If the ACL has completely ruptured, this instability will often be an ongoing problem. Giving Way: the knee often feels unstable and may buckle and give way with ACL knee injuries.Pain: there is usually immediate pain after an ACL knee injury especially when you put any weight on the leg or try and bend the knee.Swelling occurs due to damage to the blood vessels inside the knee - haemarthrosis. If however it's only a small tear the swelling may develop a few days later and may be fairly minor. Swelling: there is usually immediate swelling with a completely ruptured ACL injury, certainly within 6 hours, which is often extensive.Audible Noise:approximately 50% of the time there is a popping/cracking noise at the time of injury with ACL ruptures.Sudden Deceleration: coming to an abrupt stop whilst the foot is firmly planted.Hyper-Extending the Knee:when the knee bends the wrong way by more than 10° causing it to gap at the back.Non-contact injuries account for 80% of all anterior cruciate ligament injuries and are caused by:
when wearing studs/cleats Non-Contact ACL Injuries What Causes an ACL Knee Injury?Īn ACL knee injury can occur either when there is direct contact with the knee or from an awkward movement, usually when the foot is fixed to the ground e.g. In some cases, nearby structures such as the knee meniscus and medial collateral ligament may also be damaged at the same time. The ACL can be stretched just under 2mm before it will tear. ACL Rupture: where the ligament tears completely.Partial ACL Tear: where only some of the ligament fibres are torn or.LEARN MORE > What is an ACL Tear?Īn ACL knee injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament is overstretched, usually by the knee bending backwards too far or twisting awkwardly. These can result in: The ACL is 2cm long, as thick as a pencil and extremely strong. It is extremely important as it controls the stability of the knee, preventing the lower leg from sliding too far forwards or twisting too much. The anterior cruciate ligament is one of four ligaments in the knee which sits deep inside the joint. "Anterior" means situated at the front, "cruciate" means shaped like a cross and a "ligament" is a band of tissue connecting bones. What Is The ACL?ĪCL stands for anterior cruciate ligament. Here we will look at answers to the most common questions about an ACL knee injury including how it happens, ACL symptoms after injury, accurate diagnosis, associated injuries, treatment options and prevention strategies as well as looking more in-depth about why the role of the ACL is so important.
It may be a simple set of rehab exercises or full blown knee surgery.
Injuries range from a minor sprain to a complete rupture and depending on the severity can take months to fully recover from. The majority of ACL injuries occur from awkward twisting movements of the knee, particularly when the foot is stuck to the ground. An ACL knee injury is a common problem in sport but did you know that only 20% of all ACL injuries are a result of direct contact?