Ways to Stay in Shape with a Torn ACL

Livestrong.com reports:

The anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, is one of the four main ligaments that support the knee. The ACL crosses the front of the knee diagonally, and provides support during rotation as well as keeping the tibia from sliding in front of the femur. Once you have an ACL injury, you will lose leg strength and motion, according to Cigna.com, and an exercise program is necessary to regain your previous level of physical fitness. Don’t exercise with a torn ACL unless you have the approval of your doctor.

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ACL Injuries

The ACL is the most commonly injured knee ligament, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Sports such as basketball, football, soccer and skiing increase the risk of ACL injury. Symptoms of an ACL injury include pain, extensive knee swelling, a feeling of instability in the knee and loss of range of motion. If the ACL is partially torn, rest and rehabilitation may resolve the problem within a few months, but a complete tear of the ACL can make the knee so unstable that surgery is necessary.

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Exercises to Reduce Injuries?

The Republic reports:

Kelsey Reeves knew lots of girl soccer players who had torn their anterior cruciate ligament. But she didn't think she had injured her own ACL as she lay on the ground in pain during a high school game last spring. There was no contact, just one misstep.

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But Reeves' injury was typical of most ACL injuries. About 70 to 80 percent of ACL injuries come without any contact to the knee, and women are about eight times more likely to injure their ACL than men, according to Darin Padua, an associate professor and director of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The injury is most common in girls' soccer, volleyball and basketball.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent numbers show that 46,000 females age 19 and younger had experienced an ACL sprain or tear in 2006. More than 30,000 required surgery. Numbers are not kept for contact vs. noncontact-related knee injuries. Click here to continue reading.