When it comes to knee injuries, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are among the most common. In fact, studies estimate that up to 200,000 people in the United States tear their ACL every year.
Your ACL is a vital ligament that holds your knee in place and provides it with stability. It can tear when it stretches beyond its capabilities. ACL tears are especially common sports injuries because so many sports activities require fast movements and quick changes in motion, which can stretch your knee’s ligaments in ways they shouldn’t, causing them to tear.
In some cases, injured ligaments can heal on their own with proper rehabilitation, rest, and time, but ACL tears can’t. While some people can live with a torn ACL, your injury circumstances — such as the severity of the tear or your activity level — may benefit from surgical intervention.
At Valley Orthopedic Institute in Palmdale and Ridgecrest, California, our team led by orthopedic injury and surgical experts Anand Shah, MD, Mehul Taylor, MD, and Adam Amir, DO, have the expertise needed to effectively diagnose and treat ACL injuries, and that includes knowing when to repair it with surgery.
In this month’s blog, we discuss the treatment process for ACL tears and when to consider surgery to repair the damage.
If you have a low-grade ACL tear, you don’t play any sports, or you’re older and live a more sedentary lifestyle, you may prefer to stick with more conservative, nonsurgical treatment options. And they may be effective enough that the tear won’t affect your day-to-day life.
To start, cease all physical activities that put undue stress on your knee, and use the rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE) method anytime you feel pain or swelling in the affected knee. Taking over-the-counter (OTC) anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen can help with pain and swelling.
While your knee heals, you also need to wear a brace to keep your knee stable and use crutches. Undergoing physical therapy will help strengthen your knee and restore your range of motion. We do exercises with you at our office and also provide a list of ones to do on your own at home.
In cases of severe ACL tears, ACL repair surgery is a must. A severely torn ACL causes a lot of knee instability, making it virtually impossible to walk around without your knee giving out or experiencing a lot of pain. In addition, having a damaged ACL can start to affect the cartilage in your knee and it puts you at risk for developing arthritis.
Although it’s called ACL repair surgery, ACL tears are often too severe to simply be stitched back together. Instead, it's repaired by taking another tendon from your knee and reconstructing the ACL.
ACL repair surgery is done arthroscopically using a thin, flexible tube attached to a camera (arthroscope) and several small surgical tools. This method eliminates the need for major invasive surgery. Your provider simply makes a small incision to allow access for the arthroscope before removing the damaged ligament and replacing it with the new one.
Since ACL repair surgery is minimally invasive, you can go home that same day. Recovery from the surgery still involves staying off your knee, wearing a knee brace, and doing physical therapy.
It’s important to know that ACL repair surgery is well worth it because, in 85% of ACL repair surgeries, full function of the knee is restored.
To learn more about your treatment options for an ACL tear, schedule a consultation with our team by calling 661-949-8643 or using our online booking feature today.
