Hyperextended Knee

Knee hyperextension is one of the common knee injuries faced by athletes in sports like gymnastics, basketball and volleyball, to name a few. However, in sports the damage may be less intense than what can occur in an accident; car crash being a common one. The excessive pressure can result from any sudden or aggressive action which causes the knee to move past its normal straightened position and bend backwards. A tear in the knee ligaments is what which causes this condition. These ligaments serve as a bridge connecting the upper portion of the leg to the bottom. This tear results out of an incident wherein, the knee bends, twists or moves out of its typical range of motion. What explains the occurrence of a hyperextended knee is the simultaneous onset of two movements in the knee, which causes the tear.

Characteristic Signs of Knee Hyperextension

The symptoms of this condition are immediate and there might be several of them which occur right away. The bending of the knee backwards, is the first apparent symptom. This is followed by extreme pain. The pain may be felt at the back and sides of the knee, and it may be accompanied by a swelling of the injured area within the few first hours of the injury. The affected person becomes unable to continue playing, running and perform other similar activities, due to instability or impaired motion. Walking may still be possible, but it might cause a lot of pain. In some cases, it might get difficult to diagnose if the person has actually hyperextended his/her knee. If the knee appears deformed, pain continues or if the knee gets locked in one position or does not get straightened, then it is most likely that the person's knee has hyperextended.

Treatment

The treatment lays its focus on alleviating the unnatural stress, swelling and the pain. Applying ice immediately helps in relieving the swelling and so also the pain which might be radiating throughout the leg. Not to mention, do not apply the ice directly onto the damaged area. Use towel or something similar to wrap around the ice. Thereafter, call for medical help without any haste. After getting the injury diagnosed, the patient might be given anti-inflammatory medications and recommended to use a compression bandage. If the injury is of a mild nature, then complete rest from activity and physical therapy is required for the leg to regain its lost strength and stability. Crutches, keeping the affected knee(s) in an elevated position while sitting or lying down and icing several times a day, also help in the recovery of a hyperextended knee. For cases which doctors feel are too severe to be treated by conservative treatment methods, they are most likely to be attended by surgery. In case of a child who has a hyperextended knee, doctors recommend the surgery to be performed once the child's bones have stopped growing.

Patients are also assigned some exercises to help the knee attain its normal range of motion. These exercises may include performing activities in water, use of stationary bike, muscle stretching, and probably other kinds of knee strengthening exercises, depending on what the doctor might consider best for the patients.

A hyperextended knee may take about six to nine months to recover. This is the time a patient must wait before returning to sports, especially if he/she has undergone a surgery. Very mild cases, may take an average of 1-2 weeks for recuperation, but by far it all depends upon the extent and graveness of the injury.