Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury

Alternative names:

cruciate ligament injury - posterior; injury - knee - PCL; injury - PCL; injury - posterior cruciate ligament; knee injury - posterior cruciate ligament; PCL injury

Symptoms:

• knee swelling and tenderness in the space behind the knee (popliteal fossa)
• knee joint instability
• knee joint pain

Signs and tests:

A physical examination shows signs of PCL injury. This includes "positive" findings when manipulating the knee joint in various ways (these manipulations are called a postdrawer test and a quadriceps active drawer test). Another physical examination technique that allows the practitioner to detect the presence of fluid in a body space (the ballottement test) may show joint bleeding (hemarthrosis).

PCL injury may be seen on the following procedures:

• a knee MRI
• a knee joint X-ray