A dislocated knee is not only extremely painful, it can also lead to the loss of your leg if medical attention is not sought immediately. Even when properly cared for, the road to recovery can be lengthy. Here is what you can expect if you have suffered from a dislocated knee.

How Does a Dislocated Knee Happen?

Dislocating your knee isn't easy to do. While it will occasionally occur as the result of a sports injury, most of the time, it requires something with much more impact. Car and motorcycle accidents, snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle collisions, or falls are usually the cause of a dislocated knee.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms?

A knee dislocation results when the bones of the knee are pushed out of place. The tibia and fibula are pushed out of alignment with the femur, the thigh bone. The bones in the knee are held to together by strong bands of muscles, and when these are torn, the knee becomes dislocated. Damage is also frequently done to the arteries.

In addition to severe pain, the leg will look obviously deformed and out of place. It will also be very swollen. Occasionally, a dislocated knee will pop back into place on its own, but don't mistake this as the problem is solved. The ligaments are still torn and must be repaired. If there is no pulse or sensation below the knee or you are unable to move your toes or ankle, this is a very serious condition that must be attended to at the emergency room immediately.

What Is the Treatment?

Once you are at the hospital, the health care team will need to do several tests to assess what kind of damage they are dealing with. X-rays are taken to see if there are any breaks to the bones. An arteriogram, an X-ray of the arteries, will also be done right away. Damage to the arteries is very common with this type of injury. If damage is found, you will undergo immediate emergency surgery to reestablish blood flow throughout the leg. They will also do simple tests to determine in nerve injury has occurred.

If the bones haven't moved back into place of their own, the doctor will sedate you and manually move them back into place. The leg will then be splinted so it cannot move, giving it time to rest. 

After the swelling has gone down, an orthopedic surgeon will assess the injury and determine if surgery is needed. A multiple ligament reconstruction operation followed by intensive physical therapy is almost always required to repair a dislocated knee.