The posterior cruciate ligament is one of the most important ligaments for knee stability. Its action is to prevent the posterior sliding of the tibia in relation to the thigh. A tear of the posterior hiatal ligament occurs when an injury to the knee tends to displace the tibia backward, with more force than the ligament can absorb.
Posterior cruciate ligament tears are not as common as anterior cruciate ligament tears. They can occur either as isolated lesions, or in the context of a multi-ligamentous knee injury.
The clinical picture usually includes:
- pain and haemarthrosis (collection of blood in the knee joint)
- knee involvement (inability to fully extend or bend the knee), if there is a meniscal tear or osteochondral damage.
- possible feeling of insecurity or even episodes of knee instability.
The diagnosis of posterior cruciate ligament rupture is clinical and is based on the mechanism of injury and clinical examination. Magnetic resonance imaging can confirm the diagnosis and highlight possible accompanying lesions, which affect the patient’s treatment plan.
Treatment can be either conservative or surgical. The choice depends mainly on the extent of the tear, the patient’s activity level, and whether there are accompanying ligamentous or other coexisting injuries.
The positive thing is that the rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament, unlike that of the anterior cruciate ligament, has the ability to heal by the body and thus conservative treatment has an important place in the rehabilitation of this injury.
