Everything You Need to Know About a MCL Tear
What is a MCL Tear?
An MCL tear is an injury to the ligament on the inner side of your knee. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) connects your thigh bone (femur) to your shin bone (tibia) and helps keep your knee stable during side-to-side movements. A tear can range from a mild stretch to a full rupture, causing pain, swelling, and instability in the knee.
An analogy…
Think of the MCL like a strong seatbelt for your knee. If it’s pulled too hard or stretched too far, the fibers can snap or fray, just like a seatbelt under too much force.
What are other names that a MCL tear can be called?
MCL Injury, Medial Collateral Ligament Tear, Torn MCL, MCL Sprain, Sprained MCL, Ruptured MCL
What causes a MCL tear?
- Direct blows to the outer knee
- Twisting or awkward landings
- Sudden changes in direction
What are the signs and symptoms of a MCL tear?
- Pain on the inside of the knee
- Swelling and tenderness along the ligament
- Stiffness or difficulty fully bending or straightening the knee
- Instability or a feeling of giving way
- Bruising along the inner knee
- Popping sound at the time of injury in some cases
What tests are used to diagnose a MCL tear?
Valgus Stress Test: The knee is pushed inward to assess MCL stability.
How long does a MCL tear take to heal?
- Grade 1 (mild stretch): 1–3 weeks
- Grade 2 (partial tear): 4–6 weeks
- Grade 3 (complete tear): 8–12 weeks or longer
How does a MCL tear happen?
- Excessive force to the outer side of the knee
- Common in contact sports
- Can happen during a fall with twisting of the knee
What treatment can help a MCL tear?
- Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (RICE)
- Bracing or taping
- Manual therapy (soft tissue massage and joint mobilisation)
What exercises or stretches can I do for a MCL tear?
- Quad sets and straight leg raises
- Heel slides
- Glute bridges and wall slides
- Step-ups and mini-squats
- Hamstring curls and balance exercises
- Calf, hamstring, and hip flexor stretches
- Low-impact cardio like cycling or pool walking
What products can help with a MCL tear?
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A hip flexor strain happens when one of the muscles at the front of your hip, mainly the iliopsoas or rectus femoris, gets overstretched or torn. It’s a common injury in sports that involve kicking, sprinting, or sudden movements, causing pain at the front of the hip or groin.
An analogy…
Think of the hip flexor muscles like strong elastic bands that lift your knee toward your chest. If they are stretched too quickly or too far, they can tear like a snapping rubber band.
What are other names that a hip flexor strain can be called?
Hip Flexor Injury, Iliopsoas Strain, Psoas Strain, Hip Flexor Tear, Strained Iliopsoas Muscle, Torn Iliopsoas Muscle, Pulled Hip Flexor
What causes a hip flexor strain?
The hip flexors are a group of muscles that help you lift your thigh toward your body. A strain happens when the muscle fibres are overloaded, usually from a sudden burst of force or a rapid stretch beyond their limit. This causes small (or large) tears in the muscle or its tendon near the pelvis.
What are the signs and symptoms of a hip flexor strain?
- Sharp pain at the front of the hip or groin area
- Tenderness when pressing the hip flexor muscles
- Pain with lifting the knee, sprinting, kicking, or climbing stairs
- Stiffness or weakness in the hip, especially when bending forward
- Swelling or bruising in the front of the hip
- Pain when stretching the hip backward
What tests are used to diagnose a hip flexor strain?
Palpation: Feeling for tenderness in the front of the hip
Resisted hip flexion test: Pain when lifting the knee against resistance
Stretching tests: Extending the hip backward reproduces symptoms
How long does a hip flexor strain take to heal?
Grade 1 (mild) strains often heal in 1 to 2 weeks. Grade 2 (moderate) strains usually take 3 to 6 weeks. Grade 3 (severe) strains (significant tearing) can take 8 to 12 weeks or more to fully recover.
How does a hip flexor strain happen?
- Sudden sprinting or kicking movements
- Explosive acceleration or direction changes
- Tight hip flexor muscles
- Poor warm-up or muscle preparation
- Weak glutes and core, causing the hip flexors to overwork
- Fatigue or previous hip injuries increasing the risk
What treatment can help a hip flexor strain?
- Relative rest from aggravating activities early on
- Ice application for the first 48–72 hours to control swelling
- Manual therapy (massage, dry needling, and stretching)
- Progressive strengthening and controlled stretching of the hip flexors
- Postural retraining and core strengthening
- Gradual return to running, kicking, and sport-specific drills
What exercises or stretches can I do for a hip flexor strain?
- Isometric hip flexor holds
- Glute and core strengthening exercises
- Gentle hip flexor stretches
- Straight leg raises to rebuild control
What products can help with a hip flexor strain?
What is a MCL TearA hip flexor strain happens when one of the muscles at the front of your hip, mainly the iliopsoas or rectus femoris, gets overstretched or torn. It’s a common injury in sports that involve kicking, sprinting, or sudden movements, causing pain at the front of the hip or groin.
An analogy…
Think of the hip flexor muscles like strong elastic bands that lift your knee toward your chest. If they are stretched too quickly or too far, they can tear like a snapping rubber band.
What are other names that a hip flexor strain can be called?
Hip Flexor Injury, Iliopsoas Strain, Psoas Strain, Hip Flexor Tear, Strained Iliopsoas Muscle, Torn Iliopsoas Muscle, Pulled Hip Flexor
What causes a hip flexor strain?
The hip flexors are a group of muscles that help you lift your thigh toward your body. A strain happens when the muscle fibres are overloaded, usually from a sudden burst of force or a rapid stretch beyond their limit. This causes small (or large) tears in the muscle or its tendon near the pelvis.
What are the signs and symptoms of a hip flexor strain?
- Sharp pain at the front of the hip or groin area
- Tenderness when pressing the hip flexor muscles
- Pain with lifting the knee, sprinting, kicking, or climbing stairs
- Stiffness or weakness in the hip, especially when bending forward
- Swelling or bruising in the front of the hip
- Pain when stretching the hip backward
What tests are used to diagnose a hip flexor strain?
Palpation: Feeling for tenderness in the front of the hip
Resisted hip flexion test: Pain when lifting the knee against resistance
Stretching tests: Extending the hip backward reproduces symptoms
How long does a hip flexor strain take to heal?
Grade 1 (mild) strains often heal in 1 to 2 weeks. Grade 2 (moderate) strains usually take 3 to 6 weeks. Grade 3 (severe) strains (significant tearing) can take 8 to 12 weeks or more to fully recover.
How does a hip flexor strain happen?
- Sudden sprinting or kicking movements
- Explosive acceleration or direction changes
- Tight hip flexor muscles
- Poor warm-up or muscle preparation
- Weak glutes and core, causing the hip flexors to overwork
- Fatigue or previous hip injuries increasing the risk
What treatment can help a hip flexor strain?
- Relative rest from aggravating activities early on
- Ice application for the first 48–72 hours to control swelling
- Manual therapy (massage, dry needling, and stretching)
- Progressive strengthening and controlled stretching of the hip flexors
- Postural retraining and core strengthening
- Gradual return to running, kicking, and sport-specific drills
What exercises or stretches can I do for a hip flexor strain?
- Isometric hip flexor holds
- Glute and core strengthening exercises
- Gentle hip flexor stretches
- Straight leg raises to rebuild control
What products can help with a hip flexor strain?