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How Serious Is
An ACL Injury?
By Ashley Studebaker
CNO Teen Reporter
It can be difficult to understand what happens when an injury occurs,
especially one as serious as an anterior cruciate ligament, ACL,
injury. Your ACL is the ligament that keeps your knee stable, so
you can imagine all the issues that can come about when injuring this
part of your body.
Many people hear of ACL injuries occurring mostly during a sporting
event. An ACL can be injured in several different ways, such as your
joint being bent backwards, from side to side, or being twisted in
either direction. Most times, more than one of these occur and that
increases your chances of the injury.
Oddly enough, this injury hardly takes place when there is contact. 70
percent of ACL injuries happen through non-contact. An ACL can tear by
simply having your foot planted with a sudden force hitting your knee
when your leg is straight or just slightly bent. This happens when you
are changing directions suddenly, jumping, weaving, or when you are
slowing down while running.
Basketball and football are the main sports where this can occur due to
the stop-and-go movements that happen during these games. Not all of
the injuries that take place happen on a court or field. They can also
happen when falling off of a ladder or skipping a step on a staircase.
Most injuries’ likeliness increase as you age so that can also play a
factor in an ACL injury.
But the most common place you hear of this happening is during a
basketball or football game. There have been several studies to show
that female athletes are more likely to have this kind of injury than
male athletes. This is due to the differences in physical conditioning,
muscular strength and neuromuscular control.
There really is no way to play around this injury. There are ways that
you can play around a sprain, a break, or some other different
injuries. We saw Kobe Bryant play through a foot injury just this year.
Also, Ben Roethlisberger played with a broken thumb, but an ACL is a
different story. You will typically know when this happens. You can
hear or feel a pop with the knee giving out and it is too painful or
unstable to continue playing in any activity. Your knee will begin to
swell instantly with much pain.
With a serious tear, you can be out from anywhere between eight to 12
months, which is quite a large margin. Basketball icon, Derrick Rose,
found this out during the first round of the NBA playoffs of the
2011-2012 season. He has undergone surgery and is on his way to making
“The Return” back to the game that he knows best.
Not all injuries must have a follow-up surgery. Those who obtain a
minor ACL injury can begin the treatment with physical rehabilitation.
People with this minor a tear can return to their normal activities
after just a few weeks of rehab.
The more serious ACL injuries may need several months of rehab or maybe
even surgery that will be followed with several months of rehab.
Several months of the rehab will help regain the strength you had in
your knee before the injury.
As noted, not all ACL injuries require surgery. But the main point
after this injury, whether you need surgery or not, is you must start
strengthening and preparing your knee or you may end up having to have
surgery. Having the surgery can be solely up to you, but if you choose
not to then that could cause some issues in the long run. Those who
experience an ACL injury are more likely to have knee osteoarthritis.
This is where the joint cartilage deteriorates and the smoothness of
the cartilage becomes rough.
If you wait too long to have the surgery then you may never be able to
return to the performance level that you were at before this injury
took place.
Even though this injury seems like it could just be a freak accident
and may be very detrimental to someone’s career just by having to stay
of the game you love for eight to 12 months, there are ways that can
help prevent this injury. The best way is to stretch and strengthen the
leg muscles. This is very important for the front muscles and the back
muscles of the thigh. Sounds easy enough, but many athletes, even those
who are professional, take it lightly which they can end up regretting.
Ashley Studebaker
is a 2012 Franklin Monroe graduate currently going to Wright State
University. She is pursuing a degree in Communications.
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