Damage to the posterior cruciate ligament only occurs after it has been subjected to very great force, e.g. after a car or sporting accident.
Although it is structurally just as strong as the posterior cruciate ligament, the anterior cruciate ligament is injured far more often, either with a complete tear (complete cruciate ligament rupture) or the tearing of individual fibres (partial cruciate band rupture).
A cruciate ligament rupture is an injury that is very often associated with contact sports. Judo, football, skiing and similar types of sport are especially injury-prone. The damage usually occurs when the knee bends inwards whilst the upper body tips backwards. The fibres very often rupture where the ligament is attached to the thigh bone (femur).
Another reason for an injury is a congenital deformity of the cruciate ligament that keeps the ligament under constant tension so that it ruptures at the slightest provocation.
Patients suffer pain in the knee – in some cases extremely severe – and the joint usually swells up within the first few hours. Another symptom is joint effusion.