ACL Injury Treatments in Westminster Denver Colorado
Overview
●
An
ACL injury is a tear or sprain of the anterior cruciate (KROO-she-ate) ligament
(ACL) — one of the strong bands of tissue that help connect your thigh bone
(femur) to your shinbone (tibia). ACL injuries most commonly occur during
sports that involve sudden stops or changes in direction, jumping and landing —
such as soccer, basketball, football and downhill skiing.
●
Many
people hear a pop or feel a “popping” sensation in the knee when an
ACL injury occurs. Your knee may swell, feel unstable and become too painful to
bear weight.
●
Depending
on the severity of your ACL injury, treatment may include rest and
rehabilitation exercises to help you regain strength and stability, or surgery
to replace the torn ligament followed by rehabilitation. A proper training program
may help reduce the risk of an ACL injury.
Symptoms
Signs
and symptoms of an ACL injury usually include:
● A loud pop or a “popping” sensation in the knee
● Severe pain and inability to continue activity
● Rapid swelling
● Loss of range of motion
● A feeling of instability or “giving way” with
weight bearing
When
to see a doctor
Seek immediate care if any injury to your knee causes signs
or symptoms of an ACL injury. The knee joint is a complex structure of bones,
ligaments, tendons and other tissues that work together. It’s important to get
a prompt and accurate diagnosis to determine the severity of the injury and get
proper treatment.
Causes
Ligaments are strong bands of tissue that connect one bone
to another. The ACL, one of two ligaments that cross in the middle of the knee,
connects your thighbone to your shinbone and helps stabilize your knee joint.
ACL injuries often happen during sports and fitness
activities that can put stress on the knee:
● Suddenly slowing down and changing direction (cutting)
● Pivoting with your foot firmly planted
● Landing awkwardly from a jump
● Stopping suddenly
● Receiving a direct blow to the knee or having a collision,
such as a football tackle
When the ligament is damaged, there is usually a partial or
complete tear of the tissue. A mild injury may stretch the ligament but leave
it intact.
Risk
factors
There are a number of factors that increase your risk of an
ACL injury, including:
● Being female — possibly due to differences in anatomy,
muscle strength and hormonal influences
● Participating in certain sports, such as soccer, football,
basketball, gymnastics and downhill skiing
● Poor conditioning
● Using faulty movement patterns, such as moving the knees
inward during a squat
● Wearing footwear that doesn’t fit properly
● Using poorly maintained sports equipment, such as ski
bindings that aren’t adjusted properly
● Playing on artificial turf
Complications
●
People
who experience an ACL injury have a higher risk of developing osteoarthritis in
the knee. Arthritis may occur even if you have surgery to reconstruct the
ligament.
●
Multiple
factors likely influence the risk of arthritis, such as the severity of the
original injury, the presence of related injuries in the knee joint or the
level of activity after treatment.
Prevention
Proper training and exercise can help reduce the risk of ACL
injury. A sports medicine physician, physical therapist, athletic trainer or
other specialist in sports medicine can provide assessment, instruction and
feedback that can help you reduce risks.
Programs
to reduce ACL injury include:
● Exercises to strengthen the core — including the hips,
pelvis and lower abdomen — with a goal of training athletes to avoid moving the
knee inward during a squat
● Exercises that strengthen leg muscles, particularly
hamstring exercises, to ensure an overall balance in leg muscle strength
● Training and exercise emphasizing proper technique and knee
position when jumping and landing from jumps
● Training to improve technique when performing pivoting and
cutting movements
Training to strengthen muscles of the legs, hips and core —
as well as training to improve jumping and landing techniques and to prevent
inward movement of the knee — may help to reduce the higher ACL injury risk in
female athletes.
Gear
●
Wear
footwear and padding that is appropriate for your sport to help prevent injury.
If you downhill ski, make sure your ski bindings are adjusted correctly by a
trained professional so that your skis will release appropriately if you fall.
●
Wearing
a knee brace doesn’t appear to prevent ACL injury or reduce the risk of
recurring injury after surgery.
Diagnosis
During the physical exam, your doctor will check your knee
for swelling and tenderness — comparing your injured knee to your uninjured
knee. He or she may also move your knee into a variety of positions to assess
range of motion and overall function of the joint.
Often
the diagnosis can be made on the basis of the physical exam alone, but you may
need tests to rule out other causes and to determine the severity of the
injury. These tests may include:
● X-rays. X-rays may be needed to rule out a bone fracture.
However, X-rays don’t show soft tissues, such as ligaments and tendons.
● Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI uses radio waves
and a strong magnetic field to create images of both hard and soft tissues in your
body. An MRI can show the extent of an ACL injury and signs of damage to other
tissues in the knee, including the cartilage.
● Ultrasound. Using sound waves to visualize internal
structures, ultrasound may be used to check for injuries in the ligaments, tendons
and muscles of the knee.
Treatment
Prompt
first-aid care can reduce pain and swelling immediately after an injury to your
knee. Follow the R.I.C.E. model of self-care at home:
● Rest. General rest is necessary for healing and limits
weight bearing on your knee.
● Ice. When you’re awake, try to ice your knee at least every
two hours for 20 minutes at a time.
● Compression. Wrap an elastic bandage or compression wrap
around your knee.
● Elevation. Lie down with your knee propped up on pillows.
Rehabilitation
●
Medical
treatment for an ACL injury begins with several weeks of rehabilitative
therapy. A physical therapist will teach you exercises that you will perform
either with continued supervision or at home. You may also wear a brace to
stabilize your knee and use crutches for a while to avoid putting weight on
your knee.
●
The
goal of rehabilitation is to reduce pain and swelling, restore your knee’s full
range of motion, and strengthen muscles. This course of physical therapy may
successfully treat an ACL injury for individuals who are relatively inactive,
engage in moderate exercise and recreational activities, or play sports that
put less stress on the knees.
Surgery
Your
doctor may recommend surgery if:
● You’re an athlete and want to continue in your sport,
especially if the sport involves jumping, cutting or pivoting
● More than one ligament or the fibrous cartilage in your knee
also is injured
● The injury is causing your knee to buckle during everyday
activities
–
During
ACL reconstruction, the surgeon removes the damaged ligament and replaces it
with a segment of tendon — tissue similar to a ligament that connects muscle to
bone. This replacement tissue is called a graft.
–
Your
surgeon will use a piece of tendon from another part of your knee or a tendon
from a deceased donor.
–
After
surgery you’ll resume another course of rehabilitative therapy. Successful
ACLreconstruction paired with rigorous rehabilitation can usually restore
stability and function to your knee.
–
There’s
no set time frame for athletes to return to play. Recent research indicates
that up to one-third of athletes sustain another tear in the same or opposite
knee within two years. A longer recovery period may reduce the risk of
re-injury.
–
In
general, it takes as long as a year or more before athletes can safely return
to play. Doctors and physical therapists will perform tests to gauge your
knee’s stability, strength, function and readiness to return to sports activities
at various intervals during your rehabilitation. It’s important to ensure that
strength, stability and movement patterns are optimized before you return to an
activity with a risk of ACL injury.
Rehabilitation
●
Medical
treatment for an ACL injury begins with several weeks of rehabilitative
therapy. A physical therapist will teach you exercises that you will perform
either with continued supervision or at home. You may also wear a brace to
stabilize your knee and use crutches for a while to avoid putting weight on
your knee.
●
The
goal of rehabilitation is to reduce pain and swelling, restore your knee’s full
range of motion, and strengthen muscles. This course of physical therapy may
successfully treat an ACL injury for individuals who are relatively inactive,
engage in moderate exercise and recreational activities, or play sports that
put less stress on the knees.
Our
expert providers are experienced and skilled at treating ACL injuries and are
your source for expert treatment of ACL injuries in Westminster and Denver
Colorado. Not only are we the premier treatment for spine injuries and
chiropractic in Westminster and Denver Colorado, but we also specialize in many
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technique, KT Taping, activator, instrument aided spinal alignments, drop
table, toggle, in house rehab services, and on site digital xrays. We are your
Premier destination for ACL injury treatment in Westminster Colorado and Denver
Colorado Chiropractor.