ACL Tears

An ACL or Anterior Cruciate Ligament tear is one of the most common knee injuries caused to sportsperson. It is a sprain or tear of the ACL, a significant knee ligament. You may encounter ACL tears if you are into sports that involve jumping, landing sudden changes in direction or stop, such as basketball, soccer, downhill skiing, and football. You will hear a pop in the knee during an ACL tear. Severe ACL tears require quick treatment that includes proper rest and rehabilitation to regain stability and strength.

If the conventional methods fail to work for the injury, you may need to undergo surgery.

Causes

• Sudden stops or change in direction during sports
• An awkward landing from a jump
• A strong collision or a direct blow to the knee
• Pivoting with a firmly planted foot

Symptoms

• Pain
• Swelling
• Loss of range of motion in your knee
• A popping sensation in the knee as the ACL tears
• Instability of the affected knee

Diagnosis

• X-rays
• MRI

Treatment

The most suitable treatment option for an ACL tear is decided considering the extent of the injury and patient’s needs. If you are a young athlete playing agility sports, you will need surgery to get back to the sport safely. In the case of less active, older adults, there is no need for surgery as they lead a quieter lifestyle.

Non-surgical Treatments

Non-surgical treatments can be a good way of treating ACL tears in older adults who live with a low activity level. Some of the preferred methods include:

Braces: Your orthopedist may provide you with braces to give total protection to your knee against instability. You may even need to use crutches to avoid putting excessive weight on the affected leg

Physical therapy: The physiotherapist will suggest a proper rehabilitation program to restore knee functionality and strengthen the muscles of your legs.

Surgical Treatments

Ligament reconstruction: It is not possible to perform sutures to get the ACL tears back together. To restore the stability in your knee, the surgeon will reconstruct the ligament surgically. They will replace the torn ligament with a tissue graft to allow the growth of a new ligament. Mostly grafts are taken from the tendon in the knee cap, running to the shin bone. Some orthopedists also use hamstring tendons from the back of your thigh. The surgery involves arthroscopy as it is less invasive and get you faster recovery times.

Your orthopedic surgeon will discuss the pros and cons of the graft sources to finalize the best one for you.

Know about the best treatment option for your ACL tears from renowned orthopedist Dr TDR Reddy.