Injuries Athletic Therapists Treat- A Monthly Series
Welcome to our monthly series!
Our goal is to share with YOU how Athletic Therapy can help you recover from common injuries you or a loved one may be experiencing. Each month will showcase and discuss a new condition athletic therapists see and treat each day
Enjoy!
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear
What is the Anterior Cruciate Ligament?
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is found deep inside the knee and is comprised of 3 twisted bands of fibers. While it’s an important ligament for knee stability, in general, there are 2 actions of the ACL: prevent the femur (upper leg bone) from moving backwards on the lower leg bone (tibia), and to keep the tibia from excessive internal rotation. Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament is considered to be the most serious ligament knee injury to the knee.
How Does the ACL get injured?
Injury to the ACL can occur either from a direct blow to the knee or from a non-contact injury. A non-contact injury occurs when the lower leg is rotated while the foot is planted in place. An example of this would be an athlete who is running fast, suddenly decelerates and makes a sharp cutting motion to change direction. The ACL can be completely or partially torn with either occurrence.
Females have an increased risk to tear their ACL (up to 8x more likely compared to males), which can be attributed to a combination of anatomical, environmental, hormonal, and biomechanical differences.
Signs & Symptoms of an ACL tear
- Person will describe feeling a ‘pop’ or ‘snap’ in their knee
- Immediate pain
- Immediate swelling (within 4-8 hrs)
- Inability to fully straighten the knee
- Bleeding into the knee joint
- Inability to weight-bear on the affected leg
- Instability or the feeling of “giving way” at the knee joint
Diagnosis & Treatment
An ACL tear is not a career or sport ending injury, but it does take time to recover from. Early diagnosis is key along with proper treatment, with the possibility of surgery. Seeing an educated health-care professional, such as a certified athletic therapist to get properly diagnosed is important. Often a physical exam, along with special knee tests is enough to confirm an ACL tear, however further testing with an x-ray (rule out bony fracture) and MRI may be requested.
Treatment options include surgical to reconstruct the ACL, and non-surgical. The severity of the injury, age of the patient, the patient’s activity and a host of other factors are all taken into consideration to whether or not surgery is required. Non-surgical treatment may include a custom ACL brace combined with conservative treatment to decrease the swelling, regain full range of motion and exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee. If surgery is required, during the reconstruction the damaged ligament is removed and replaced with a graft-a tissue that is similar to the ligament. After surgery a rigorous course of rehabilitation is required to restore stability and function back to the knee.
Have you suffered a knee injury? Are you wondering if you have torn your anterior cruciate ligament? Okanagan Athletic Therapy can diagnose, provide treatment and get you back on the road to recovery. Contact us today to book your appointment!