ACL Injuries For Athletes

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) -injury is arguably the most common serious knee injury related to sports participation. Approximately 5000 individuals suffer an ACL injury in Sweden every year (Lohmander 2007). Individuals with a history of injury to their anterior cruciate ligament or menisci were shown to develop knee OA 10 to 20 years post injury (Lohmander, 2007).

With an ever increasing number of people becoming involved with athletic activities, there is an increasing number of injuries occurring which can be devastating for the individual. Most of the injuries that affect athletes occur in one of four structures in the human body: bones, muscles, tendons, or ligaments. Because ligaments attach bone to bone and play a major part in providing stability for joints, the major stabilizing ligament in the knee, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), assists in performing everyday actions of the human body including sitting, standing, walking, running, dancing, and participating in other sports. The injury that specifically affects this ligament is very serious and always

ACLs are one of the easiest injuries to get for athletes and average people alike, and a lot of people don't know what the ACL is or how to treat it until they tear it.

Breaking News! Breaking News! During the second preseason game Green Bay Packers WR Jordy Nelson tore his anterior cruciate ligament ACL. While he was actively running his routes during the game the ball was thrown his way as he planted his foot - the pop was heard like a gunshot as his knee pulled one way and the rest of his leg the other. We got more Packers injuries as we now hear that Sam Shields Packers CB has a bad concussion and is likely out for the season. Sam was tackling a player and instead of hitting the ground normally he hit his head on the ground and that caused his brain to shake inside his skull.

If you’re an athlete then you should know what an “ACL tear” is. ACL means “Anterior Cruciate Ligament.” Believe it or not, those tears often happen to pre-teens. ACL tears can be really bad, but it depends on how bad you tear it.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries comprise some of the highest incidents in athletic injuries, comprising up to a total of 3-5% (1) with nearly 70% coming from non-contact mechanisms. (2,3) Moreover, these injuries can lead to loss of time on the field in around 88% of the time (1). There is a substantial difference in gender as well, with female athletes being of higher risk to sustain an ACL injury. (4, 5, 6) Overall, ACL injuries can lead to early sport terminaton in athletes as well as serious disabilities in the non-athletic population (7).(Siegel’s anatomy, physiology, and pathol….(29))

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament also known as the ACL is deemed the most commonly torn ligament in the knee and can result from both contact and noncontact injuries. Most Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries result from an extreme force on the lateral side of the person’s knee causing a valgus force which pushes the knee inward (Kisner & Colby, 2012, pp. 802-803). This injury to the side of the knee can also cause a “Terrible Triad” injury which also injures both the medial meniscus and the medial collateral ligament (Kisner & Colby, 2012, p. 803). Our textbook further states that “the most common noncontact mechanism is a rotational mechanism in which the tibia is externally rotated on the planted foot….this mechanism can account for as many as 78% of all ACL injuries” (Kisner & Colby, 2012, p. 803). If the person does not seek medical help with this injury they are susceptible to also injuring the remaining support ligaments as well. Patients usually present with joint effusion; possibly 25 degrees of flexion, joint swelling if blood vessels are involved, limited ROM, stress pain and instability along with quads avoidance gait patterns (Kisner & Colby, 2011, p. 208)

There are different techniques that repair a torn ACL. The popular method for surgeons is the patellar tendon graft procedure. This type of ACL replacement uses the middle third of the person’s own patellar tendon and replacing the damage tendon with it. The advantages are that the fixation is very strong and the patellar tendon replacing

When an ACL tears it can be one of the most painful injuries and experiences an athlete can have in their sports career and is one of the worst muscles to be torn. ACL injuries most often occur during sporting events that involve sudden stops, jumping, awkward landings, “out of control play”, and sharp cuts- such as basketball, soccer, football, tennis, downhill skiing, volleyball, lacrosse, and gymnastics. When an injury to the ACL occurs, most people hear or feel a popping sensation in the knee.”I landed with my left knee locked, only to hear something akin to the popping of a paper bag filled with air or the snapping of a large rubber band, a sound so weirdly powerful that I couldn’t believe it was coming from inside my body”, said Mike Swift in his article about ACL tears in the Hartford Courant newspaper, as he describes how it felt when he tore his ACL playing basketball. Along with the popping sensation the knee may also swell, and feel unstable and become too painful to bear weight on it. When an ACL tears it can bring an extreme amount of pain to the person. “Still, even after the swelling subsided, my knee didn’t feel right”, also said by Mike Swift in his article. When an ACL tears it can either be really painful right then and there or you won’t even feel pain at all. “I had felt the bones separate inside the joint in a way they never had before. But I wasn’t

An injury to the ACL is classified as a sprain. A sprain is a joint injury that causes a stretch or a tear in a ligament. Sprains are graded I, II, or III depending on how severe the injury is. A grade I sprain will have pain with minimal damage to the ligaments. A grade II sprain is going to have more ligament damage and mild looseness of the joint. Finally, in a grade III sprain, the ligament is completely torn and the joint is very loose or unstable. A grade III sprain, simply called an ACL tear, is most often a sports-related injury. Still, The ACL can be torn in other instances such as during rough play, vehicular collisions, falls, and work –related injuries. According to a study performed by Jonathan Cluett, M.D., about 80% of sports-related ACL tears are “non-contact” injuries. This means that the injury does not result from any contact with another athlete. A rupture to the ACL is the result of the ligament within the knee being overstretched. This is usually caused by a “plant-pivot” mechanism (a stop and twist motion) of the knee, or a blunt force to the front of the knee. Other factors include quick changes of motion, twisting or torquing, or landing from a jump. Hyperextension is most

This essay deals with the current treatments, rehabilitation procedures and onsets following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Within this essay, there will be information including the causes, characteristics, and symptoms of ACL injuries. Throughout the United States, there are estimated to be 200,000 ACL injuries per year with 100,000 of those injuries being treated through ACL reconstruction (Evans, Shaginaw, & Bartolozz, 2014). With a satisfactory ACL reconstruction outcome between 75%-97%. From the 10%-15% failure rate of ACL reconstruction, the primary fault is due to technical mistakes at 70% (Samitier, Marcano, Alentorn-Geli, Cugot, Former, & Moser,

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the four main ligaments in the knee joint that connect it to the shin bone (tibia) and thigh bone (femur). It 's located deep within the joint, behind the kneecap (patella), above the shinbone, and below the thighbone. The ACL lies diagonally across the middle of the knee and plays a role in keeping the knee stable during movement. Partial tears of the ACL can occur, but are rare. Most ACL tears are either near-completes or complete tears. After experiencing an ACL tear, an athlete has a 15 times

These boots move the forces caused by a fall to the knee rather than the ankle or lower leg. The ACL injury usually occurs when the knee is forcefully twisted, or hyper-extended. Many patients recall hearing a loud pop when the ligament tears, and feel the knee give way. This injury has received a great deal of attention from orthopedic surgeons over the past 15 years and very successful operations to reconstruct the torn anterior cruciate ligament have been performed.

A torn ACL is one of the most serious and common knee injuries. Many aspects play a role in the treatment and rehabilitation of this injury. This paper will discuss the anatomy of the knee, describe a torn ACL, and the rehabilitation.

The ACL is the most common knee ligament to get injured. The ACL injury causes from taking a hard hit on