Table of contents:
- What are the cruciate ligaments?
- What is the function of the cruciate ligament?
- What causes thigh injuries after exercise?
- Signs and symptoms of a thigh injury after exercise
- How to treat a thigh injury after exercising?
- Injury to the thigh (cruciate ligament) should be examined by a doctor for an accurate diagnosis
Muscle aches are a familiar injury to anyone who exercises regularly. The thigh muscles, in particular, produce a lot of force, so they are also subject to a lot of damage. One of them is a cruciate ligament thigh injury.
With a name that is so hard to spell, it turns out that handling this one thigh muscle injury is easy. Read on to find out more
What are the cruciate ligaments?
The cruciate ligaments are a pair of connective tissues that attach the femur to the shin bone. The name cruciate itself is taken from the Latin "crux" which in English is called "cross" or cross because of the shape of the pair of ligaments that cross each other. The cruciate ligament consists of the anterior cruciate ligament and the posterior cruciate ligament.
What is the function of the cruciate ligament?
The cruciate ligament is 2 of the 4 ligaments that function to stabilize the knee joint when it moves so that it doesn't shift easily. In addition to the cruciate ligaments, there are medial and lateral collateral ligaments. The anterior cruciate ligament keeps the shin from moving forward, while the posterior cruciate ligament keeps the shin from moving backwards.
What causes thigh injuries after exercise?
Anterior cruciate ligament injury is caused by sports injury, either contact or non-contact.
Signs and symptoms of a thigh injury after exercise
To diagnose an anterior cruciate ligament thigh injury, the doctor will usually ask about the mechanism of the injury — whether contact or non-contact. The mechanism of non-contact injury is usually associated with a sudden change in running direction or landing after jumping. The patient will hear a "Pop!" in the knee and usually cannot continue with exercise due to pain, swelling, and instability of the knee. Within a few hours hemarthrosis will develop. Whereas contact injuries are usually associated with a wider range of injuries.
On physical examination, several maneuvers can be performed such as:
- Lachman test
- Pivot shift test
- Anterior drawer test
How to treat a thigh injury after exercising?
As an emergency handler, the first thing to do is reduce pain and swelling with the RICE principle (rest, ice, compress,and elevation) and administering pain relievers such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Rest your knees using assistive devices such as crutches for a while.
After the first treatment, the next step of treatment depends on the level and type of injury, starting from the rehabilitation program or undergoing surgery to reconstruct the damaged thigh ligament.
Injury to the thigh (cruciate ligament) should be examined by a doctor for an accurate diagnosis
To see the structure of the ligaments damaged by a thigh injury, an MRI, arthrogram, or X-ray may be used. MRI is the most sensitive scanning technique (90-98%) and can reveal a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament.
With an X-ray, the doctor can find an anteroposterior Segond fracture, that is, a lateral capsule avulsion fracture, which is an indirect sign of injury to the anterior cruciate ligament. Meanwhile, a lateral X-ray can reveal a fracture lateral notch located on the lateral femoral condyle. This finding is common in chronic anterior cruciate ligament injuries caused by subluxation of the anterior to the lateral tibial base.
In general, the arthrogram has been replaced by MRI and the arthrogram should be performed by a doctor experienced in doing so double-contrast arthrography.
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