Collateral Ligaments and other non-cruciate tendons & ligaments around the knee :

ACL/MCL and braces - - Posted by nick157 (nick157), 20 January 2005

I've posted this in the cruciate ligaments section as well.

I tore both to grade 3 last summer (actually partial 50% ACL tear). ACL is getting reconstructed tomorrow, but I keep reading situations where people (on this board and professional footballers) are tearing their MCL and immediately getting put in to a knee brace.

I was never given this option and I can't help but think it's had a bad affect on my MCL. Although my OS told me some months ago it had fully healed, I keep "tweaking" it and it still doesn't feel "right" (it's now been 7 months to the day since the injury). In fact only today while I was doing my quad exercises preparing for ACL surgery I kept getting shooting pains down the inner knee.

Will it heal more effectively once the ACL has been fixed and hence the laxity in my leg has gone? My OS contradicted himself by saying (a) the MCL had completely healed but the ACL needed repairing and (b) earlier saying the MCL would never heal properly if there is an ACL deficiency.

Confused  

Any comments much appreciated.

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