There are several ligaments in the knee that help hold your thighbone and shinbone together. The most well-known of these ligaments is probably the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but the other ligaments in the knee can be injured as well. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is one of these other ligaments, and it can be sprained while playing sports just like the ACL. Physical therapy can be an effective treatment option for an MCL sprain, and there are two exercises a therapist in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, can use in your MCL sprain treatment program.
1. Quad sets
During the first stage of MCL sprain physical therapy, your physical therapist is likely to use gentle exercises. These are preferable at this stage because they’re designed to limit the stress placed on the knee. At the same time, gentle exercises can still help improve knee range of motion and strength. An excellent example of such an exercise is the quad set.
Quad sets begin with you seated on the floor with your injured leg straight out in front of you. The uninjured leg should be bent so that the foot is flat on the ground. Before starting the exercise, place a small rolled-up towel under your injured knee. From this starting position, press the back of the injured knee down into the towel. Concentrate on tightening the muscles in your thigh as you do this. Hold this position for three to five seconds, and then return to the start position. Rest your knee for about 10 seconds, and repeat these steps eight to 10 times to complete one set.
2. Lateral step-up
Your therapist will start adding more active exercises to your MCL physical therapy as your knee improves. The lateral step-up is an example of an active MCL therapy exercise you might be asked to do.
To start lateral step-ups, stand sideways with the foot of your injured leg on the bottom step of a staircase. Your other foot should be resting on the ground below. Use the injured leg to slowly raise yourself until the foot of the uninjured leg is level with the step. Make sure you keep your hips level and your knee moving in a straight line as you move. Also, don’t rest your other foot on the step once you raise it up. Once your uninjured foot is level with the step, slowly lower it back to the ground. Continue repeating these steps until you’ve done the exercise 10 to 12 times.
MCL sprain physical therapy is available at Panther Physical Therapy in Allison Park, PA
Are you looking for MCL sprain physical therapy in Allison Park? Panther Physical Therapy has a clinic right here in town that can help you. Our team offers free screenings, and these can help reveal the severity of your MCL sprain and what symptoms it’s causing. We can then use this knowledge of your injury to build you a personalized therapy plan, and your plan may include therapy techniques like:
Don’t wait to get help with your MCL sprain from our Allison Park team. Contact us today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.