Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) injuries are not as common an ACL injury. PCL tear happens when the knee is forcefully pushed back on a flexed knee. PCL injury is commonly seen in RTA (Road traffic Injury) and in Sports injury especially contact sports like Football and Wrestling. Due to the mechanism and the amount of force in a PCL tear, the incidence of injury to the other ligaments along with PCL is high. The other major ligaments commonly injured along with PCL are ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) /PLC (Posterior-Lateral Corner).
Unlike Anterior Cruciate ligament (ACL), the PCL ligament has a better healing potential, this is due to better blood supply. Hence not all PCL injuries need surgery. Acute Grade 1 to Grade 2 injuries can be managed conservatively but need a cast or a brace to keep the tibia from slipping posteriorly due to a nonfunctioning ligament. The Brace which is special brace has to be worn for more than 3 months for the healing of the ligament. This protection of the PCL post injury is essential for optimal results.
PCL is a major stabilizer of the knee joint and has an essential function in anterior posterior and Rotatory stability of the knee joint. PCL tear especially the chronic tears need surgical intervention. The surgery for the PCL ligament is a reconstruction of the PCL with tendon grafts similar to the ACL reconstruction. PCL Reconstruction is performed arthroscopically but is more technically challenging.
PCL injury and other Ligaments which is commonly torn along is ACL or PLC. If the other ligaments like ACL/PLC are also reconstructed along the PCL it becomes a multi-ligament case and hence its rehabilitation is also more complex than a simple PCL injury.
PCL once reconstructed, the reconstructed graft should be protected for a long time unlike ACL reconstruction. PCL reconstructed case need a special PCL brace which keeps the Tibia pushed forward and hence avoids the graft from getting stretched out. A stretched-out PCL graft is a common problem seen in the post reconstructed cases which leads to suboptimal results. Hence utmost care is taken in the rehabilitation of the Post PCL cases to avoid complications.
