Can someone tell me what an MCL sprain means?

The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is one of four ligaments that are critical to the stability of the knee joint. A ligament is made of tough fibrous material and functions to control excessive motion by limiting joint mobility. The four major stabilizing ligaments of the knee are the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments (ACL and PCL, respectively), and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments (MCL and LCL, respectively).

The MCL spans the distance from the end of the femur (thigh bone) to the top of the tibia (shin bone) and is on the inside of the knee joint. The MCL resists widening of the inside of the joint, or prevents “opening-up” of the knee.
MCL Injuries

Because the MCL resists widening of the inside of the knee joint, the ligament is usually injured when the outside of the knee joint is struck. This force causes the outside of the knee to buckle, and the inside to widen. When the MCL is stretched too far, it is susceptible to tearing and injury. This is the injury seen by the action of “clipping” in a football game.

An injury to the MCL may occur as an isolated injury, or it may be part of a complex injury to the knee. Other ligaments, most commonly the ACL, or the meniscus, may be torn along with a MCL injury.

Symptoms of MCL Tears
The most common symptom following an MCL injury is pain directly over the ligament. Swelling over the torn ligament may appear, and bruising and generalized joint swelling are common 1 to 2 days after the injury. In more severe injuries, patients may complain that the knee feels unstable, or feel as though their knee may ‘give out’ or buckle.

Symptoms of a MCL injury tend to correlate with the extent of the injury. MCL injuries are usually graded on a scale of I to III.

Grade I MCL Tear
This is an incomplete tear of the MCL. The tendon is still in continuity, and the symptoms are usually minimal. Patients usually complain of pain with pressure on the MCL, and may be able to return to their sport very quickly. Most athletes miss 1-2 weeks of play.

Grade II MCL Tear
Grade II injuries are also considered incomplete tears of the MCL. These patients may complain of instability when attempting to cut or pivot. The pain and swelling is more significant, and usually a period of 3-4 weeks of rest is necessary.

Grade III MCL Tear
A grade III injury is a complete tear of the MCL. Patients have significant pain and swelling, and often have difficulty bending the knee. Instability, or giving out, is a common finding with grade III MCL tears. A knee brace or a knee immobilizer is usually needed for comfort, and healing may take 6 weeks or longer.

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/kneeinjuries/a/mclinjury.htm

Nothing like what Booth suffered. A sprain should heal fully, there’s some damage but not enough to fully tear anything. Of course, this is always subject to the quality of the rehab, rushing back too soon, etc., etc. As far as I know, sprains don’t predispose you to get them any easier. So short answer is yes, Booth should be 100% or close to it.

ACL tears like Sturm’s and Franzen’s require reconstructive surgery, where a graft is required – torn ACLs can’t be repaired.

But I’ve sprained and torn ligaments so I have a little knowledge (the most dangerous kind I know). My understanding from my experience is that when I sprained my knee ligaments it means they had been stretched past the point they are meant to. Unlike muscles, ligaments don’t repair. Think of a belt in an engine, they stretch but if they get too stretched they don’t return to the same form. So he’ll probably end up with long term problems in his knee but short term I think he should expect a full recovery since he can strengthen the supporting muscles around them. At least that’s my understanding listening to Dr’s and feeling the recovery. Although that was over 10 years ago and I was in Europe so the Dr’s Booth are dealing with are on a whole different level.