My Anterior Cruciate Ligament: My Junior Year Of High School

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

Surgical repair after ACL tear is typical for the general public and imperative for athletes to return to high-level competition. Rehabilitation after ACL surgery whether using accelerated or traditional programs focuses on regain of knee functions and functional activity progression in order to achieve preinjury activity level.

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))

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.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) of the knee is arguably one of the most notorious parts of the body in the sporting industry. When torn and repaired with surgery, it can leave an athlete out of play for up to 12 months if therapy is consistent over that time period1. There are several different ways to repair the ligament in order to regain functionality and recover stability. In any case, physical therapy plays a vital role in regaining these abilities and returning a person’s knee back to normal.

One year ago when I went through the biggest event in my life. I found out that I needed to get both discs in my jaw removed and fill the empty spots with fat grafts from my abdomen. I had no idea what to expect, so I was very scared. After a five hour surgery, I woke up to find that my jaw was rubber banded shut. I was put on a liquid diet for two weeks and was not able the open my jaw for more than fifteen minutes at a time to allow me to exercise my newly created jaw joints. I had no idea how I was going to live not being able to talk or move my jaw. It was such a difficult obstacle to overcome.

I have played soccer continuously from age 3 to 18. Four years ago, I tore my right ACL. I endured surgery and 6 months of physical therapy, then almost 2 years later to the day, I was told the same fate again. I had torn the ACL in my left knee this time. Why did this awful injury have to strike me twice? Once again, I endured the months of rehabilitation and soon returned to the field. Having to go through this twice as a teen taught me that perseverance and determination will help you achieve what you want in life. Even though I spent almost 2 years away from the field, I still made every effort to be there for my teammates. Some days I didn’t want to get out of bed because of the pain, I didn’t want to go to therapy, and I wanted to quit.

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)

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a ligament that can be found in the knee. The ACL attaches two of three bones that link to form the knee joint. These bones are the tibia, which is the larger bone in the calf area, and the femur, which is the bone found in the thigh. The third, non-connected bone is the patella, which is the kneecap that offers protection to the overall area. The knee joint houses four primary ligaments, which are separated into the following two groups. The collateral ligaments, which consist of the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and the medial collateral ligament (MCL), can be found toward the left and right of the patella. Collateral ligaments regulate sideways movements along with bracing for atypical

A torn ACL is a injury in which also is a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee. When someone tears their ACL they have to have a surgery to replace it. ACL injuries range from mild, such as a small tear, to severe such as when the ligament tears completely or when the ligament and part of the bone separate from the rest of the bone. A lot of the time some of the other knee ligaments or parts of the knee are also injured. This includes cartilage such as the menisci, or bones in the knee joint they also can be broken. Your ACL can be broken during sport activities. During an activity if your leg is planted firmly on the ground then hit by a heavy/large force it could tear the ACL. Some ways your ACL can be tore is by being bent backwards,

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.

The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) prevents anterior forward movement of the tibia off of the femur, as well as hyperextension of the knee. It provides stability to the joint and allows for a dynamic motion. It also helps the bending of the knee sideways toward the body.

In this paper I will be researching ACL injuries in sports. Along with what causes these injuries to happen, how they can be prevent and if the footwear we use as athletes can make these injuries more or less likely to happen to us. I will also be looking closely into the reoccurring ACL injury in which Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls has been suffering from for the past few years.

When someone tears their ACL, their first thought goes to getting ACL surgery, or ACLR. However, there are non-surgical treatments for special populations. Those populations are young children and older individuals. Additionally, there are alternatives to ACLR.