Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear One of the most common knee injuries Description is an anterior cruciate ligament sprain or tear. About half of all injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament occur along with Athletes who participate in high demand damage to other structures in the knee, sports like soccer, football, and such as articular cartilage, meniscus, or basketball are more likely to injure their other ligaments. anterior cruciate ligaments. Partial tears of the anterior cruciate If you have injured your anterior ligament are rare; most ACL injuries are cruciate ligament, you may require complete or near complete tears. surgery to regain full function of your knee. This will depend on several factors, such as the severity of your injury and Cause your activity level. The anterior cruciate ligament can be injured in several ways: Collateral Ligaments • Changing direction rapidly • Stopping or slowing down suddenly The medial collateral ligament is on the • Hyperextension of the knee inside and the lateral collateral ligament • Landing from a jump incorrectly is on the outside. They control the side- • Direct contact or collision, such as a to-side motion of your knee. football tackle Several studies have shown that female n Cruciate Ligaments athletes have a higher incidence of ACL 1400 Mercy Drive, Ste 100 injury than males in certain sports. It Muskegon, MI 49444 These are found inside your knee joint. has been proposed that this is due to 231-733-1326 The cruciate ligaments control the back differences in physical conditioning, n and forth mo-tion of your knee. The muscular strength, neuromuscular 1445 Sheldon Rd, Suite G1 anterior cruciate ligament runs control, and anatomy. diagonally in the middle of the knee. It Grand Haven MI 49417 prevents the tibia from sliding out in 616-296-9100 front of the femur, as well as provides www.oamkg.com rotational stability to the knee. www.wmspinecenter.com Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear [page 2] Symptoms Surgical Treatment When you injure your anterior cruciate ligament, you Reconstructing the ligament. Most ACL tears cannot be might hear a "popping" noise and you may feel your sutured (stitched) back together. To surgically repair the knee give out from under you. Other symptoms include: ACL and restore knee stability, the ligament must be • Pain and swelling reconstructed. Your doctor will replace your torn • Loss of full range of motion ligament with a tissue graft. This graft acts as a • Tenderness along the joint line scaffolding for a new ligament to grow on. • Discomfort while walking • Inability to return to sports; instability Grafts can be obtained from several sources. Usually they are taken from the patellar ten-don, hamstring tendons at the back of the thigh, quadriceps tendon, or Physical Examination and History a cadaver graft (allo-graft) can be used. During the physical examination, your doctor will There are advantages and disadvantages to all graft check all the structures of your injured knee, and sources. You should discuss graft choices with your compare them to your non-injured knee. Most ligament orthopaedic surgeon to help determine which is best for injuries can be diagnosed with a thorough physical you. examination of the knee. Because the regrowth takes time, it may be six months Imaging Tests or more before an athlete can return to sports after surgery. Other tests which may help your doctor confirm your diagnosis include: Procedure. Surgery to rebuild an anterior cruciate ligament is done with an arthroscope us-ing small X-rays. Although they will not show any injury to your incisions. The benefits of less invasive techniques anterior cruciate ligament, X-rays can show whether the include less pain from surgery, less time spent in the injury is associated with a broken bone. hospital, and quicker recovery times. MRI. This study creates better images of soft tissues like ACL reconstruction is usually not done right away. This the anterior cruciate ligament. How-ever, an MRI is delay gives the inflammation a chance to resolve, and usually not required to make the diagnosis of a torn allows a return of motion before surgery. Performing an ACL unless the examination is limited secondary to ACL reconstruction too early greatly increases the risk of pain / swelling. arthrofibrosis, or scar forming in the joint, which would risk a loss of knee motion. Treatment Treatment for an ACL tear will vary depending upon the Rehabilitation patient’s individual needs. For ex-ample, the young Whether your treatment involves surgery or not, athlete involved in agility sports will most likely require rehabilitation plays a vital role in getting you back to surgery to safely re-turn to sports. The less active, your daily activities. A physical therapy program will usually older, individual may be able to return to a help you regain knee strength and motion. quieter life-style without surgery. If you have surgery, physical therapy first focuses on Nonsurgical Treatment returning motion to the joint. This is fol-lowed by a strengthening program designed to protect the new A torn ACL will not heal without surgery. But ligament. This strengthening gradually increases the nonsurgical treatment may be effective for patients who stress across the ligament. The final phase of are older or have a very low activity level. If the overall rehabilitation is aimed at a functional return tailored for stability of the knee is in-tact, your doctor may the athlete’s sport. recommend simple, nonsurgical options. Adapted from American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. For more information, Physical therapy. As the swelling goes down, a see orthoinfo.aaos.org rehabilitation program is started. Specific exercises will AAOS does not endorse any treatments, procedures, products, or physicians. This restore function to your knee and strengthen the leg information is provided as an educational service and is not intended to serve as medical advice. Anyone seeking specific orthopaedic advice or assistance should muscles that support it. consult his or her orthopaedic surgeon. REVISED 9/19.