When the Bears were defeated by their league rivals, the Green Bay Packers, many Bears fans were left wondering, what is an MCL Sprain? The sports medicine experts of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush were featured on various Chicago media stations to discuss MCL sprains, the injury that sidelined the Bears' quarterback early in the third quarter of the NFC Championship game.

Cutler's injury occurred in the first half of Sunday's game, and, according to coach Lovie Smith, he suffered a Grade II MCL sprain. Dr. Charles Bush-Joseph, Dr. Bernie Bach, Dr. Brian Cole and Dr. Nikhil Verma described MCL sprains as a tear in the medial collateral ligament, a ligament that attaches to the femur and the tibia and runs across the inside of the knee. There are variations of MCL sprains categorized into three grades. Grade I is when there is microscopic tearing of the ligament. Grade II occurs when 50-60 percent of the tissue is torn, and the ligament is elongated. Grade III is when all fibers are ruptured, and the ligament is completely disconnected.

To learn more about the injury, treatment and recovery see the interviews below.

Chicago Tribune - Cutler suffers Grade II MCL tear, won't need surgery

ABC7News - Docs say Cutler sprained MCL in knee

WSCR Radio - Dr. Cole Discusses MCL Sprains

Watch Dr. Verma discuss MCL injuries on WGN

Watch Dr. Bach's interview on Comcast Sportsnet