The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is a tough band of elastic connective tissue that runs diagonally through the centre of your knee. The ACL provides stability, particularly during pivoting, twisting and fast-paced movements and prevents the tibia from sliding out in front of the femur. ACL ruptures are one of the most common knee injuries and usually result from a non-contact twisting injury, although can also occur as a result of collision or contact injury.
ACL ruptures are acutely painful. After an ACL injury, patients usually report:
The knee will also swell soon after the incident and patients will usually limp or have difficulty weight bearing on the knee, walking and experience pain.
The ACL connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shine bone). It acts to stabilise the knee by preventing the tibia from moving too far forward, and importantly acts to prevent excessive rotation between the two bones. ACL injury is commonly caused by the body pivoting around a planted foot.
Other ways the ACL can be injured include:
Following comprehensive examination of clinical history and physical examination of manipulating the knee and leg bones Dr du Sart will have enough information to raise suspicion for an ACL rupture. Examination will reveal increased laxity of the knee compared to the opposite non-injured side.
An MRI of the knee is usually requested by your doctor, surgeon or physiotherapist to confirm diagnosis of ACL rupture. It will also show any other damage to surrounding soft tissue structures in the knee (including other ligaments, cartilage, menisci and bone).
Although X-ray does not show an ACL injury, it may be requested to rule out other problems in the knee with similar symptoms or if the injury is associated with fracture.
Treatment for an ACL rupture is dependent on the severity of your injury, personal history and goals. Following consultation with Dr du Sart he will be able to discuss the options with you in more detail.
The ACL does not heal on its own, therefore depending on your injury, the ligament will need to be reconstructed. To achieve this, a small ‘graft’ is obtained from another tendon in your leg and then inserted in place of the old, torn ACL. Graft options include hamstrings, patella tendon and quadriceps tendon.
Dr du Sart may recommend a physiotherapy program to maximise the function of your knee to improve strength and motion of surrounding muscles and the knee joint or prepare your knee for surgery.
If left untreated, additional ligament problems are likely to develop for both active adults and children. Patients with untreated (unreconstructed) ACL ruptures may experience:
Patients may also be subject to further problems like cartilage tears and premature wear and tear in the knee joint resulting in arthritis.
Find out more about
ACL
Reconstruction.
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Address: 6 Higgins St, South Bunbury, 6230