Ligaments are tough and strong tissues that connect your bones together. When you injure a ligament, it will cause pain, swelling, and restricted movement.
Ligament injuries occur most often in the knee and ankle. While there are many different types of ligament injuries, they all have one thing in common: they compromise the stability of your joint.
Ligaments stabilize your joints by preventing excessive motion or twisting movements at the joint. Without these stabilizing forces, your joints may not function properly and can become injured more easily.
When a ligament is injured, it can cause pain and swelling around the injury site. Unfortunately, most people don’t know that they have injured their ligaments until they visit their doctor for unrelated concerns like back or knee pain or limited mobility as a result of an existing condition such as arthritis or osteoporosis (brittle bones).
How is it diagnosed?
Ligament injuries are usually diagnosed by a combination of imaging, physical examination, and patient history.
MRI is the most common imaging method used to detect ligament tears. MRI provides excellent images of soft tissue and bones, including ligaments.
Ultrasound is another effective imaging technique that can be used to evaluate soft tissue injuries such as ligament tears. Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to create an image of tissues within the body.
Is there any risk?
Ligament injuries can be very painful, but there is no long-term damage to the ligaments themselves. The most common issues with ligaments are sprains and tears.
Sprains are usually caused by an injury, such as a fall or a car accident. It can also happen if you overextend your leg while running or jumping. A sprain causes damage to the surrounding tissues and can lead to swelling, bruising, and pain with movement.
A tear is more serious than a sprain because it involves damage to all of the surrounding tissues as well as significant tissue loss within the ligament itself. This type of injury requires immediate medical attention because it can cause permanent damage if left untreated.
In general, the risk of ligament injury is dependent on which part of the body has the ligament injured.
For example, if you have torn your hamstring, there is a chance that it can happen again in the future if you do not take proper care of your body.
If you have torn a ligament in your knee and then injure it again later, this may cause serious complications for you and may even require surgery.
So, the best way to figure out whether your ligament injury has long-term risks and implications, consult a doctor. Reach out to the best orthopedic surgeon in Kolkata. Based on the severity of your injury, the doctor will plan the ligament treatment in Kolkata accordingly.