Knee joint dislocation: major symptoms, treatment

Dislocation of the knee joint occurs as a result of a shock on the shin, forcible removal of the tibia, overdistension. As a result of the force action, the joint surfaces of the tibia and femur are displaced . Depending on the displacement of the tibia, the anterior and posterior dislocations are distinguished. Injury leads to damage to the ligaments of the joint. The most frequent and less favorable combination: damage to the medial meniscus, medial lateral and anterior cruciate ligament. Possible and isolated damage to any element of the ligament apparatus.

Knee joint dislocation: symptoms

There is marked deformity of the limb in the region of the knee joint, mismatch of the hip and shin axes. The region of the joint is sharply painful, there are no movements. Depending on the direction of the force of the dislocation of the knee joint is accompanied by a shift of the shin. Therefore, dislocation can be complicated by compression of large vessels and nerves. This is the basis for always checking the pulse on the vessels of the foot and the volume of active extension of the foot.

Damage to ligaments

If the ligaments are damaged, there is a restriction of mobility, muscle tension, effusion to the joint, swelling in the joint region, hemarthrosis. To determine the injury of the lateral ligaments, the abduction and reduction of the shin with a fixed thigh are performed. To determine the trauma of cruciate ligaments, a drawer test is carried out.

X-ray examination should be performed even with a pronounced clinical picture. This diagnostic method is performed to exclude damage to the bones. The divergence of the articular ends of bones by 10 mm or more indicates a damage to the cruciate ligaments.

Dislocation of the knee joint: treatment

Conservative treatment. The dislocation of the knee joint is necessarily under anesthesia. The mechanism of reposition is completely inverse to the mechanism of injury: the limb is stretched along the length and pressure is applied to the displaced articulate ends in the direction opposite to the trauma. Conservative treatment of ligament damage involves knee joint puncture, fluid evacuation and immobilization for 3 weeks. If the ligaments fail, an operation is performed.

Operative treatment. When the femur is infringed in the damaged joint capsule, the dislocation of the knee joint is corrected only by the operation. After closed repositioning, after 3-4 days, surgery is performed to restore the ligaments and capsule of the joint. In early terms, the operation is performed with a complete rupture of ligaments: several nodal joints are applied or allo- or autoplasty is performed. Fixation of the knee joint with gypsum from the toes to the hip joint with the impossibility of performing a surgical intervention is performed in the most physiological position of the limb: flexion in the knee joint to 150-160 °. Fixation lasts 2 months.

Physiotherapy. After drying the gypsum is assigned UHF. After removing the bandage - rehabilitation: massage, thermal procedures, exercise therapy.