ACL Tear: Symptoms, Complications, and Treatment

Home
/
Health Wiki
/
ACL Tear: Symptoms, Complications, and Treatment

Contents 

In this article, we will take a look at:

You can click on any of the links above to navigate to the section of your interest.

What is ACL Tear? 

ACL tear means tearing of the major knee ligament called the anterior cruciate ligament. It mostly occurs during sports activities that involve heavy body movements, sudden stops, jumping or changes in direction. Basketball, soccer, football, tennis, downhill skiing, volleyball, and gymnastics are some of the examples of such sports. Most people with ACL tear can actually feel a pop in the knee when it happens. It often makes the patient feel unstable with a swell in the knee section. About half of ACL tears occur along with damage to other cartilages, such as articular cartilage and meniscus.

There are three types of ACL tear:

Grade I Sprain: This involves stretching and micro-tearing of the ligament. It is not that serious and barely needs surgery.

Grade II Sprain: This involves partial disruption of the ligament. Depending on the severity of the injury, this may require surgery.

Grade III Sprain: This involves full rupture of the ligament fiber. Surgery is usually recommended.

How Does ACL Tear Occur?

ACLtear generally occurs due to:

Who is Prone to ACL Tear?

You could be at risk of developing ACLtear if:

What are the Symptoms of ACL Tear? How is ACL Tear Diagnosed?

The symptoms of ACL tears include:

Diagnosis

At first, the knee needs to be diagnosed for any possible deformity or swelling and the areas of tenderness are checked and noted. The evidenceis jotted down of the knee joint fluid, which is called effusion. Hence, a physical examination is a must. Often X-rays are essential to check if there is any fracture. In some cases, one may also be advised to undergo MRI scans. Surgery is also advised to the patients in extreme cases, based on the type of ACL injury, and also depending on the growth plates. Patients may also need to go through arthroscopy in which a surgeon makes a small cut to put a tool to insert an arthroscope into the joint to look within it to detect any injury.

What are the Complications of ACL Tear?

Some complications it may cause include:

What is the Treatment for ACL Tear?

Treatment for ACL tear depends on the stage it is diagnosed at. Building the muscle strength takes time depending on how bad the injury is. A thorough evaluation of the health history of the patient is a must. Most people who sustain an acl tear supposedly undergo surgery. Few can also return to their daily chores through some rehabilitation programmes and do not need any surgery. Often surgery is followed by physical therapy over a period of 6 to 12 months, depending on the degree of the tear. This is often age-specific. MRI scans and arthroscopy in ACL injury of the knee is also important.

Would you like to consult a doctor for ACL Tear ?

Related articles

Dialysis in India

Dialysis is a procedure in which the blood is filtered mechanically without the help of the kidneys. If the kidneys are not functioning properly then Dialysis will take over the function of the failed kidneys.

Breast Cancer Treatment in India

Breast cancer occurs when healthy cells of breast tissue change and may begin to grow out of control which can appear as a lump within breast tissue. Breast Cancer Treatment includes chemotherapy, radiotherapy,surgery depend on the type of cancer.

Coronary Stenting: Procedure, Cost, and Complications

Stents are small expandable mesh tubes that are inserted to keep clogged arteries open after a balloon angioplasty procedure. Know more about stenting, side effects, cost, recovery, other useful facts and links on Procedure-Wiki | Practo.