Orthopedic Doc in Lawrenceville, NJ Quick Discussion on Fantasy Football Injuries:

This is a QUICK MANUAL on INJURIES for fantasy football: WHEN DO YOU SIT OUT YOUR PLAYER?

NFL playoffs are here and fantasy league owners are seeing record injuries for the 2011 – 2012 season

Most Recently as of NFL week 13, 2011, Matt Forte from the Chicago Bears was recently injured with a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) strain (1)

photo from the Boston Globe

This is a mini-series on injuries and today we will talk about MEDIAL COLLATERAL LIGAMENT INJURIES (MCL) and potential fantasy league decisions that you may have to make . Next edition will be on hamstrings and look out for our Fantasy League Basketball Injury Guide.

Anatomy:

The ligament helps prevent “knock knee” position when running or walking:

LOOK AT THIS PICTURE OF THE RIGHT KNEE of the football player, the MCL keeps the knee stable so that knee does not buckle inside too much. The arrow shows points to the MCL

Symptoms of a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injury can depend on how bad the impact or hit was on a player. MCL injuries graded from I to III

• Grade I MCL Tear
  This is an incomplete tear or STRAIN of the MCL. The tendon is still intact and players complain of pain with pressure on the MCL or inside of the knee. Return to play is in 1-2 weeks. So, if you here reports of the player doing some drills or jogging in practice, then chances are, he may show up in the next game if the team happens to have a bye week.
• Grade II MCL Tear
  Grade II injuries are more severe tears to the MCL but IT IS STILL AN INCOMPLETE TEAR. These athlete may complain of instability or feelings of the knee buckling when trying to cut or pivot. There is more pain and swelling and conservatively be out 4 weeks (3 weeks EARLIEST).
• Grade III MCL Tear
  A grade III injury is a complete tear of the MCL. The athlete has lots of swelling and can’t even bend the knee all the way. Instability, or giving out, happens almost all the time. A knee brace or a knee immobilizer is usually needed for comfort, and healing may take 6 weeks or longer. If the news shows him wearing a brace for a suspected MCL sprain (and ONLY an MCL tear), sit this guy out or trade him if you own him as a fantasy league player

References:
(1) Source of photo and info: http://bostonglobe.com/sports/2011/12/06/nfl-notes-bears-expect-matt-forte-return/2GVuKBWpLKGzqqqw0tE1lM/story.html