Injury Diagnosis

In clinic the specialist knee surgeon will speak to you and examine your knee. He will need to enquire about the exact mechanism of the injury and what has happened previously, if anything. He can then decide the appropriate management for your problem. You may need to come back once any swelling has reduced to allow the knee to be re-examined or you may need to go for further X-rays and scans (MRI).

How is the knee injured? How is each injury caused?
One of the ways to diagnose a knee injury is to look at exactly how it was damaged.

Description	Injury
Unusual level of activity on your knees compared to normal Injury not severe enough to cause damage	Sprain, upset of previously worn knee
Non-contact Twisting movement with foot on ground May feel a pop Unable to play on	Anterior cruciate ligament rupture
Force on a bent knee either by falling or when the shin hits the dashboard in road traffic accidents	Posterior cruciate ligament partial or complete rupture
Contact sporting injury Blow onto the side of the knee	Medial Collateral ligament (MCL) or Lateral Collateral ligament (LCL) sprain
Weight bearing Twisting injury Knee then locking	Meniscus tear
Sudden twisting on slightly bent knee with feeling kneecap jumping out of joint.	Patella (kneecap) dislocation