Facts About Your Anterior Cruciate Ligament

One of the most prevalent injuries that both professional athletes and also sports aficionados suffer from is the anterior cruciate ligament or ACL tear. This ligament plays a crucial role on the stability of the knee. And so, if your ACL becomes injured, you can imagine the pain you have to experience. That's why if you tear your ACL, you should not ignore it. Seek out medical assistance instantly.

Importance Of ACL

ACL is responsible for controlling the knee’s forward movement. This ligament connects your shin bone, which is called tibia to the thigh bone, referred to as femur. The ACL works together with the PCL or posterior cruciate ligament to keep the knee stable and control its movement. The ACL may be easily injured when there is an abrupt movement on the knee such as turning or if your knee sustained a serious blow. When this happens, you will feel your knee buckle and wobbly, making it hard and painful for you to stand or walk.

Signs Of An ACL Injury

The most common symptom of an anterior cruciate ligament injury is the loud snapping or popping sound. Then the knee starts to buckle and a severe pain will likely be experienced. This will be followed by swelling and slight bruising on the area of the knee where it is injured. If the patient attempts to walk or stand up, he or she will feel incredible amount of pain. In addition, the knee will be wobbly and it can be impossible for the patient to stand or walk. Thus, if you happen to experience any one of these symptoms, you should call the doctor promptly.

Treating An ACL Injury

Dependant upon the degree of the injury, the patient may require a knee brace or surgery. Rarely can you find a case in which the patient just must rest and wear a brace in order to recover. Most often, an individual who has a ruptured ACL must undergo surgery. The surgery is done so that the ligament can be reconstructed making the knee stable and strong. There are two methods to repair the torn ligament, the first is through making incisions and putting an instrument in the knee to make it stable whilst the other is by removing the ligament and replacing it with a graft. More often than not, the patient is not required to stay in the hospital following the surgery. Nevertheless, he or she must go through long and arduous rehabilitation.

Therefore, when you are either active in sports or have a career as an athlete, you have to care for your anterior cruciate ligament. Female athletes are definitely more vulnerable to having an ACL injury than men. Training and doing knee exercises and also a proper diet can tremendously help reduce the risk of having an ACL tear.