What is ACL injury?

ACL or Anterior Cruciate Ligament is one of the most important ligaments in our knees. According to orthopedic surgeon ACL related injury is the most common in sports. ACL injury can also occur in various other heavy physical exercises. These physical movements require sudden change in movement causing the knee to bend in an uncomfortable way and tearing the ligament.

ACL tear is 2 to 8 times more common among women. After many years of research orthopedic surgeons still cannot point out the reason for this massively tilted equation. Most doctors think that it is due to different hormones in the female body. Kids and teenagers are also not safe from this injury due to their excessive energy. They also tend to apply more force than they are capable of managing which results in their knees giving up, sometimes.

The person may feel sudden pain and a popping sound when an ACL injury happens. After a few minutes, the affected area swells up and putting weight on the knee becomes very uncomfortable.

A person may have an injury in more than just the ACL when the injury occurs. ACL can damage other parts of the knee such as tendons, cartilages, and bones.

After the injury occurs, the person must be thoroughly examined. After the examination, the patient must decide whether they want surgery or not. If the patient decides in favor of undergoing surgery, the family of the patient must contact their orthopedic surgeon and get an appointment. After the surgery, the patient must go through proper rehabilitation to regain full control.

Symptoms and Causes of ACL injury

80 percent of the time ACL injury is caused during sports or fitness training sessions. Mostly the ACL tear is a non-contact injury. This can mean that the knee was damaged by the person’s own movement rather than someone else colliding with them.

ACL injury happens when the person jumps and lands at an awkward angle. This puts unexpected pressure on the knee ligaments which tears them apart.

An ACL injury can be avoided with care. Orthopedic surgeons in Lahore suggest exercising before playing any sports. This reduces the chance of ACL injury and keeps the knee healthy.

The first sign is when an athlete moves or jumps in a way that twists his or her knee suddenly and a “pop” sound can be heard. After this sound, the person may continue walking or running and playing their sports. With more and more use the pain and the swelling are noticed to increase.

Due to the swelling and pain, it gets harder to move the knee like before which is a sign that something is wrong and the problem is often an ACL tear. Even after the swelling and pain decline, the discomfort in moving the knee persists which makes life miserable. This is when most patients go to their orthopedic surgeon.

Your orthopedic surgeon will ask you a number of questions on how the pain started to diagnose whether you have ACL tear or not.

The doctor will take a number of tests. These tests will involve different knee movements followed by some x-rays, MRI, and arthroscopy.

Treatment for ACL injury

The treatment is on the patient’s need. If the patient is young and got injured while playing some sports they might need surgery for their career. However, older people avoid treatment because of their low physical needs.

Treatment of ACL injury is dived into two parts, surgical and non-surgical.

Surgical Treatment

Orthopedic Surgeons cannot stitch the torn ligament together back again. The ligament will be replaced by a tissue graft. This allows for a new ligament to grow instead of the broken one.

These grafts are taken from the kneecaps, shinbone, hamstring, and sometimes quadriceps.

These sources can be changed by the condition of the body and what is best for the patient.

The growth period of the ligament is quite long and can take up to six months or more depending on the patient’s body.

The surgery is done by an arthroscope with small incisions to the knee. The advantages of this surgery are that it is not painful and the patient does not have to spend a lot of time in the hospital.

Non-surgical Treatment

It is very hard for a torn ACL to heal without surgical treatment. Even though surgeons recommend surgery. However non-surgical treatment can make it easier for the patient to their daily tasks. This is especially helpful for elderly patients who do not want to spend any money on expensive surgeries due to their low physical needs.

Doctors suggest using braces for the knee that provide stability. Crutches are also given to the patient so they do not have to apply weight on their damaged knee.

Doctors also suggest physical therapy form the patient’s local physician. When the swelling decreases the patient can start vigorous exercises. This will help with the movement of the knee and provide more stability.

Recovery time for ACL injury

It takes roughly eight to nine months after rehabilitation to return to daily activities just like before. The patient must work hard in rehabilitation but not so hard that it starts affecting the growing ligament. Too much exercise can make the tear worse and create problems for the patient thus forcing them to have another surgery. But too little exercise will not encourage growth of the ligaments.

Most ACL surgeries have a high success rate of 82 to 97 percent. This helps the patient to go back to their daily life with good hope.

Failure is very minute, in which case the patient will need another ACL injury.

Only half of the patients without surgery have fair results with no knee insufficiency to repair a ripped ACL. This is an option for people who are sedentary or who do not have to pivot or trim.

ACL injuries usually occur among active individuals involved in tough physical activities. Through maintaining muscle strength and flexibility, the risk of injury can theoretically be reduced. Warming, relaxing and stretching are ways to protect the joints and muscles.

It may or may not be necessary to use braces to prevent injury.

Reinforced workouts and drills for flexibility will help avoid injury.

The body can learn how to jump and land properly to reduce the risk of injury, especially in women, using plyometric exercises that build strength, speed, and balance. A fully-stretched and locked leg must be avoided.

Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Surgeons in Pakistan

Pakistan has many orthopedic surgeons. These surgeons specialize in surgery and almost all hospitals have very high qualified surgeons. Orthopedic doctors in national hospital Lahore and doctors in Bahria town Lahore may have the best orthopedic surgeons in Pakistan. These healthcare facilities have both male and female doctors. Lists of these orthopedic surgeons can be found all over the internet. These lists contain top doctors of Pakistan from various cities such as Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Multan and etc.

The Orthopedic and Spine Center Doctors Hospital provides a comprehensive network for patients suffering trauma, such as a disorder or aging degenerative, acute joint, back and neck disorders. Patient education, medical care, advanced rehabilitation, and recovery services in conjunction between the Orthopedic and the Spine Centre ensure patients achieve the highest degree of independence and physical function. Our physicians have a leadership position in their fields of expertise, provide state-of-art services and care for patients of all ages, helping to cut hospital stays and recovery time in the field of diagnosis, procedures, and rehabilitation.

Queries regarding the availability of orthopedic surgeons in Pakistan can be resolved by searching over the web for different sites and various information can be found all over the web.