During the clinical examination of an LCL injury, which finding is most typical?

• A. Pain and possible laxity with varus stress test
• B. Tenderness over the LCL
• C. Typically normal ROM
• D. May see a positive stroke test for swelling

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is that an isolated LCL injury tends to spare knee motion. The lateral collateral ligament sits on the outer side of the knee and its job is to resist sideways (varus) opening, not to control how the joint bends and straightens. So, even when the ligament is torn or sprained, the knee often still moves through its normal range of motion. You may find tenderness along the LCL and, if the ligament is injured, some laxity on a varus stress test, but the range of motion typically remains full unless there’s accompanying swelling or another structure injury.

Swelling can occur with knee injuries, which could make a stroke test for effusion positive, but that finding isn’t specific to LCL injury and isn’t as consistently present as preserved ROM in isolated cases. Tenderness over the LCL is common, and a positive varus stress test with laxity can indicate injury, but the most consistent single finding across many isolated LCL sprains is that the knee’s range of motion remains normal.