Posterior cruciate ligament

The PCL is located within the knee joint where it stabilizes the articulating bones, particularly the femur and the tibia, during movement.

[11] The main parameter in this test is step-off, which is the shortest distance from the femur to a hypothetical line that tangents the surface of the tibia from the tibial tuberosity and upwards.

[17] When hyperflexion and hyperextension occur suddenly in combination with this viscoelastic behavior, the PCL deforms or tears.

Treatment is usually physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles around the knee; usually they provide adequate stability even without a functional PCL.

Then, the new ligament is attached to the bone of the thigh and lower leg with screws to hold it in place.

[19] Surgery to repair the posterior cruciate ligament is controversial due to its placement and technical difficulty.

PCL injuries that are diagnosed in these categories can have their recovery times reduced by performing certain rehabilitative exercises.

Fernandez and Pugh(2012) found that following a PCL grade II diagnosis, a multimodal treatment that spanned the course of 8 weeks consisting of chiropractic lumbopelvic manipulation, physiotherapy, and implementing an exercise program that emphasized eccentric muscle contraction (lunges, 1-leg squats, and trunk stabilization proved to be an effective way to recover from the PCL injury.

[22] In the quadruped stifle (analogous to the human knee), based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the caudal cruciate ligament.

In this medial view of the extended knee, the lateral femoral condyle has been removed to reveal the structure of the PCL. Because the posteromedial bundle is stretched and the anterolateral bundle relaxed during extension, excessive extension in the form of hyperextension causes tensile stress, shown in red, on the posteromedial bundle of the PCL that leads to PCL injury.
The posterior cruciate ligament is located within the knee
In this medial view of the flexed knee, the lateral femoral condyle has been removed to reveal the structure of the PCL. Because the anterolateral bundle is stretched and the posteromedial bundle relaxed during flexion, excessive flexion in the form of hyperflexion causes tensile stress, shown in red, on the anterolateral bundle of the ACL that leads to ACL injury.