Sports and Injuries: Anterior Cruciate Ligament

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.

Sports are great to keep you in shape and to have fun but there is also a heavy risk of getting injured. Injuries such as pulling a hamstring or breaking an arm can lead to many complications. There are 2 injuries that are pretty common but they are some of the worst injuries. That is an ACL tear and a concussion.

Whenever an athlete participates in a sport, whether it be practice or a meet/game, they run the risk of injuring themselves. When it comes to basketball, Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries are common. ACL tears are more likely to occur in female basketball players as opposed to males. In basketball, speed, strength, and power are the most important physical qualities to develop. Sometimes an athlete may be lacking in certain areas which puts them at a greater risk for tearing their ACL.

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.

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

Mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury are numerous.These injuries plague both athletes and non athletes. ACL injury is most prevalent (1 in 1,750 persons) in patients 15-45 years of age. It is more common in this age group in part because of their more active lifestyle as well as higher participation in sports.

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,

An ACL is the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) which is a ligament in the knee and is an essential internal stabilizer of the knee joint and helps in restraining hyperextension. It is injured when it’s when the biomechanics of this ligaments limits are exceeded or over stretched, often with a hyperextended mechanic. It was thought that

Soccer. It’s a physical sport with plenty of completion, and with that comes injuries. Good morning class, today I will be talking to you about the soccer of sport, and the commonly occurring within the game, as well as talking specifically about sprained ankles and meniscus tears, and the rehabilitation processes for the two. The most common injuries within the sport of soccer are: Ankle sprains, groin pulls, hamstring strains, shin splints, and knee injuries.

Several studies have shown that female athletes have a considerably larger probability of experiencing an ACL injury than male athletes. Females who partake in high interval, vigorous, and physically demanding sports including basketball, soccer, and gymnastics have a higher risk of ACL injury. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, “female athletes who participate in jumping and pivoting sports are two to ten times more likely to sustain a knee ligament injury, than male athletes participating in the same sports.” Scholars and surgeons have suggested that females are at a higher risk of knee injury due to strength, conditioning, and neuromuscular control. Other suggested causes for increase injury in females include a narrower

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is one of the most common knee injuries in female sports today. The ACL is a ligament that attaches the femur and tibia to the knee allowing the knee to bend while still being stable and supporting the whole body. Dr. Russel F. Warren, a physician for the New York Giants football team, explains, “The ACL prevents the shin bone (tibia) from moving too far forward on the thigh bone (femur) and keeps the knee from twisting inward excessively.” When athletes tear their ACL there is a greater chance that they have hurt or another ligament in their knee such as the LCL, MCL or Meniscus; which is cartilage that absorbs shock from the body’s pressure (MedlinePlus). The ACL is strong, but one wrong move could result

Female athletes can protect themselves through many stretches and prevention programs provided by their coaches, parents and Athletic Trainers. Many ACL tears can be protected by warm- up or cool-down programs or stretching (Ritter). The solution to preventing some of the ACL injuries is a strength and flexibility programs to strengthen the hamstrings, quadriceps and the core while stabilizing the knee (Busse). Working on the athlete’s techniques such as running, jumping and landing techniques can vastly improve their chances of ACL strength and would help prevent against tears (Malamut). Using an ACL prevention program teaches athletes how to align their hips for correct form and how to jump correctly without pain and without being knock-knee.

This study was a randomized control trial in patients of 18 to 35 years of age, who presented to an emergency department with recent rational knee trauma to a previously uninjured knee within the last four weeks. Anterior cruciate ligament insufficiency was determined by clinical exam, and a score of five to nine on a tenner activity scale before the injury. 5 indicating participation in recreational sports and nine representing competitive sports. Possible participants were excluded if they had a full thickness rupture seen on magnetic resonance imaging, or if they have had a previous knee injury. (Frobell, Roos, Roos, Ranstan, & Lohmander, 2010)

This study was a randomized control trial in patients of 18 to 35 years of age, who presented to an emergency department with recent rational knee trauma to a previously uninjured knee within the last four weeks. Anterior cruciate ligament insufficiency was determined by clinical exam, and a score of five to nine on a tenner activity scale before the injury. 5 indicating participation in recreational sports and nine representing competitive sports. Possible participants were excluded if they had a full thickness rupture seen on magnetic resonance imaging, or if they have had a previous knee injury. (Frobell, Roos, Roos, Ranstan, & Lohmander, 2010)

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