Since the past few days, Micheal, a footballer, had been experiencing a nagging pain in his knee. It was swollen and he also noticed some bruise marks on his knee. Every time he walked, he felt like he would just lose his balance and fall down. The doctor told him that he was suffering from unhappy triad.
Wondering what's that? Well, unhappy triad is a knee injury which mainly sports persons suffer from. It involves the tearing of three important ligaments; the anterior cruciate ligament, the medical collateral ligament and the medial meniscus. Want some more information about it? Want to know how you can treat it? Here's some information on what it means and how one can treat it.
Unhappy Triad: Causes and Symptoms
Unhappy triad is also referred to as the O'Donoghue's triad or a 'blown knee'. It is a knee injury that usually occurs when the person has his foot fixed to the ground and then he receives the lateral force which causes the injury. This not a type of common knee injury, as it mainly occurs to those who play football as the player is hit on the outer side of his knee while his foot is planted firmly to the ground. In this injury, three structures of the knee are involved; the medial collateral ligament (MCL), the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the medial meniscus. A look into the past here. In the year 1950, O'Donoghue, coined the term 'unhappy triad' for the first time. But that time, it was not only the knee, but even the joint and shoulder injuries were referred to as the unhappy triad, although the name stayed. Let us see what happens in this injury.
The unhappy triad is a combination of ACL, MCL and the medial meniscus injury. Out of these three, ACL tear is the worst. It is very difficult to treat it too as surgery is needed sometimes. If the ACL tears, then the person cannot walk properly and the person feels as if his legs are going to give away any minute. ACL tear is like a nightmare for a footballer. They are the ones who get these kinds of tears. The second part of the tear is the meniscus tear. This is a cartilage in the knee and acts as a cushion for the bones. If that is destroyed then it takes time to heal as it receives less supply of blood. A damaged meniscus causes pain and swelling in the knee. The third and the final part of unhappy triad is the MCL. This ligament stabilizes the knee joint and if it's damaged, then the area starts swelling and the person's walk becomes uncertain. However, this does not need a surgery to be corrected.
So now that we know what is the unhappy triad injury, let us now see what are the symptoms of unhappy triad. The symptoms are the common things that have already been mentioned above; swollen knee, bruise marks on or around the knee, feeling that the knee might give away, and severe knee pain. These symptoms indicate whether or not a person has unhappy triad.
Unhappy Triad Injury Treatment
Players pray that they do not have this kind of injury. It's not that unhappy triad injury treatment is not treatable, surgery can be done to treat it. But the problem is the recovery time which is long. ACL can only be treated with the help of surgery which also helps to repair the meniscus. MCL does not require any surgery but only time to heal. Unhappy triad recovery time is long but with weeks of strict exercises and physical therapy and a proper diet, the player will be up in no time. Yes, it's true that in the beginning, he has to wear a knee brace but with proper care, the player can go back to his game again.
For players, unhappy triad is like a nightmare. But, unfortunately you cannot avoid injuries while on the ground. Accidents do happen and it's only with patience and care that one can overcome the difficulties. Easy to say, but hard to follow I know, but it's worth it.
Wondering what's that? Well, unhappy triad is a knee injury which mainly sports persons suffer from. It involves the tearing of three important ligaments; the anterior cruciate ligament, the medical collateral ligament and the medial meniscus. Want some more information about it? Want to know how you can treat it? Here's some information on what it means and how one can treat it.
Unhappy Triad: Causes and Symptoms
Unhappy triad is also referred to as the O'Donoghue's triad or a 'blown knee'. It is a knee injury that usually occurs when the person has his foot fixed to the ground and then he receives the lateral force which causes the injury. This not a type of common knee injury, as it mainly occurs to those who play football as the player is hit on the outer side of his knee while his foot is planted firmly to the ground. In this injury, three structures of the knee are involved; the medial collateral ligament (MCL), the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the medial meniscus. A look into the past here. In the year 1950, O'Donoghue, coined the term 'unhappy triad' for the first time. But that time, it was not only the knee, but even the joint and shoulder injuries were referred to as the unhappy triad, although the name stayed. Let us see what happens in this injury.
The unhappy triad is a combination of ACL, MCL and the medial meniscus injury. Out of these three, ACL tear is the worst. It is very difficult to treat it too as surgery is needed sometimes. If the ACL tears, then the person cannot walk properly and the person feels as if his legs are going to give away any minute. ACL tear is like a nightmare for a footballer. They are the ones who get these kinds of tears. The second part of the tear is the meniscus tear. This is a cartilage in the knee and acts as a cushion for the bones. If that is destroyed then it takes time to heal as it receives less supply of blood. A damaged meniscus causes pain and swelling in the knee. The third and the final part of unhappy triad is the MCL. This ligament stabilizes the knee joint and if it's damaged, then the area starts swelling and the person's walk becomes uncertain. However, this does not need a surgery to be corrected.
So now that we know what is the unhappy triad injury, let us now see what are the symptoms of unhappy triad. The symptoms are the common things that have already been mentioned above; swollen knee, bruise marks on or around the knee, feeling that the knee might give away, and severe knee pain. These symptoms indicate whether or not a person has unhappy triad.
Unhappy Triad Injury Treatment
Players pray that they do not have this kind of injury. It's not that unhappy triad injury treatment is not treatable, surgery can be done to treat it. But the problem is the recovery time which is long. ACL can only be treated with the help of surgery which also helps to repair the meniscus. MCL does not require any surgery but only time to heal. Unhappy triad recovery time is long but with weeks of strict exercises and physical therapy and a proper diet, the player will be up in no time. Yes, it's true that in the beginning, he has to wear a knee brace but with proper care, the player can go back to his game again.
For players, unhappy triad is like a nightmare. But, unfortunately you cannot avoid injuries while on the ground. Accidents do happen and it's only with patience and care that one can overcome the difficulties. Easy to say, but hard to follow I know, but it's worth it.
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