Conditions treated here
Ligament Injuries
Reviewed by Andrew Macdonald, Senior Physiotherapist , AHPRA registered (PHY0002098797), APA member
Last updated
Ligaments are the short, tough bands that hold your joints together and control how far each one can travel. When a joint is forced past that limit, the ligament takes the load, and the result is a sprain. It’s one of the most common injuries there is, and one where good rehabilitation makes a large and measurable difference to what happens next.
The thing worth knowing early is that a ligament does two jobs. It physically restrains the joint, and it feeds your nervous system constant information about where that joint is. Injury disrupts both, which is why a joint can feel unreliable long after it’s stopped being painful.
What causes ligament injuries
Most ligament injuries happen in a moment: a rolled ankle on an uneven surface, a knee twisting while the foot stays planted, a fall onto an outstretched hand, or a shoulder forced beyond its range. The common factor is a force pushing a joint further than the ligament can control.
The ankle is the most frequently sprained joint, usually on the outside as the foot rolls inwards, covered in detail on our ankle sprains page. At the knee, the ligaments most often involved are the ones controlling side-to-side and rotational movement, including the ACL.
Previous injury is a significant risk factor. A joint that’s been sprained before, particularly one that never regained its full control, is more likely to be sprained again, which is why the rehabilitation after a first sprain matters so much.
When to see a physiotherapist
Early assessment after a sprain is worthwhile, because it establishes which ligaments are involved and how much, and because the first fortnight shapes both the healing and how much strength and control you lose in the meantime.
Some injuries need urgent medical assessment first: an inability to bear weight, an obviously deformed joint, rapid severe swelling, or numbness below the injury. If you contact the clinic with any of these, you’ll be told the same thing and helped to get seen.
Physiotherapy treatment for ligament injuries
Andrew’s assessment tests the specific ligaments, the joint’s stability, and the strength and control around it. Treatment then progresses through stages:
- Early management of swelling and load, with clear guidance on how much to move and what to avoid while the ligament is at its most vulnerable.
- Manual therapy to restore the joint’s movement once the acute stage settles, since stiffness after a sprain is common and slows everything that follows.
- Exercise rehabilitation for strength through the muscles that support the joint, which take over some of the ligament’s stabilising work while it heals.
- Balance and control retraining, the part that restores the joint’s position sense and the reflexes that prevent the next sprain. This is the step most often skipped.
What to expect
Andrew will explain which ligaments are involved, how much, and what that means for the timeline, before treatment starts. He’ll also be clear that a joint that feels fine isn’t necessarily a joint that’s ready, and he’ll tell you what he’s testing to establish the difference.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a sprain and a strain?
A sprain is a ligament injury and a strain is a muscle injury. Ligaments connect bone to bone and control how far a joint can move, so a sprained joint often feels unstable as well as sore. Muscles move the joint, so a strain tends to hurt when you contract or stretch that muscle.
Do torn ligaments heal without surgery?
Many do. Most ankle ligament sprains and a good proportion of other ligament injuries recover well with structured rehabilitation. Some, particularly complete tears in a knee that needs to change direction under load, are more likely to need a surgical opinion. The assessment is what separates them, and Andrew will refer you with a detailed letter where that's the right next step.
Why does my ankle keep rolling after a sprain?
Because a sprain damages more than the ligament. It also disrupts the joint's position sense, the feedback that tells your brain where your foot is without looking, and that feedback is what triggers the corrections that stop a roll. Rebuilding it through balance and control work is a specific part of rehabilitation, and skipping it is the most common reason ankles keep turning.
How long does a ligament take to recover?
Ligaments heal more slowly than muscles because they have a poorer blood supply. A mild sprain can settle in a few weeks, a significant one takes months to regain full strength, and the joint's control usually needs deliberate retraining either way. Andrew will give you a timeline based on what the assessment shows rather than a general figure.
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