focus
- Knee & Leg
- ACL Injuries
- Arthroscopic Chondroplasty
- Articular Cartilage Restoration
- Deep Thigh Bruising
- Fractures Of The Tibial Spine
- Iliotibial Band Syndrome
- Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) Injuries
- MACI
- Medial Collateral Ligament Injuries
- Meniscus Tears
- Muscle Spasms
- Muscle Strains of The Calf
- Partial Knee Replacement
- Patellar Fracture
- Quadriceps Tendon Tear
- Runner's Knee
- Shin Splints
- Total Knee Replacement Surgery
The following Florida Orthopaedic Institute physicians specialize in Medial Collateral Ligament Injuries:
Specialties
- AC Joint Injuries
- Achilles Tendinitis - Achilles Insertional Calcific Tendinopathy (ACIT)
- Achilles Tendon Rupture
- Achilles Tendonitis
- ACL Injuries
- Ankle Fracture Surgery
- Ankle Fractures (Broken Ankle)
- Ankle Fusion Surgery
- Anterior Cervical Corpectomy & Discectomy
- Arthroscopic Articular Cartilage Repair
- Arthroscopic Chondroplasty
- Arthroscopic Debridement of the Elbow
- Arthroscopy Of the Ankle
- Articular Cartilage Restoration
- Artificial Disk Replacement (ADR)
- Aspiration of the Olecranon Bursa - Fluid In Elbow
- Atraumatic Shoulder Instability
- Avascular Necrosis (Osteonecrosis)
- Bankart Repair
- Basal Joint Surgery
- Bicep Tendon Tear
- Bicep Tenodesis
- Bone Cement Injection
- Bone Growth Stimulation
- Bone Health Clinic
- Broken Collarbone
- Bunions
- Bursitis of the Shoulder (Subacromial Bursitis)
- Calcific Tendinitis of the Shoulder
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Charcot Joint
- Chiropractic
- Clavicle Fractures
- Colles’ Fractures (Broken Wrist)
- Common Foot Fractures in Athletes
- Community Outreach
- Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
- De Quervain's Tenosynovitis
- Deep Thigh Bruising
- Degenerative Disk Disease
- Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH)
- Discectomy
- Discitis Treatment & Information
- Dislocated Shoulder
- Dupuytren’s Disease
- Elbow
- Elbow Bursitis
- Elbow Injuries & Inner Elbow Pain in Throwing Athletes
- Epidural Injections for Spinal Pain
- Finger Dislocation
- Flexor Tendonitis
- Foot Stress Fractures
- Foot, Ankle & Lower Leg
- Foraminotomy
- Fractured Fingers
- Fractures Of The Shoulder Blade (Scapula)
- Fractures Of The Tibial Spine
- Functional Nerve Transfers of The Hand
- Ganglion Cysts
- General Orthopedics
- Glenoid Labrum Tear
- Golfer's Elbow
- Groin Strains and Pulls
- Growth Plate Injuries Of The Elbow
- Hallux Rigidus Surgery - Cheilectomy
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- Hamstring Injuries
- Hand & Finger Replantation
- Hand & Wrist
- Hand Nerve Decompression
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- Hand, Wrist, Elbow & Shoulder
- Heat Injury/Heat Prostration
- High Ankle Sprain (Syndesmosis Ligament Injury)
- Hip & Thigh
- Hip Arthroscopy
- Hip Dislocation
- Hip Flexor Strains
- Hip Fractures
- Hip Hemiarthroplasty
- Hip Impingement Labral Tears
- Hip Muscle Strains
- Hip Pointers and Trochanteric Bursitis
- Hyperextension Injury of the Elbow
- Iliopsoas Tenotomy
- Iliotibial Band Syndrome
- Impingement Syndrome of the Shoulder
- Interlaminar Implants
- Interlaminar Lumbar Instrumental Fusion: ILIF
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- Interventional Spine
- Intraarticular Calcaneal Fracture
- Joint Replacement
- Knee & Leg
- Kyphoplasty (Balloon Vertebroplasty)
- Kyphosis
- Labral Tears Of The Hip (Acetabular Labrum Tears)
- Laminectomy: Decompression Surgery
- Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) Injuries
- Lisfranc Injuries
- Little League Shoulder
- LITTLE LEAGUER'S ELBOW (MEDIAL APOPHYSITIS)
- Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection
- Lumbar Interbody Fusion (IBF)
- MACI
- Mallet, Hammer & Claw Toes
- Medial Collateral Ligament Injuries
- Meniscus Tears
- Metatarsalgia
- Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
- Morton’s Neuroma
- Muscle Spasms
- Muscle Strains of The Calf
- Nerve Pain
- Neuromas (Foot)
- Neurosurgery
- Olecranon Stress Fractures
- Orthopaedic Total Wellness
- Orthopedic Physician Or A Podiatrist? Definition of a Podiatrist
- Orthopedic Trauma
- Osteoarthritis of the Hip
- Osteoporosis
- Outpatient Spine Surgery
- Partial Knee Replacement
- Patellar Fracture
- Pelvic Ring Fractures
- Peripheral Nerve Surgery (Hand) Revision
- Pinched Nerve
- Piriformis Syndrome
- Piriformis Syndrome
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Podiatry
- Primary Care Sports Medicine
- Quadriceps Tendon Tear
- Radial Tunnel Syndrome (Entrapment of the Radial Nerve)
- Revascularization of the Hand
- Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) of the Shoulder
- Rheumatoid Arthritis Of The Hand
- Robotics
- Rotator Cuff Tears
- Runner's Knee
- Sacroiliac Joint Pain
- Sciatica
- Scoliosis
- Shin Splints
- Shoulder
- Shoulder Arthritis
- Shoulder Arthroscopy
- Shoulder Injury: Pain In The Overhead Athlete
- Shoulder Replacement
- Shoulder Separations
- Shoulder Socket Fracture (Glenoid Fracture)
- SLAP Tears & Repairs
- Spinal Fusion
- Spine
- Spondylolisthesis and Spondylolysis
- Sports Foot Injuries
- Sports Hernias (Athletic Pubalgia)
- Sports Medicine
- Sports Wrist and Hand Injuries
- Sprained Ankle
- Sprained Wrist Symptoms and Treatment
- Subacromial Decompression
- Sudden (Acute) Finger, Hand & Wrist Injuries
- Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR)
- Tendon Transfers of The Hand
- Tennis Elbow Treatment
- Thigh Fractures
- Thigh Muscle Strains
- Thumb Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries
- Total Ankle Replacement
- Total Hip Arthroplasty
- Total Hip Replacement - Anterior Approach
- Total Knee Replacement Surgery
- Trapezius Strain (Muscle Strain of The Upper Back)
- Traumatic Shoulder Instability
- Tricep Pain & Tendonitis
- Trigger Finger
- Turf Toe
- UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) Injuries
- Ulnar Neuritis
- Valgus Extension Overload
- Vertebroplasty
- WALANT (Wide Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet)
- Whiplash and Whiplash Associated Disorder (WAD)
- Wound Care
- Wrist Arthroscopy
- Wrist Fractures
- Wrist Tendonitis
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