Posterior cruciate ligament injury
What is it?
The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is one of the ligaments in your knee and runs from the inside edge of your thigh bone to the back (posterior) of your shin bone. It helps to stabilise your knee. A posterior cruciate ligament injury is a partial or complete tear, or overstretch of the ligament.
Symptoms
The symptoms for posterior cruciate injury can include:
- pain, mainly behind the knee
- swelling of the knee joint
- instability – you may feel like your knee is giving way or that it's locking
- bruising around the knee joint initially
You may find that you can't stand properly on the affected leg, or put your full weight on it.
Causes
You may injure your posterior cruciate ligament by:
- a blow to the front of your knee
- landing awkwardly after jumping
- falling on a bent knee
- a twisting movement (often injured as well as the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee)
- your knees hitting the dashboard in a car accident – posterior cruciate ligament damage is sometimes called the 'dashboard injury' as this is often how it occurs
Treatment
You should seek treatment from a sports medicine professional, such as a sports medicine doctor or a physiotherapist. The treatment for posterior cruciate ligament injury will depend on what damage you have done and how bad the damage is.
Medicines
You can buy painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen to treat mild and moderate pain. Your GP or sports medicine doctor may prescribe stronger painkillers if your pain is severe. As well as easing your pain, painkillers may help to reduce inflammation and swelling. Always read the patient information that comes with your medicine, and if you have questions ask your pharmacist or doctor for advice.
Physiotherapy
If your injury is moderate to severe you will usually need physiotherapy. Your physiotherapist will develop a programme of strength and balance exercises gradually to strengthen your knee and the muscles on the front of your thigh (quadriceps). Braces to support your knee are occasionally used during rehabilitation, usually if the injury is severe.
Surgery
In some situations, you may need to have surgery to repair the injury to your posterior cruciate ligament. This is likely to be the case if:
- you do a lot of sport
- more than one ligament or tissue in your knee has been damaged
- your knee remains unstable after physiotherapy
Do
- Follow PRICE.
Don't
- There are certain things that you shouldn't do in the first three days after your injury to prevent further damage to your knee - these can be remembered as HARM.
Peer reviewed by Alex Floyd, MCSP, Bupa Sports Medicine physiotherapist
Publication date: June 2009
