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 …show more content…
Grade one strains/tears being the mildest and grade three strains/tears being the most extreme. The ligament has experienced trivial damage in a grade one sprain by that of a minor strain, but is still able to offer substantial stability to the knee joint. A grade two sprain, also known as a partial tear of the ligament, overstretches the ligament to the point where it loses its tautness. Grade three sprains, most commonly referred to as a “complete tear” of the ligament, splits the ligament into two pieces, leaving the knee joint hardly stable. Partial tears of the ACL are infrequent; most ACL injuries are complete or near complete tears.
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
A Torn ACL is also known as a Sprained ACL. It's common for ACL injuries to be injured along with another knee injury like a meniscus or MCL tear. ACL tear's are categorized on a grading scale of 1, 2, and 3. Grade 1 tears are typically just a partial
The ACL is the Anterior Cruciate Ligament is in the front of the knee and serves a few purposes such as being in control of the knee twisting and keeps the tibia from going over the femur, and keeps the knee from hyperextending.
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
An ACL tear is among the most common knee injury reported. This injury involves a breakage of the fibers making up the ACL. Sometimes, the entire Anterior Cruciate Ligament is torn; whereas, other times it is just partially torn.
There are several factors that explain why more females tear their ACLs. One factor could be the lack of equipment that women get for their sports. Baker explains that
There have been many studies done to explain the higher rate of ACL injury in female athletes. The most convincing findings relate to knee kinematics and neuromuscular control. In a study of 20 subjects (10 male and 10 female) forces from jump tasks were recorded using 3-D videography and force plates. One conclusion from the study was that force on the ACL was greatest during the landing phase of a jump tasks. Females frequently showed more leg extension and valgus movements during the landing phase, which also puts more stress on the ACL (Chappel et all, 2002). A similar study found that internal rotation combined with valgus movement creates
In recent years is has become one of the most rehabilitated ligament is in the body right up there with the bicep tendon. Over the past few years anterior cruciate ligament injuries have increased and are spreading across different age and gender lines. Most of the ACL injuries that we see can be classified as a contact injury. I use a contact injury here to mean that two people or even a person and an object, such as a ball, collide with a massive force and cause the movement of the knee in a way that tears the ligament. An example of this would be when two soccer players collide as they are going for the ball and the force of player one hits player two on the back of the knee causing the tibia to move in that anterior motion further than the limits of the anterior cruciate ligament and causing the tear. The fix for this is through surgery known and an ACL Reconstruction.
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.
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,
Non-contact ACL tears are more common in sports that require jumping and pivoting. (Washington, 2009, pg. 1)
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.
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))
In recent years, there is an increase number in the women’s participation in different sports led to a rise in non contact ACL injuries. Team sports such as soccer, basketball, volleyball are known for require lower extremity dynamic stability for patterns of movements like cutting, jumping, accelerating-decelerating[1].80,000-2,50,000 ACL injury occurs annually in the USA [20]. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries happen more commonly in knee joint injuries which are almost 50% of total. Along with it this injury affects even after 10 years to the chronic pain in knee and osteoarthritis [29].Female athletes who involved in different sports are 4-6 time higher than males for getting ACL injury [30, 1, 19, 20].
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is a common sports injury occurs widely in the USA with the majority of suffered by healthy individuals with 70%of non contact period, during variety of movements such as jump landing, cutting and pivoting (9). Different risk factors should be considered for injury such as environmental, hormonal and biomechanical (8, 1). ACL injury prevalence is very high in soccer as well as other sports in females compared with males (15). Anterior shear force, valgus collapse, quadriceps to hamstring strength ratio (9, 11, 16, 6) are consider as other main risk factors in both genders. Co-contraction of the hamstring and quadriceps has been shown to provide dynamic stability to the frontal plane at the knee that protects maximum knee abduction loading (6). So, main focus of the study should be on muscular strength between agonist –antagonist muscle of lower limbs and recovery after injury. Female athletes gets injured almost 2-8 time higher than the male counterparts (22,6,1,3,9,10,12,15,16). Interesting point in comparing injuries in sports, dominancy of leg plays a role in ACL injury. In a non contact injury, females are more prone to get injured in their supporting leg whereas male soccer athletes tend to injure the ACL in their preferred kicking leg(22).Biomechanical point of view such as more extended hip-knee landing technique postures, knee pressure in different plane
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a major stabilizing force of the knee joint. The ACL prevents hyperextension; furthermore, it limits excessive tibial rotation and valgus/varus stresses to the knee joint. Maneuvers put excessive force on an athlete’s knee; consequently, athletes frequently suffer ACL tears resulting in the need for surgical intervention. Returning to prior level of competition is a common goal for athletes upon release from their physician. The purpose of this review is to identify a few variables that increase the possibility of an ACL reinjury and briefly introduce and assess various tools that clinicians apply to athletes to determine when an athlete can return to sports.