Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tears in Females Every Tuesday and Thursday, Dr. Alpert wakes up at 6:30 AM, which allows him enough time to brew his morning coffee and prepare for the day all before making his first cut in the operating room at 8:00 AM. He performs his surgeries at either Ashton Surgical Center in Hoffman Estates, IL on Tuesday, or at Algonquin Road Surgical Center in Lake In the Hills, IL on Thursday. “I typically have surgeries from eight in the morning to about two in the afternoon, which allows three to five patients per day depending on the procedure. Every time I have an ACL reconstruction, I turn on my some of my favorite oldies music to get me in the groove.” During a typical ACL reconstruction, Dr. Alpert scrapes out the old, ruptured ACL and swaps it with a graft that is most commonly obtained from the hamstring or the patellar tendon. “I prefer to use the hamstring, especially with women. The procedure classically takes about an hour and a half to complete, and the patient is able to start rehab the next day. With ACL tears being such a frequent injury among female athletes, particularly in non-contact sports, it is currently being researched just why that is.” Women are at higher risk for many possible reasons, but none of which are 100 percent matter of fact. One of the reasons that Dr. Alpert suggests is that it could be hormonal. “Estrogen levels rise during certain hormonal cycles, which loosens the ligament and causes it to weaken, and
Breaking News! Breaking News! During the second preseason game Green Bay Packers WR Jordy Nelson tore his anterior cruciate ligament ACL. While he was actively running his routes during the game the ball was thrown his way as he planted his foot - the pop was heard like a gunshot as his knee pulled one way and the rest of his leg the other. We got more Packers injuries as we now hear that Sam Shields Packers CB has a bad concussion and is likely out for the season. Sam was tackling a player and instead of hitting the ground normally he hit his head on the ground and that caused his brain to shake inside his skull.
The magnitude of the problem is clear, as a high incidence of ACL injury, particularly in young athletes. Recent evidence suggests that more than half of athletes who undergo ACL surgery are unable to return to their preinjury level of function after ACLR surgery. Return to sports activities remains a very difficult topic. Thus the research regarding the rehabilitation process of athlete after
There are different techniques that repair a torn ACL. The popular method for surgeons is the patellar tendon graft procedure. This type of ACL replacement uses the middle third of the person’s own patellar tendon and replacing the damage tendon with it. The advantages are that the fixation is very strong and the patellar tendon replacing
Al Toon, father of Saints receiver Nick Toon, was forced to leave professional football after sustaining nine concussions in eight years of professional football. Football is one of the most dangerous games. As the years go on, more and more rules are being written to prevent the danger, but danger is the nature of the game. Most of these rules are for the protection of the players, but there are times when injuries can be a good thing. The Philadelphia Eagles were 3-5 to start the year, but Michael Vick was injured and the backup quarterback led the team to be 10-6, win the division, and almost beat the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs. "About 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year,
In female basketball players, neuromuscular, hormonal, and anatomical factors were considered internal factors that were the cause of non-contact ACL tears. Muscle weakness in the gluteus maximus and hamstring muscles along with poor dynamic
If I could do-over one day I would choose May 5, 2015 of my junior year of high school. On that day I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and it changed my life forever. Tearing my ACL affected me academically, athletically, and mentally.
With an ever increasing number of people becoming involved with athletic activities, there is an increasing number of injuries occurring which can be devastating for the individual. Most of the injuries that affect athletes occur in one of four structures in the human body: bones, muscles, tendons, or ligaments. Because ligaments attach bone to bone and play a major part in providing stability for joints, the major stabilizing ligament in the knee, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), assists in performing everyday actions of the human body including sitting, standing, walking, running, dancing, and participating in other sports. The injury that specifically affects this ligament is very serious and always
This all begun in 2014, i was recovering from my first ACL tear. I would talk to my doctor about how my recovery was going so far, and he would always reply “your coming along well” but what he never told me was he was expecting it to tere again at any moment.
In the sports world the word ACL brings absolute horror and cringe with it. That’s because when an ACL tears it can be one of the most painful experiences an athlete can have, especially with the surgeries and recovery it brings with it. Along with that, the ACL is in the deep part of the middle of the knee, so most of the time when you damage your ACL you most likely have damaged something else. Women especially have to worry about the overall health of their knees as they have a 4.8% greater chance of tearing their ACL than men (Musgrave). ACL tears are one of the worst injuries in the sports world and in order to recover to full health it takes time, patience, and a hard-work ethic.
This essay deals with the current treatments, rehabilitation procedures and onsets following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Within this essay, there will be information including the causes, characteristics, and symptoms of ACL injuries. Throughout the United States, there are estimated to be 200,000 ACL injuries per year with 100,000 of those injuries being treated through ACL reconstruction (Evans, Shaginaw, & Bartolozz, 2014). With a satisfactory ACL reconstruction outcome between 75%-97%. From the 10%-15% failure rate of ACL reconstruction, the primary fault is due to technical mistakes at 70% (Samitier, Marcano, Alentorn-Geli, Cugot, Former, & Moser,
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament also known as the ACL is deemed the most commonly torn ligament in the knee and can result from both contact and noncontact injuries. Most Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries result from an extreme force on the lateral side of the person’s knee causing a valgus force which pushes the knee inward (Kisner & Colby, 2012, pp. 802-803). This injury to the side of the knee can also cause a “Terrible Triad” injury which also injures both the medial meniscus and the medial collateral ligament (Kisner & Colby, 2012, p. 803). Our textbook further states that “the most common noncontact mechanism is a rotational mechanism in which the tibia is externally rotated on the planted foot….this mechanism can account for as many as 78% of all ACL injuries” (Kisner & Colby, 2012, p. 803). If the person does not seek medical help with this injury they are susceptible to also injuring the remaining support ligaments as well. Patients usually present with joint effusion; possibly 25 degrees of flexion, joint swelling if blood vessels are involved, limited ROM, stress pain and instability along with quads avoidance gait patterns (Kisner & Colby, 2011, p. 208)
The ACL is one of the most common injuries today, but in the past it was rare to have this type of injury. Warren states, “Whereas in the 1970’s HSS performed about five ACL procedures a year, today that number is closer to 100,000 a year.” Today it is very common for teenage boys and girls to play the same sports. According to Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of California college, “ACL injury is most prevalent (1 in 1,750 persons) in patients 15-45 years of age.” The average person is more active in the age range of 15 through 45 so this is why the ACL injuries are more likely to happen within this age gap. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, also explains, “ACL injury has an annual incidence of more than 200,000 cases with
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a major stabilizing force of the knee joint. The ACL prevents hyperextension; furthermore, it limits excessive tibial rotation and valgus/varus stresses to the knee joint. Maneuvers put excessive force on an athlete’s knee; consequently, athletes frequently suffer ACL tears resulting in the need for surgical intervention. Returning to prior level of competition is a common goal for athletes upon release from their physician. The purpose of this review is to identify a few variables that increase the possibility of an ACL reinjury and briefly introduce and assess various tools that clinicians apply to athletes to determine when an athlete can return to sports.
I have played soccer continuously from age 3 to 18. Four years ago, I tore my right ACL. I endured surgery and 6 months of physical therapy, then almost 2 years later to the day, I was told the same fate again. I had torn the ACL in my left knee this time. Why did this awful injury have to strike me twice? Once again, I endured the months of rehabilitation and soon returned to the field. Having to go through this twice as a teen taught me that perseverance and determination will help you achieve what you want in life. Even though I spent almost 2 years away from the field, I still made every effort to be there for my teammates. Some days I didn’t want to get out of bed because of the pain, I didn’t want to go to therapy, and I wanted to quit.
ACL tears are the most common type of knee injuries seen in athletes. The ACL is viewed as the most important ligament in the entire knee. To elaborate, it helps provide stability throughout the entire leg. Although the majority of these injuries result from contact sports, such as football, some result from non contact sports, such as tennis, as well. This injury can result from overstretching the anterior ligament or completely tearing it (Brown University, n.d.). According to Brown University (n.d.) in a study by the National Football League, 100% of football players suffering from ACL injuries, through a five year span, required some sort of surgery. In contrary, an ACL injury recovery time can be more accurately determined in comparison to concussions. In most instances an athlete’s recovery time can vary from six to nine months. Though knee injuries have more