Do You Want to Learn More About ACL Injury? Read This Article for 12 Important Facts About ACL Tear

The ACL or the anterior cruciate ligament, one of the major ligaments in the knee, helps to prevent the knee from injury during activities that demand jumping and twisting.

ACL injury is a common orthopedic injury that generally involves the tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament. An ACL tear can be caused either by contact or no contact activities.

Contact activities include an event like a football tackle that causes a person's ACL to tear. An example of a non-contact activity that may lead to an ACL injury includes a time when a soccer player may quickly change direction while running, twisting the knee in a forceful manner which causes the ACL to tear.

Because the ACL primarily functions to prevent instability in the knee, an ACL injury may occur when a person twists, turns, jumps, and engages in activities like tennis, basketball or working on an assembly line.

If you think you might be suffering from an ACL injury, learn more by reading these 12 facts about tearing to the anterior cruciate ligament:

1. The ACL usual tears in the central portion of the ligament.
2. Once the ACL tears, it does not repair itself and heal on its own.
3. When you experience a torn ACL, you typically will hear a popping noise.
4. Swelling accompanies an ACL tear, since the anterior cruciate ligament is very vascular.
5. When people experience an ACL tear during a sports event they are generally unable to finish playing the game.
6. Any sport that involves twisting, fast stops, and cutting with direction changes, puts the ACL at risk of tearing.
7. Female athletes are more prone than male athletes to ACL tears. Researchers are still trying to figure out more about the reason behind this.
8. Male athletes who engage in contact sports like football, soccer or lacrosse are at an increased risk of an ACL tear.
9. 70% of ACL tears in females are attributed to non-contact injuries, compared to 30% in males..
10. Following an ACL tear, people typically have difficulty performing a pivot shift.
11. MRI Scan is the gold standard for diagnosis of an ACL tear.
12. First goals of treatment for an ACL tear are to reduce swelling and restore range of motion.

ACL injuries are not only typically very painful but they are also quite common. There are thousands and thousands of injuries related to the anterior cruciate ligaments every year in the United States.

Fortunately there are preventive measures you can take in order to work to avoid suffering from this common injury. It is particularly important for athletes engaged in specific sports to consider following an ACL protection regimen to avoid ACL injury.

An ACL injury can be serious and with like other medical conditions, if you think you are suffering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, it is very important to seek out professional medical assistance as soon as possible. A board certified orthopedic surgeon is trained to diagnose and treat ACL injuries including tears. Depending on the damage, repair to the torn anterior cruciate ligament may require reconstruction and surgery.