- Jul 16, 2018
- 120
- 18
Waiting on MRI results currently. (for DD) Possible MCL
Experiences?
Experiences?
I tore my MCL last January in a fall down the stairs. I’m stubborn and some may say stupid and walked in it for over a week before going to the doctor.
12 weeks of PT and a knee brace for a while and a shot of cortisone in June and it’s all good. A young athlete will probably heal faster than a 50 year old woman.
Apparently if you are going to tear a ligament in your knee the MCL is the one to tear because it rarely requires surgery.
DD had a grade 2 tear in her MCL in the fall of 18. She also had a patellar subluxation (dislocated knee cap that went back on its own) at the time of the injury which significantly increased her initial pain and swelling. She was shut down for 8 weeks with rehab appointments twice per week and daily rehab on her own. If I remember correctly, she was on crutches for at least a couple weeks (might have been 3). Wore a brace for six months after the injury during all physical activity.
This was on her right knee which, as a RH hitter, is the push leg in her swing. That was the biggest effect for her. It took probably a couple months after she was cleared to really trust her lower half on her swing.
Still has occasional soreness when she has worked out hard or hit a ton of balls in BP. For instance, she was at a camp this weekend and working hard for 8+ hours and needed to ice/ibuprofen when we got home.
The biggest issue for her is continually watching that her knees don't go in when she does any type of squat/lunge movement. You will see this all the time, particularly in girls, and it leads to MCL tears frequently. Rehab really concentrated on this, even in her gait, in order to reduce the risk of future injuries.
Hardest part is to keep the big picture in mind. Missing softball for a couple months was pure torture for her and she begged us to let her DP in a couple tournaments. We didn't cave, but it was hard on all of us.
I know this probably is of little consolation, but I tore my ACL almost 30 years ago (wow..I am old ) and surgery/rehab/etc techniques for knees have improved a bunch since then. She will be back ballin' before you know it!! Good luck.
How did she tear and how old? DD is 12. Injury is from non softball related sport
Im assuming the worst - (grade 2-3 or even possible ACL) but really pulling for a situation like above. I understand about the squat and lunges as I 've gotten on to her about it previously especially in her tumbling which is how the injury occurred.
Simple stretch at 1B. She's done it thousands of times. This time as she was getting up out of the stretch the MCL gave. The 2nd baseman and runner who has just been thrown out both heard the "pop"! I assumed the worst when I heard that, but the ortho explained that the popping sound was probably the kneecap dislocation rather than the ligament fully tearing - thank God.
Another thing the ortho told us that was interesting is that most of the MCL sprains and tears he sees are girls squatting to pick up their backpacks at school! I couldn't believe it but it made total sense once he explained it.
DD was 14 when is happened.