what is PCL, meniscus tear?

The early morning right after the Eagles won the 2023 NFC championship, the team’s previous specific groups captain, Chris Maragos, arrived at a Town Hall courtroom.

Maragos, who retired in 2019, was sidelined the very last time the Eagles performed in the NFC championship in 2018, recovering from a knee injuries and surgical procedures.

Maragos in no way performed again soon after tearing his posterior cruciate ligament, or PCL, in the 2017 year.

Given that then, he’s had multiple surgeries on his appropriate knee, and his legal professionals say he however suffers suffering to this day — which, in a lawsuit, Maragos blames on poor cure. Maragos is suing his orthopedic surgeon as effectively as the physicians who oversaw his rehab, alleging healthcare carelessness. In court docket, his attorneys argued that the care team failed to acknowledge and deal with other challenges with his knee when they mounted his PCL, especially a meniscus tear.

» Browse Much more: A previous Eagles captain is suing his medical practitioners in Philly courtroom around a occupation-ending knee personal injury

The Inquirer spoke with John Vasudevan, a sporting activities medication doctor at Penn Medicine, about knee accidents. Vasudevan did not examine Maragos or overview the authorized data. But he taken care of other persons with PCL tears and spoke frequently about this type of personal injury.

What is a PCL?

There are two central ligaments in the knee that link the shinbone and thighbone, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the front and PCL in the back again. The work of the PCL is to avoid the shinbone from shifting behind the thighbone when the knee is bent.

Unlike ACL accidents that can materialize for the reason that of movements this kind of as pivoting and abrupt stops, PCL accidents are normally a result of blunt trauma, Vasudevan reported. Illustrations incorporate slipping really hard on the knee, or slamming into the base of the dashboard in a vehicle incident.

The degree of PCL injury ranges from a sprain, in which there is no tear, to a comprehensive tear of the ligament.

How are PCL accidents dealt with?

More normally than not, PCL tears are treated conservatively, meaning that medical professionals endorse relaxation and let the knee mend itself.

“The huge the greater part volume of people who are not at very superior desire, like an elite athlete, may possibly transfer on in life feeling just great,” Vasudevan explained.

But there are instances in which surgical procedures is encouraged, this kind of as when the damage leads to knee instability or if there is problems to other structures in the knee, these kinds of as nerves or blood vessels. An orthopedic surgeon could reconstruct the PCL by implanting a ligament from somewhere else in the overall body or from a cadaver.

What is a meniscus?

The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of dense white tissue that functions as a shock absorber in the knee. There are two menisci in the knee, which gives the required cushion between the shinbone and the thighbone.

A meniscus can tear or slip out of its place in the knee— an damage acknowledged as an extrusion.

Like most PCL injuries, most meniscus accidents in folks who are not athletes can be dealt with with relaxation, ice, and elevation of the knee to make it possible for the entire body to mend alone. But in some scenarios, operation could be necessary to possibly restore the tear or trim the wounded meniscus, in accordance to the Mayo Clinic.

» Study Extra: Joel Embiid has a meniscus tear. Here’s what that usually means. (Released 2021)

Are knee accidents prevalent on the NFL?

When it comes to accidents ending a NFL profession or a period, knee concerns are amid the most popular.

Just search at the 2017 Eagles period: jogging back again Darren Sproles, offensive deal with Jason Peters, and quarterback Carson Wentz all tore ACLs, in addition to Maragos’ PCL tear.

This time, in Week 1 by yourself, Eagles defensive conclusion Derek Barnett tore his ACL, sidelining him for the time. In November, defensive deal with Marlon Tuipulotu tore his meniscus.

When it will come to PCL Difficulties, 1 review observed that 3{e538325c9cf657983df5f7d849dafd1e35f75768f2b9bd53b354eb0ae408bb3c} of the 2,285 athletes who participated in the NFL Mix among 2009 and 2015 had some PCL personal injury — and which is just before they performed a solitary recreation on the skilled degree.

Before this season, Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson sprained his PCL, and past yr, Dallas Cowboys running again Ezekiel Elliott shared that he performed in numerous games with a partly-torn PCL.