How long will it take for a ligament sprain and soft tissue injury to fully heal?

Written by Wang Fei
Orthopedics
Updated on November 24, 2024
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Ligament strains or soft tissue injuries are common in everyday life, and they also typically require grading. Some minor ligament strains or soft tissue injuries generally heal after about three weeks of rest and immobilization. If a ligament strain or soft tissue injury is very severe, such as when the ligament has reached the level of tearing, or if there is significant bleeding, edema, and swelling at the time of the injury, this indicates a very serious soft tissue injury. In such cases, the duration of immobilization might be much longer, possibly around six weeks. The recovery time for such soft tissue injuries or ligament strains can also be very lengthy, sometimes extending up to three months or even six months.

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Written by Wang Jing
Pediatric Orthopedics
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What are the symptoms of ligament injury?

Ligament injuries may exhibit different symptoms depending on whether they are acute or chronic. Acute ligament injuries generally occur within one to three days after the injury. At this time, the main symptoms are caused by blood drawn from the injured ligament, leading to swelling, bruising, pain, and corresponding joint movement disorders at the injured site. Severe ligament injuries can even cause avulsion fractures. Chronic ligament injuries usually result from acute injuries that have not been properly treated. At this point, the main issues are joint instability and pain in the joint caused by long-term damage to the cartilage.

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Written by Cheng Bin
Orthopedics
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How to recover from ligament damage

For patients with ligament injuries, it is first necessary to determine the severity of the ligament damage in order to establish an active treatment plan to promote rapid repair of the ligament. If the ligament injury is relatively mild and joint stability is good, it is entirely possible for such patients to choose active conservative treatment. It is necessary to strictly use plaster casts or supportive external fixation. During this period, treatment can include oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medication as well as drugs that promote blood circulation and disperse blood stasis. For those with more severe ligament injuries and poor joint stability, it becomes necessary to actively proceed with surgical treatment, which might involve repairing or reconstructing the damaged ligament. (Please use medication under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Wang Jing
Pediatric Orthopedics
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What medicine is good for ligament injury?

Ligament injuries first require assessment of whether the damage is acute or chronic before considering medications. For acute ligament injuries, there are key principles to follow. First, the injured area must rest and the joint should no longer be active. Second, immediately apply cold compresses. The temperature of the ice-water mixture touching the skin should be between 4℃ to 10℃. Apply the cold compress for about 10 to 15 minutes, generally not exceeding 20 minutes. If there is severe swelling, you can continue to apply cold compresses two hours later. Then, elevate the patient's limb and apply compression bandaging to the injured site, which forms the treatment principles for acute ligament injuries. For chronic ligament injuries, different situations require different approaches. For ligament injuries that do not affect joint stability, some topical medications can be used. This can include traditional Chinese medicines or anti-inflammatory and analgesic patches, which mainly improve local blood circulation and reduce local chronic inflammation. (Please use medications under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Wang Jing
Pediatric Orthopedics
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How to operate on ligament damage

Ligament injuries that affect joint stability require surgery, and different locations necessitate different surgical methods. Generally, for ligaments within a joint, such as the anterior cruciate ligament or the posterior cruciate ligament of the knee, reconstruction is performed using either autografts, allografts, or synthetic tendons to replace the original damaged ligaments. For ligaments outside of a joint, such as the medial collateral ligament, lateral collateral ligament of the knee, or the anterior talofibular ligament of the ankle, if the joint stability is compromised, suturing is generally performed during the acute phase. For chronic, long-standing injuries that affect joint stability, reconstruction is usually necessary, also using autografts, allografts, or synthetic tendons to substitute their function.

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home-news-image
Written by Wang Fei
Orthopedics
44sec home-news-image

How long will it take for a ligament sprain and soft tissue injury to fully heal?

Ligament strains or soft tissue injuries are common in everyday life, and they also typically require grading. Some minor ligament strains or soft tissue injuries generally heal after about three weeks of rest and immobilization. If a ligament strain or soft tissue injury is very severe, such as when the ligament has reached the level of tearing, or if there is significant bleeding, edema, and swelling at the time of the injury, this indicates a very serious soft tissue injury. In such cases, the duration of immobilization might be much longer, possibly around six weeks. The recovery time for such soft tissue injuries or ligament strains can also be very lengthy, sometimes extending up to three months or even six months.