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Because the knee joint relies just on ligaments and surrounding muscles for stability, it is easily injured. Direct contact to the knee or hard muscle contraction, such as changing direction rapidly while running, can injure a knee ligament. It is possible to injure two or more ligaments at the same time. Multiple injuries can have serious complications, such as disrupting blood supply to the leg or affecting nerves that supply the limb’s muscles.

Injuries to the posterior cruciate ligament are not as common as other knee ligament injuries. They are often subtle and more difficult to evaluate than other ligament injuries in the knee. Many times a posterior cruciate ligament injury occurs along with injuries to other structures in the knee, such as cartilage, other ligaments, and bone.