ACL Injury Analysis

Studies have also shown that women in particular, unfortunately have a disadvantage in life when compared to male counterparts, and that is one pertaining to their higher risk for ACL injury. Due to a neuromuscular imbalance that is concomitant with overactive quadriceps strength compared to hamstring strength, females tend to place more stress on the ACL. Accordingly, this increases the pressure on the ACL leading to a higher prevalence of injury that will arise more on the female spectrum than that of the male (Myer et al., 2009). Furthermore, this is important to be aware of for female athletes and for the Physical Therapists who treat them in efforts to provide educational information regarding the relationship of stronger hamstrings correlating to a lesser chance of ACL injury. Personally, I have worked with athletic females in the past as a personal trainer and while I was not strengthening hamstrings with the direct objective to prevent an ACL injury, I was cognizant of the notion that a balanced quadriceps and hamstring ratio was necessary to avoid lower extremity injuries as a

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and the Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) are located inside the knee joint. The ACL and PCL form an ‘X’ behind the kneecap (patella), with the ACL resting in front of the PCL. Both of these ligaments are responsible for controlling the back and forth motion of the knee joint; however, the ACL is responsible for stabilizing the kneecap ). In addition, the ACL is responsible for preventing the shin bone (tibia) from sliding forward on the thigh bone (femur). The ACL provides the knee with stability while an individual pivots or twists. This ligament is critical because without it, performing any kind of rotational activity is impossible, particularly when it comes to playing sports like soccer and basketball.

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

The ACL originates from the medial and anterior aspect of the tibial plateau and runs superiorly, laterally, and posteriorly toward its insertion on the lateral femoral condyle. Together with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), the ACL guides the instantaneous center of rotation of the knee, therefore controlling joint kinematics. To a lesser degree, the ACL checks extension and hyperextension. The ACL is not as strong as the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and it is less strong at its femoral origin than at its tibial insertion. Muscles surrounding the knee joint contribute to knee stabilization during lower extremity movements.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament “…is a primary restraint to anterior drawer of the tibia” (Halewood & Amis, 2015, p. 2790) which means that it keeps the tibia from moving too far forward. Providing controlled extension, it is also a primary player in knee stability (Kisner & Colby, 2012, p. 803). It

ACLR is commonly linked to osteoarthritis, whether it is believed to be caused by the BPTB graft (Li et al. 2011) or abnormal knee motion arising from ACLR itself (Scanlan et al. 2010). ACL rupture is also believed to be a cause of psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and fear of re-injury, which is harmful to athletes attempting to return to their previous level of sports performance (Ardern et al. 2012).

The overall objectives that were taken under consideration included nearly all aspects in regards to functionality of the knee (14). Many studies have placed patients recovering from ACL reconstruction on rehab regimens with the hope to improve various aspects concerned with how well and at what levels the knee can function. Treatment programs, accelerated or non-accelerated commonly encompass similar exercises and physical activity such as stretching, strength training, and activation of muscles through electrical stimulation. The intensity and general progression of therapy is where the two significantly contrast. With the use of weight bearing exercises, or strength training within the accelerated regimen, it has been proven to limit muscle weakness as a consequence of immobilization after surgery. Shelbourne carried out this method of intervention every week, 2-3 times per week, while progressively increasing weight and the degrees to which the knee was stretched. The results were assessed using The Cybex Isokinetic Device, a

When an ACL is torn there is usually a whip-like snap of the lower extremity that can be observed as the ACL tears (Ireland, 1999, p.152). In visualizing this high-risk ”position of no return,” we comprehend the importance of a “get-down” knee-flexed, 2-footed balanced position (Ireland, 1999). In the no-return position, the hip abductors and extensors have shut down, and the pelvis and hip are uncontrolled.

The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is one of four ligaments to connect the thigh bone to the shin bone. The ACL stabilize the knee, controls excessive movement, and limits joint mobility. The ACL is primarily for the forward motion when walking, running, and jumping. Without the ACL the thighbone would constantly dislocate from the shin bone.

The majority of ACL injuries happen during athletic tasks with no external contact to the knee joint. This non-contact nature proves that these injuries are caused by abnormal movement which can possibly be changed through training. Understanding the pattern of movement for non-contact ACL injuries provides beneficial information for how to develop different strategies to train. A great effort has been made to identify risk factors for non-contact ACL injury by using different practices over the past 2 decades. An important strategy in particular used to identify movement characteristics during injuries is the analysis of video records of ACL injury cases. Cochrane et al analyzed video records of 34 ACL injury cases in Australian football (2007).

In landing, player’s decccelerating with minimal knee and hip flexion, using quadriceps pattern to stabilise the knee .The eccentric contraction of the quadriceps muscle will try to translate the tibia anteriorly and produce force beyond that required for tensile failure of ACL, as ACL trys to prevent anterior translation of tibia and work against the quadriceps.

ACL injuries used to be seen as career ending injuries 50 years ago, however, throughout the years with the advancement in technology aiding treatment and rehabilitation procedures. Yet they are still sever and take months to recover. This is because of the precise location of the ligament within the knee joint. Resulting in no blood clot formation within the joint as a consequence scar tissue will not form and the tissue will just be filled with uncontrolled blood leading to swelling an pain within the joint (ACL reconstruction Oxford university hospital, 2017) which is why it takes between 9 to 12 months for recovery. With an ACL injury, other injuries often follow, namely MCL injuries and meniscal lesions which in time would likely lead to the patient contracting osteoarthritis due to it being a degenerative disorder consequently resulting from the meniscal and

This was performed on an examination couch with the subject supine. A goniometer was used to measure the angle of knee flexion, where the point of rotation was positioned in line with the lateral epicondyle of the femur, and the stationary arm in line with the greater trochanter and midline of the femur. The moving arm was aligned with the lateral malleolus and midline of the fibula. 0o = full extension. An average of both knee flexion angles was taken.

Anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) is the most common knee related injury. (Agel, Arendt, & Bershadsky, 2005) The purpose of the literature review is to identify if ACL reconstruction gives patients the highest chance of returning to their pre-injury level of activity. Using various search engines, such as Cochrane, EBSCO Host, Medline, Toronto Notes 2014, and UpToDate, the following keywords were applied anterior cruciate ligament injury, ACL reconstruction, ACL rehabilitation, ACL injury outcomes. With this several appropriate research papers where found that help discuss this topic. Results have shown that surgical measures have shown the best outcomes for patient that want to return for a high level of activity, but for patients

The sport I have chosen is soccer, soccer is the most popular sport in the world as every country in the world plays soccer. Soccer has many injuries as the high tempo of the game kills the athletes bones, but one of the most common injuries in soccer is the anterior cruciate ligament. Anterior Cruciate ligament also know as ACL is a heartbreaking knee injury to the athlete which puts them out for years. This injury occurs when the athlete has done overtraining and has worked to hard on his knees in sports such as soccer which leads to this devastating injury. The symptoms of this injury is when the athlete is running and he/she hears a popping sound, the knee buckles up ,feels wobbly,mil meted knee movement, knee swelling in the first couple of hours and pain of the outside of the knee.