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))
Each year, approximately a quarter of a million physically active young people experience an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and seventy percent of these ACL injuries will be sustained while engaging in non-contact activities such as sudden deceleration while landing (Begalle et al., 2012). This type of injury is grossly detrimental not only on the occasion in which it occurs but also for the subsequent years to come. The majority of individuals who injure their ACL also go on to either, re-injure that same ACL, or injure the opposite knee. Furthermore, our bodies are put in tremendously vulnerable planes of motion during sporting events, especially during activities such as, basketball, football, or soccer. In this day
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 injury becomes more prone to injured as sports increases. Female counterparts have been found the more susceptible than males. Many reasons suggesting for injury intrinsic as well as extrinsic factors.
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).
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)
Every Tuesday and Thursday, Dr. Alpert wakes up at 6:30 AM, which allows him enough time to brew his morning coffee and prepare for the day all before making his first cut in the operating room at 8:00 AM. He performs his surgeries at either Ashton Surgical Center in Hoffman Estates, IL on Tuesday, or at Algonquin Road Surgical Center in Lake In the Hills, IL on Thursday. “I typically have surgeries from eight in the morning to about two in the afternoon, which allows three to five patients per day depending on the procedure. Every time I have an ACL reconstruction, I turn on my some of my favorite oldies music to get me in the groove.” During a typical ACL reconstruction, Dr. Alpert scrapes out the old, ruptured ACL and swaps it with a graft that is most commonly obtained from the hamstring or the patellar tendon. “I prefer to use the hamstring, especially with women. The procedure classically takes about an hour and a half to complete, and the patient is able to start rehab the next day. With ACL tears being such a frequent injury among female athletes, particularly in non-contact sports, it is currently being researched just why that is.”
Anterior cruciate ligament injury is a common injury, especially among athletes. There are several factors that contribute to the likelihood of ACL rupture. These factors can be genetic, environmental, structural, and behavioral. Reconstruction is the best option for those wishing to be able to participate in physical activity again. The autograft, a graft taken from the individual, is the most common choice. The graft can be taken from the patellar bone or the hamstring tendon. Each graft has distinct advantages and disadvantages. ACLR also has physical effects including knee pain, decrease in athletic ability at high intensity levels, and osteoarthritis.
There have been higher incidences of serious knee injuries among female sports, especially those that include jumping and pivoting. In particular, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury rates are more commonly found in female sports. Previous research has shown ACL injuries are primarily due to noncontact mechanisms that include sudden deceleration, landing, and pivoting maneuvers (Mihata, Beutler, & Boden, 2006; Yu & Garrett, 2007). High-risk sports such as basketball and soccer expose athletes to these potential injuring forces. Despite the many similarities between male and female sports, females often have a higher rate of ACL injures (Mihata et al., 2006).
The anterior cruciate ligament, more commonly known as ACL, is the most common knee ligament injury. An ACL injury mainly affects athletes or those participating in athletic activities. Over the years, sports have become more popular which has led to an increase in ACL injuries. This increase led orthopedic surgeons to create many operations over the past fifteen years that reconstruct this ligament.
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,
INCREASE IN TEARS Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are receiving a great deal of notice because of the incidence of injury that occurs not only in the athletic population but also in those individuals who are recreationally active (Russell, 2006). Each year in the United States there are approximately 250,000 ACL injuries. This is approximately 1 in 3,000 in the general population (Boden, 2000). Of these injuries, about 175,000 require reconstructive surgery. These surgeries had an estimated cost of over two billion dollars annually in the United States (Yu, 2007). These statistics alone make it obvious that this injury occurs very often. The ACL is one of the most commonly disrupted ligaments in the knee. While the prevalence of the injury has increased, so has the number of athletes in the world since ACL injury research first began. Women are now allowed to participate in sports and new sports are being participated in
If instability is evident then the menisci will get injured sooner or later which will set the scene for progressive, degenerative, arthritis of the knee. You can usually tell when an ACL in jury has happened because you will hear or feel a pop during a twisting movement or a fast deceleration which will also come with the inability to continue participation. Which will then be followed by swelling, this is said to indicate a 90% probability of rupture of the ACL. These injuries occur mostly when an individual suddenly stops or plants their foot hard into the ground like a cutting motion, also ACL Failure has been linked to heavy or stiff-legged landing, which can cause the knee rotation while landing, mainly when the knee in put into an abnormal position. Like I said before women or three times more likely to suffer one of these injuries than males, especially in sports such as; association football, Basketball and Tennis. This has been linked with the differences in anatomy because of gender, muscular strength, the reaction time of muscle contraction and coordination. Also training techniques are linked to this. A female’s pelvis is relatively wider than that of males, requiring the angle of the femur to turn towards the knees. The role of genetics is still an ongoing study and is speculative. Many cases of athletes landing flat on their heels has been a common occurrence. As this can cause the tibia to be force into the knee,
Several recent studies demonstrate that the rate of ACL injuries among women can be significantly reduced by following proper neuromuscular training (NMT) and conditioning programs.
There are many important parts in your body, and the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) is one of the most important part to your leg and fitness. The ACL gives the knee its stability and many injuries can happen to this part of the body, so people with these injuries often visit rehabilitation(rehab) therapy for faster recovery. This is one of the most common athletic injuries. Mostly teens, who play sports, get these injuries. A pop usually indicates that the ACL is torn. Many people come to rehab therapy, and even with this special treatment, it takes a very long time for full restoration. The torn ACL not only affects certain parts of your body, but also affects several parts that can cause more severe injuries.