Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) Injuries

Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask you to describe exactly how you hurt your knee. He or she will want to know whether you had a recent serious impact to the front of your knee, the type of impact (fall, automobile collision), the position of your knee at the time of injury (flexed, extended, twisted) and what symptoms you are having now.

The doctor will examine both of your knees, comparing your injured knee with your uninjured one. During this exam, the doctor will check your injured knee for signs of swelling, deformity, tenderness, fluid inside the knee joint and discoloration. After determining your knee's range of motion (how far it can move in all directions), the doctor will pull against the ligaments to check their strength. You will be asked to bend your knee while the doctor will gently push forward on your lower leg where it meets the knee. If your PCL ligament is torn, your lower leg can be moved backward in relation to the knee. The more your lower leg can be displaced to the back of its normal position, the greater the amount of PCL damage and the more unstable your knee.

If your physical examination suggests you have a PCL injury, you will need special diagnostic tests. These may include standard knee X-rays to check whether the ligament has separated from bone and for other bone damage, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan or camera-guided knee surgery (arthroscopy).

Expected Duration

How long a PCL injury lasts depends on the severity of your injury, your rehabilitation program and the types of sports you play. In most cases, full recovery takes 4 to 12 months.