Medial collateral ligament calcification: a rare knee pain entity with literature review

Abstract

Medial knee pain can originate from both osseous and non-osseous soft tissue structures including medial collateral ligament (MCL), creating a raft for patients' sufferings. Previously published works demonstrated MCL calcification as a rare medial knee pain entity. Alongside physical examination, radio-imaging techniques, namely conventional X-ray, CT/MRI scanning, etc. have been reported to be useful in recognizing MCL calcification. The present study demonstrates MCL calcification in a 60-year-old Asian-Bangladeshi woman, using high frequency diagnostic ultrasonogram and is the first reported study in the literature. To have available literature review, PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Scopus databases were used.

Keywords: Medial collateral ligament; calcification; knee pain.

Fig. 1.

Image of both knees: (A) dotted line indicates area of left medial tibio-femoral joint line; (B) dotted line refers to an area of digital tenderness (2.54 cm away from A line).

Fig. 2.

X-ray left knee (antero-posterior view). Asterisk (*) indicates an area of radiological opacification at femoral condylar attachment of medial collateral ligament.

Fig. 3.

Ultrasonographic appearance of hyperechoic calcific deposit in femoral condylar attachment of left medial collateral ligament. Cal, calcification; MM, medial meniscus; MCL, medial collateral ligament; FC, femoral condyle.

Fig. 4.

Ultrasonographic appearance of hyperechoic calcific deposit in femoral condylar attachment of left medial collateral ligament. Cal, calcification; MCL, medial collateral ligament; FC, femoral condyle.