Diagnosis of knee cruciate ligament injury by any medical technique?

The article is professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Thanh Hai - Radiologist - Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine - Vinmec Times City International Hospital

Injuries on the cruciate ligament of the knee joint need to be diagnosed and detected early for timely intervention and treatment, to avoid sequelae affecting the patient's mobility in the future.

The bones of the knee joint include the femur (above), the tibia (below) and the patella (anterior). The bones of the knee are connected by a system of ligaments. There are 4 main ligaments in the knee joint, helping the knee joint to be firm and flexible when moving. Ligaments include:
Lateral ligament system: Located on the outside of the knee joint, including the external ligament (lateral fibula) and the inner ligament (lateral tibial), has the function of helping the knee joint to stabilize when twisting or turning. turn around. The cruciate ligament system: Located on the inside of the knee joint. The anterior cruciate ligament and the posterior cruciate ligament cross each other to form an X shape, helping to stabilize the knee joint, preventing excessive sliding forward or backward.

Anterior cruciate ligament injury is very common in knee injuries. Common causes: sports injuries, daily life accidents and traffic accidents.
Symptoms include:
Swelling, pain in the knee: The patient has knee pain, limited movement. The swelling and pain will go away on their own with or without treatment. Loose knees: The patient has a feeling of weakness in his legs when walking, difficulty standing with one leg on the loose knee, when running fast, it is easy to fall, easily twisting the knee when walking fast on the road, feeling unreal when walking fast. Up stairs, difficulty going down stairs. Muscle atrophy: The thigh part of the injured side is gradually smaller due to muscle atrophy, the leg becomes weaker if the thigh muscle atrophy.

Posterior cruciate ligament injury is less common than anterior cruciate ligament injury. Causes of injury may be due to: Force acting on the front of the tibial plateau while flexing the knee, overextending the knee or falling and hitting the knee when the knee is flexed - the foot is extended.
In terms of symptoms, with mild cases, there are usually few symptoms because of less swelling, less impact on knee motor function. Patients may experience discomfort when going up - down stairs or activities that put a lot of weight on the joints. In others, patients have knee instability when walking on rough roads and pain in the kneecap joint.

The doctor asked about the injury situation and performed a number of specialized clinical examination techniques on the anterior cruciate ligament and the posterior cruciate ligament, comparing with the uninjured knee joint. From the symptoms, the injury situation, the doctor can make a preliminary diagnosis.

Knee X-ray: Assess bone condition, attachment of the anterior cruciate ligament and detect cases of posterior cruciate ligament detachment (bone fracture at the ligament attachment site). MRI scan: Gives a clear image of the extent of damage to the anterior cruciate ligament and posterior cruciate ligament, and detects the combined damage such as meniscal tear, posterior lateral angle injury, meniscus injury, ... In addition, MRi also shows images of effusion, blood flow in the knee joint,... clearly. Early diagnosis of knee cruciate ligament injuries with medical techniques will help doctors intervene in timely treatment, reducing the risk of complications for the patient.
To accurately diagnose the condition of the knee cruciate ligament injury, the patient needs to go to a reputable hospital to conduct examination and treatment immediately. Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the leading prestigious hospitals in the country, trusted by a large number of patients for medical examination and treatment. Not only the physical system, modern equipment: 6 ultrasound rooms, 4 DR X-ray rooms (1 full-axis machine, 1 light machine, 1 general machine and 1 mammography machine) , 2 DR portable X-ray machines, 2 multi-row CT scanner rooms (1 128 rows and 1 16 arrays), 2 Magnetic resonance imaging rooms (1 3 Tesla and 1 1.5 Tesla), 1 room for 2 levels of interventional angiography and 1 room to measure bone mineral density.... Vinmec is also the place to gather a team of experienced doctors and nurses who will greatly assist in diagnosis and detection. early signs of abnormality in the patient's body. In particular, with a space designed according to 5-star hotel standards, Vinmec ensures to bring the patient the most comfort, friendliness and peace of mind.