Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) strain or tear is one of the most common knee injuries in strenuous exercise and even daily life. If you have a ruptured ACL, we will tell you later whether it is possible to repair a ruptured ACL spontaneously or not
what you will read next :
Where is ACL?
This ligament is located in the middle of your knee joint and at an angle !!
What is the function of ACL in the knee?
It prevents the leg from slipping when moving forward this means that it does not allow the leg to move forward in front of the thigh as you move. It also keeps your knees stable, especially when rotating
What is the mechanism of ACL injury?
Sudden change in body position on the knee:
- For example, stopping suddenly and while you are running
- Direct trauma to the knee (for example in football)
- Jumping movements (such as volleyball)
- Direct and severe trauma to the front and bottom of the thigh
Symptoms of ACL tear
These symptoms include:
- The sound of tearing is often heard when injured
- Knee joint instability
- Emptying the knee
- Decreased range of motion of the knee joint
- Severe pain and swelling
- Bleeding inside the joint
If you experience these symptoms, be aware that if you do not stop exercising despite the symptoms of tear and ACL injury, due to the instability of the knee, other tissues around your knee, such as menisci, etc. will also be damaged.
It is interesting to know that ACL tear is associated with meniscus injury and rupture in 50% of cases, in 30% of cases, there will be concomitant damage to the cartilage of the knee, and in a third of cases other ligaments around the knee are damaged with ACL tear.
Diagnosis
Explaining the position of the body during the injury is the most important thing that your doctor will make a correct diagnosis, but the examination and finally the use of imaging methods such as MRI, will help to make a definite diagnosis. In the following, we will tell what measures are needed to improve ACL tear.
Treatment
To choose the appropriate method of treatment of ACL tear, it is necessary to pay attention to the following points
- If the ACL tear is associated with damage to other tissues around the knee, surgery will have far better results.
- If the ACL is torn and a piece of bone is torn at the ligament junction, surgery and fixation of the bone piece is done with screws.
- In pediatrics, the doctor may sometimes implant the fracture and cast it closed without surgery.
- If you want to use non-surgical methods, you should not have severe knee instability, because if your knee is very unstable, other tissues around the knee will also be damaged.
Can an ACL tear heal on its own?
If you have an ACL tear and you want to know if it is possible to repair it spontaneously or not, we have to answer that if the tear and damage is only in the ACL and the knee has no other injuries and the knee joint is not very unstable. The doctor will decide on the type of treatment based on your job, age, activity level and mobility
If you are a young, athletic and active person, or you have an active job and you have a complete tear of the ACL and you need to continue to be active in your life, surgery will be a more appropriate treatment method.
If you are an elderly person with a calm and sedentary life, surgery will usually not be needed
The final words
When your ACL is torn and damaged, surgery will be necessary if the tear is complete, or if the knee is very unstable, Surgery will be necessary if the incomplete tear of the ACL is not repaired with proper care and non-surgical methods.
The ACL ligament cannot heal on its own because it does not have enough blood supply.
If you have a partial tear in ACL, physiotherapy is the key to your treatment
ACL tear does not heal in active young people without surgery
ACL tear does not heal in active young people without surgery. Doctors may recommend the non-surgical methods in the elderly people, who have suffered from ACL tear and their knee instability is not high :
- The person should use a special knee brace for a while
- Do not put too much weight on the knee
- Use a cane
- With reduced knee swelling, physiotherapy should be started as soon as possible. Physiotherapy is essential to restore normal knee movements. It also strengthens the thigh muscles and stabilizes the knee.
Non-surgical methods can also be used in children.