Ben Roethlisberger suffered an injury in the October 10, 2005 game against the San Diego Chargers. He writhed around in pain on the ground before trainers came out to look at him. He couldn't walk under his own power and appeared to be laboring. Later, the diagnosis was in and it was a hyperextended knee. Sounds gruesome, right? Well, it really isn't that bad.

Causing a lot of pain, a hyperextended knee is easy to define. It's a knee that has been bent in the wrong direction more degrees than it should be. For instance, your knee joint is usually straight and can bend 90 degrees. In a hyperextended knee it has bent more than that in the opposite direction. When you sit down in a chair your knee bends towards the floor. With a hyperextended knee it would bend the other direction. Ouch.

The knee joint handles a large load and can take an undue amount of stress.

Most hyperextended knees come from:

• Landing awkwardly after a jump
• Trauma to the knee
• Opposite movement of the knee joint

Treatment depends on the severity. You can simply strain the strain the knee joint, but more serious cases of a hyperextended knee can ligament or tendon tears.

Hyperextended knee treatment options include:

1. Stretching
2. Ice and heat
3. Physical therapy
4. Surgery

The time to heal from a hyperextended knee depends on the initial damage and can range from one week to three months.