Does ACL Injury Requires Surgery-What Are The Risks?

Anterior cruciate ligament is one of the four knee ligaments, others being MCL (medial collateral ligament), PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), and LCL (lateral collateral ligament). Located behind the kneecap (patella), the ACL stabilizes the knee when it rotates. An ACL injury can be defined as the tearing or overstretching of the ACL ligament.

Table Of Contents

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1. Who is more likely to get ACL injuries?
2. Signs of ACL Injury
3. When do you require ACL surgery?
4. What are the risks of ACL surgery?
5. Recovery after ACL Surgery

Take Away

1. Who is more likely to get ACL injuries?

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is generally sudden and is often seen in both contact and non-contact sports. It usually occurs:

• When an individual lands on one leg when jumping while playing basketball or volleyball
• When athletes plant their feet and shift direction suddenly during pivoting or cutting manoeuvres
• When there is a direct hit to the knee, especially when it is bent slightly inward or hyper-extended
• When the knee is twisted or bent backwards that may happen when there is an awkwardly landing on a jump or during a fall
• Repeated stress to the knee can result in loss of ligament elasticity

Risk Factors: ACL Tears

There are many factors that may increase the risk of an ACL injury, including:

Being female: The rate of ACL injuries is thrice higher in female athletes. While the exact reasons are unknown, some reasons include the difference in muscle strength, hormonal influences, anatomy, and muscle conditioning.

Participation in certain sports: ACL tears usually happen in sports like volleyball, downhill skiing, lacrosse, basketball, soccer, football, and tennis. These sports require sudden and frequent deceleration like pivoting, cutting, or landing on one leg.

Previously torn ACL: Individuals who have a previously repaired ACL are at an increased risk of re-tearing the ACL. The risk of an ACL tear is also higher in the opposite knee the second time.

Wearing footwear that does not fit properly

Playing on artificial turf

Use of poorly-maintained sports equipment like ski bindings that are not adjusted properly

2. Signs of ACL Injury

The signs and symptoms of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury generally include:

• Rapid swelling
• Severe pain and inability to continue activities
• A "popping" sensation or loud pop in the knee
• Tenderness around the knee joint
• Restricted range of motion
• Inability to bear weights
• Severe pain
• Severe pain

3. When do you require ACL surgery?

The doctor may recommend non-surgical options such as bracing or physical therapy if the knee's overall stability is intact. A torn anterior cruciate ligament does not heal without surgery.

Immediately after an ACL injury, patients generally experience swelling and severe pain and the knee feels unstable. Individuals who have suffered an ACL injury may also experience tenderness and a loss of full range of motion along the joint line. The doctor will eamine the patient and may recommend X-ray to look for any fractures and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan for evaluating the ACL and check for any possible injury evidence to other meniscus cartilage, knee ligaments, or articular cartilage. Few special tests like anterior drawer test, pivot shift and Lachman's test may be performed to ascertain if the anterior cruciate ligament is intact.

The surgeon may recommend ACL surgery to replace the torn ACL with a substitute graft made of a tendon.

• Hamstring tendon autograft
• Quadriceps tendon autograft
• Patellar tendon autograft
• Allograft (taken from a cadaver) patellar tendon, posterior tibialis tendon, gracilis, or Achilles tendon, semitendinosus

Types Of Surgical Procedures To Repair ACL

An autograft may be recommended by the surgeon. It is a surgical transplant that involves the use of tissue from the patient's body. Three areas are generally used for this transplant.

Patellar Tendon: A tendon located in the back, Patellar Tendon is considered to be the best autograft option. This tendon has a much lower rate of graft failure and has the ability to heal itself and grow back completely.

Hamstring Tendon: Hamstring Tendon involves a smaller incision and its use as an autograft option is characterised by shorter recovery time compared to Patellar Autograft.

Quadriceps Tendon: This graft is generally used with patients who have had unsuccessful anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in the past. Quadriceps Autograft requires larger incisions as it utilises a bigger portion of tissue.

The surgeon may recommend an allograft, which is a surgical transplant involving the use of tissue from a cadaver donor from a tissue bank. The benefits of an allograft procedure include less recovery pain, shorter recovery, and a smaller incision.

4. What are the risks of ACL surgery?

ACL surgery being an arthroscopic surgery holds very few associated risks like temporary numbness on the upper leg's outer part next to the incision, knee stiffness

Rupture of the patella fracture (quadriceps tendon autografts or patellar tendon) or the patellar tendon (patellar tendon autograft) may occur rarely

Postoperative anterior knee pain may be experienced after patellar tendon autograft ACL reconstruction.

To avoid these risks of ACL surgery, it is important for you to consult Joint And Bone Solutions and access the best ACL injury surgery in Gurgaon. One of the biggest advantages of the best ACL injury surgery in Gurgaon is that experienced and qualified surgeons at Joint And Bone Solutions have rich experience and expertise to assure you of the best treatment and compassionate care.

5. Recovery after ACL Surgery

Whether your ACL injury treatment involves surgery or not, rehabilitation is essential to get you back to routine activities. The surgeon may recommend a physical therapy program so that your knee can regain motion and strength. If you have undergone ACL surgery, the surgeon will recommend a physical therapy program that initially emphasises the joint and surrounding muscles regaining motion. This is followed by a comprehensive strengthening program that is aimed at protecting the new ligament and increasing the stress across the ligament. During the last stage of rehabilitation, the surgeon recommends a treatment regimen aimed at a functional return.

The recovery and rehabilitation period after an ACL Surgery is usually at least three months.

Takeaway

Recovery after an ACL surgery is a time taking process but you can get back to your routine activities quickly with the best ACL injury surgery in gurgaon. You should always keep in mind the primary goal of every ACL treatment is to safely and quickly restore your ACL and therefore it is important for you to stick to the rehabilitation plan suggested by the surgeon so you have the best chances of a quick and speedy recovery.

At Joint and Bone Solutions, you will get the best treatment at an affordable cost from experienced doctors.

References:

1. What is osteoarthritis? | NHS.uk | March 4, 2021
2. Causes of Osteoarthritis | Mayoclinic.org | March 4, 2021