Anterior Cruciate Ligament (Acl) Injury

Anterior cruciate ligament is one of the four major knee ligament. It is the central ligament in the middle of the knee. It helps in controlling the rotation of your knees and in anything that involves jumping, twisting, running. It also helps in stabilizing our knees. So when there is a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament, it is known as ACL injury. It is most commonly seen in young athletes and in people who are highly into skiing, tennis, squash, football, and rugby, exercising and high intense physical workouts.

CAUSES:

• Landing incorrectly from a jump
• Extending our leg too much in the forward direction
• Suddenly stopping during high intensity physical activity.
• Sudden collision.
• Sudden pivoting during sports activity
• Injury or accidents due to automobile accidents
• Neuromuscular factors
• The anatomical factor of the knee joint.

SYMPTOMS:

• Immediate swelling will be developed within the first hours of the injury.
• A snap or a pop sound can be heard.
• Pain can be so severe that it can be intolerable.
• Inability to bear weight on the leg.
• Instability of the knee
• Not able to take your knee forward
• Not able to rotate your knees depending on the severity.

DIAGNOSIS:

• Thorough physical examination can be done by the physician to assess the amount of motion present and to see if the ACL is torn.
• ACL tears are found in association with the injury
• Radiological evaluation is done by MRI to scan the knee to see the extent of severity. The scan is useful for evaluating the cartilage or meniscus tissue
• Lachman test is the best test ACL tears.
• There are three types of ACL injury depending on the severity:
• Grade 1 – mild damage but still adequate stability
• Grade 2- rare and the Anterior cruciate ligament is partially torn,
• Grade 3 –ACL is torn completely in half and there is no stability to the knee joint.

TREATMENT:

• Orthopedic surgeons recommend non-operative treatment that includes a brace, rehabilitation, and sports restriction until skeletal maturation occurs.
• Surgery is definitely the best treatment for athletes via transphyseal technique. Before surgery, the patient’s skeletal and physiological age must be assessed.
• Another surgical option includes hamstring tendon grafts.
• Rehabilitation after ACL surgery is very important which includes a full extension, gradual weight bearing, active range of motion and strengthening of our quadriceps, hamstrings and hip and core area is required.
• Various training exercises such as plyometric and closed chain strengthening exercises.
• Functional bracing after ACL reconstruction is an important step.
• Neuromuscular training programs are required to reduce the already injured knee.
• Ice packs and antibiotics and analgesics like ibuprofen can be used to decrease swelling and pain under prescription.

PREVENTION:

• The first step is to improve and target the weak muscle area and strengthen them.
• Try to strengthen the hamstring and gluteus maximus muscles is required to increase the range of motion.
• Rehabilitation efforts under a physical therapist are a must to fasten the result.
• Specific training that includes jump training and learning how to pivot properly can be given to adolescence to prevent the risk of an ACL injury.
• Athletes should wear knee braces to prevent an injury to the knee.
• Proprioceptive training such as the use of wobble –board to improve the muscle strength, balance and reaction times.
• High intensity jumping plyometric exercises is recommended to prevent any tear or injury to the Anterior cruciate ligament.
• Before any high-intensity exercise try to warm up by moving the knee forward and backward gradually.