ACL Tears: A Commonality Among High School Athletes
What is an ACL Tear?
An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is an injury to the knee that commonly affects athletes that participate in high –demand sports such as soccer, football or basketball. Approximately 70% of ACL tears in sports are the result of non-contact injuries caused from a rapid change of direction, stopping suddenly or landing from a jump incorrectly. ACL tears are very common and women are four-to-six times more likely than men to experience this type of injury.
The ACL is one of the major bands of tissue (ligaments) connecting the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) at the knee joint. When the ACL is torn, you may feel a sharp, intense pain or hear a loud “pop” or snap. You might not be able to walk on the injured leg because you can’t support your weight through your knee joint. Usually, the knee will swell immediately (within minutes to a few hours), and you might feel that your knee “gives way” when you walk or put weight on it.
Immediately following an injury, you should be examined by an orthopedic doctor for a thorough examination and evaluation to assess the damage to the ACL and also to assess potential damage to other parts of the knee.
Most people who sustain an ACL tear will undergo surgery to repair the injury; however, there are a few instances where surgery may not be required. It is best to see an orthopedic specialist for proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
With proper treatment and physical therapy, people who have experienced a torn ACL can often be back in the game within 6 to 12 months.
Specializing in a wide range of orthopedic services enables Miller Orthopedic Specialists to provide personalized care plans that get patients back to optimum health.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
