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Medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury of knee

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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Medial collateral ligament (MCL) is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee (1)

MCL injuries can be seen in both contact and non contact sports. Examples include:

  • valgus stress caused by lateral blows to the knee e.g. - in contact sports such as football, ice hockey and rugby
  • external rotation of the foot with a flexed knee e.g. - in skiing injuries
  • frank knee dislocations (1)

The American Medical Association has classified had graded MCL accoerding to the amount of joint space opening with valgus stress at 300 of knee flexion.

  • grade I - amount of medial joint line opening <5 mm
  • grade II - amount of medial joint line opening 5-10 mm
  • grade III - amount of medial joint line opening >10 mm

Most MCL injuries are isolated

  • there is an increase risk of injury to associated structures of the knee with increasing severity e.g - anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) etc
  • a 78% rate of associated injury is seen in grade III sprains (1)

Reference:

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The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

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