What do Collateral Ligament Injuries feel like?
An injury violent enough to actually tear one of the collateral ligaments causes significant damage to the soft tissues around the knee. There is usually bleeding into the tissues around the knee, swelling of the tissues and perhaps bleeding into the knee joint itself. The knee is stiff and painful. As the initial stiffness and pain resides there may be a feeling of instability in the knee joint, and the knee may give away and not support your body weight. Chronic (meaning long term, or persistent) instability due to an old injury to the collateral ligaments may also occur. If the torn ligament heals but is not tight enough do support the knee, a feeling of instability will persist. The knee will give away at times, and may be painful with heavy use.
