The new and improved knee, now with even more ligaments

Surgeons in Belgium recently discovered a new ligament in the knee.  The anterolateral ligament, or A.L.L. (not the stain lifter).

This baffles me.  And intrigues me to no end. 

I guess it's time to replace those knee models that every orthopedic surgeon has in their office. Someone's about to make a killing selling models of "the new and improved knee".

But, beyond the potential business and marketing ideas, this intrigues me for an entirely different reason. 

The only reason surgeons even thought to look for this ligament is because of "a problem that occurred in some patients who had undergone reconstructive surgery for an injured anterior cruciate ligament, or A.C.L. Despite the repaired knees’ appearing afterward to be healthy, the joint would sometimes give way as people moved." 

They "wondered whether additional, untended knee injuries might be to blame, and if so, whether they were occurring in uncharted knee parts." 

Growing up, I used to play a lot of sports.  I tore the A.C.L. in my right knee playing soccer in eighth grade, and then tore the A.C.L. in my left knee less than a year later. 

When I tore my right A.C.L., it hurt like nothing I've ever felt before or since.  I had to stay in the hospital overnight for antibiotics due to a minor complication with the surgery.  It took a while to heal - a full month or two longer than the normal six month recovery period.  I had so many issues with the brace that I was supposed to wear when I returned to playing sports. 

When I tore my left A.C.L., I wasn't in that much pain. In fact, my doctor was shocked that I actually tore it.  Based on my level of pain and his physical exam, he was certain that I had just torn my meniscus, a much more minor injury.  Until the MRI scans came back and confirmed that I had, indeed, torn my A.C.L. Surgery was an out-patient affair, recovery was much faster, and I had no issues when returning to sports. 

Except that my left knee has continued to plague me with issues, while my right knee has been a joy to live with for these past 17 years. 

For years afterward, my left knee used to frequently "pop out" when I moved it wrong. Usually if I sat cross-legged for too long.  It's hard to describe, but it would pretty much dislocate itself.  It hurt.  I had to move very precisely to get it back to normal.  And then there was the one time that it didn't want to pop back in. That was a fun ER visit. 

My left knee required another A.C.L. surgery about 10 years after the initial one, as it had become unstable.  Running around the bases in a kickball game led it to get unbearably stiff and painful hours later. 

To this day, my left knee is the one that gives me problems.  It hurts sometimes when I run.  It feels unstable sometimes if I step wrong.  Or twist a certain way.  My left hip, and IT band, and plantar fascia all give me problems.  I've always just assumed that they were all connected, because, well, the foot bone's connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone's connected to the leg bone, the leg bone's connected to the knee bone, the knee bone's connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone's connected to the hip bone. 

And it's always been my hunch that all of these problems started with the knee. 

Meanwhile, my right knee has been the angel child this whole time. 

Both surgeries were done the same way, by the same doctor, less than a year apart.  Yet, one surgery worked perfectly, while the other has become my Achilles heal. It's always perplexed me as to how this could be.

The Belgian surgeons "think that it’s quite likely many people who tear an A.C.L. also tear an A.L.L...[and] lingering injury or weakness in this overlooked ligament could leave joints unstable."

Aha!  Now, I haven't gone to a doctor to see if this is actually what's happening to me, because I try to go to doctor's as infrequently as possible. And also because I don't really have the time or money to travel to Belgium just to go to a knee surgeon. 

But, I wonder, what if all of the issues I've experienced over the years are because of a torn A.L.L.? The ligament that nobody knew existed but has probably caused so many people so many problems. 

It almost makes me want to fly to Belgium and offer myself up as a test subject for further  research.  I'm sure that they'll find some fascinating things in there (including a Titanium screw and a cadaver Achilles tendon).  Maybe, just maybe, they'll find an A.L.L. that's been torn and not properly repaired. 

Trust me, I know that there are important medical advances that need to be made to cure various chronic and deadly diseases.  And that research into the knee is probably not very high on people's list of uses for medical funding.  People can deal with a little pain and discomfort when they walk.  They can move more slowly and be more careful how and where they step.  They can wear shoes with extra traction when it's wet or icy out and they can take pain medication and ice their joint when it hurts. 

But, even if I didn't think that these findings could potentially be beneficial to me, I'd still find this research fascinating.  I mean, it's a knee.  It seems like a relatively simple body part.  It sits midway down your leg, allowing you bend to easily sit in chairs, get in cars, walk, run, etc.  There have been countless knee surgeries and even full knee replacements done over the years.  So, you'd think surgeons pretty much had the knee down pat. 

It makes me wonder what else there still is to find out about the human body.  What other aspects of the anatomy still haven't been discovered yet.  

It also makes me realize that, while we know so much, there is still so much more to be learned.  About the body.  And nature.  And the world.  And everything that surrounds us.  

Which definitely puts a little knee pain and instability in perspective. 

But hey, science, it would still be great if you could figure that out for me.  I'd love to not have to worry that slipping a little on the wood floors is going to end with me blowing me knee out, yet again.