Car Crash Impact Can Jar, Tear Ligaments or Tendons
Think about it. Your knee is the largest joint in your body. It is in this area where the tibia, fibula, femur and patella (or knee cap) meet to form your knee joint. You can begin to understand why car accident injuries so often affect the knee
Car accident lawyer on knee injury Tustin
In your knee you also have tendons, ligaments, cartilage and two menisci (plural of meniscus, which is a disc) that all combine to make up the knee joint. Violent movement to the knee joint in the form of abnormal twisting or bending, a blow to the knee or falling on the knee can all cause an injury to this part of the body. In fact injury is the most common cause knee problems. When you slip and fall, are in a car crash, trip on something or have been the victim of a battery, your knee can potentially be subject to the sorts of trauma that can often result in serious injuries to the knee.
Knee Damage Following Trauma
Some possible problems can include a torn a ligament or tendon in the knee. A fall on or blow to your knee may cause a tear to your lateral or media meniscus (those discs we referred to above). You could have fractured a bone in the knee joint, of which there are several. The vehicle crash or the slip and fall may have caused a sprain (which is a stretching or tearing of the ligaments) or a strain (which is stretching or tearing of the tendons and muscles).
The best course of action is to visit a physical and have you knee looked at. Your doctor may refer you for an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) which can detect damage and injuries to your knee joint that a doctor may not be able to see or detect with merely a physical exam and orthopedic testing. Often a tear in one or both of the menisci inside your knee will require arthroscopic surgery. This is to repair the tear by slicing away a part of the meniscus and cleaning up the joint. Or it’s possible that you may need to follow a course of physical therapy which will allow the ligaments and tendons to heal.
The sooner you seek treatment the better. If you don’t soon treat a knee injury following trauma to your knee, it’s possible you may have months or years of knee problems to deal with. I always urge my clients with knee injuries (known or unknown) to do themselves a favor and get their knee(s) examined.