You may continue to be able to walk after a tear of the ACL but you may not. It is an excessive straightening of the knee, and when the force that causes the knee to hyperextend is greater than the ACL can withstand, it tears.
Think of your knee bending the wrong way. The ACL is intended to prevent hyperextension of the knee. Think of your knee collapsing inward from the side, this is a valgus stress on the knee and this is what the MCL is intended to prevent. A valgus stress is one that causes the lower leg to be in a more lateral position than is normal relative to the upper leg. The medial collateral ligament protects against extreme valgus stresses on the knee. In both cases, at the time of injury you may hear a popping sound and feel as though you have immediately lost stability in the leg. Both injuries can occur as a result of a hard blow to the knee, or a twisting or pivoting motion where the foot is planted on the ground but the body continues moving. However, there are key differences that might be able to let you know which ligament may be damaged. The causes of ACL and MCL tears are similar, and they will also exhibit similar symptoms. A medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear can even at times heal on its own without the need for surgery. It is considered worse than tearing the MCL because ACL tears are in general more complex to treat and require a longer recovery time after surgery.
While not always the case, an ACL tear is in most cases going to be the more severe injury. The MCL is located on the inner side of the knee, connecting the bottom of the thigh bone to the top of the shin bone, the tibia. The ACL is located in the interior of the knee joint and connects the bottom, back of the thigh bone (femur) to the front, top of the shin bone (tibia). The four ligaments in the knee are the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), the lateral collateral ligament (LCL), and the medial collateral ligament (MCL). A ligament connects bone to bone and protects against movements of hypermobility in the joint. Within the knee joint, there are four essential ligaments that provide stability to the knee.
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