ACL trauma is one of the most common knee injuries: Every year in the United States, as many as 200,000 people — mostly athletes who are in the game — sprain or tear their ACL. Most ACL tears happen in one of the following ways:
Whether they’ve injured their knee while participating in soccer, basketball, gymnastics, or another activity, athletes who seek ACL treatment from our board-certified orthopedists at Sports Medicine Oregon want to know how quickly their ACL will heal — and whether it will require surgery to recover completely.
Here’s what our sports medicine specialists have to say about what it takes to get back in the game after an ACL tear.
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is located at the center of your knee joint. It forms a X-shaped “strap” with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL and PCL work together to stop your knee from bending or rotating too much.
The extent of an ACL injury depends on the extent of the trauma and its resulting damage. Our team uses a grading system to quickly describe ACL injury severity, which is the main factor that shapes your treatment needs and healing process.
The injury stretched your ACL enough to sprain it, but didn’t actually tear the tough fibrous band — it’s still in one piece and basically functional.
With a grade-two ACL injury, your ligament has been stretched to the point of splitting, leaving it partially torn and loosened.
Severe trauma to your ACL may result in a grade-three injury that ruptures your ligament with a complete tear, leaving it in two separate, unattached pieces.
All ACL injuries cause swelling, knee pain (especially with weight), weakness, and reduced range of motion. With a partial or complete ligament tear, however, you’re more likely to experience painful knee swelling, joint laxity, and total instability or inability to bear weight.
Treatment for all ACL injuries begins with the RICE protocol (rest, icing, compression, and elevation). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers (NSAIDs), bracing, and physical therapy can help heal grade-one ACL strains within a couple of weeks.
But what about grade-two or grade-three ACL tears? While the initial treatment protocol is the same as it is for a sprained ACL, a torn ACL won’t heal on its own. It’s possible to live with a partial, grade-two ACL tear if you’re not a very active individual, but for anyone who wants to return to an active life or sports, reconstructive surgery for any ACL tear is a must.
Conservative treatment measures can often help restore a high level of functionality following a partial ACL tear, but reconstruction surgery is the only way to restore complete joint stability with a grade-two or grade-three ACL injury.
A torn ACL can’t simply be stitched back together. To repair the ligament properly and restore complete stability, it must be surgically reconstructed. Using minimally invasive arthroscopic techniques, ACL reconstruction surgery repairs the torn ligament with a tissue graft.
This tissue graft functions as a scaffold for new ligament tissue to grow on. Tissue regrowth takes time — it may be six months or longer of active rehabilitation before you can resume your previous level of activity — but most people are able to resume their normal, pre-injury quality of life once the healing process is complete.
ACL reconstruction also provides an opportunity to address other damage that may have occurred in conjunction with the ACL injury: About half of all ACL tears are accompanied by damage to the meniscus, articular cartilage, or other ligaments.
ACL reconstruction is considered the first — and best — treatment for active individuals with a torn ACL, as it’s the only solution that can repair the ligament and restore total joint stability, range of motion, and functionality.
Even if you’re not that active and you only have a grade-two ACL injury, reconstruction surgery may still be the best approach. Why? It resolves the functional instability of a partially torn ACL, helping to prevent secondary knee damage as time goes on.
Want to know more about ACL reconstruction? Call or click online to schedule an appointment at your nearest Sports Medicine Oregon location in Tigard or Wilsonville, Oregon, today.
