Activity, not age, should determine if surgical intervention should be considered. This includes older patients who have previously been excluded from consideration for ACL surgery.
RECOVERY TIME FOR ACL TEAR MANUAL
Allograft (taken from a cadaver) patellar tendon, Achilles tendon, semitendinosus, gracilis, or posterior tibialis tendonĪctive adult patients involved in sports or jobs that require pivoting, turning or hard-cutting as well as heavy manual work are encouraged to consider surgical treatment.Patellar tendon autograft (autograft comes from the patient).Therefore, the torn ACL is generally replaced by a substitute graft made of tendon. Nonsurgical TreatmentĪCL tears are not usually repaired using suture to sew it back together, because repaired ACLs have generally been shown to fail over time. Similarly, the prevalence of articular cartilage lesions increases in patients who have a 10-year-old ACL deficiency. With chronic instability, a large majority of patients will have meniscus damage when reassessed 10 or more years after the initial injury. Secondary damage may occur in patients who have repeated episodes of instability due to ACL injury. This variability is related to the severity of the original knee injury, as well as the physical demands of the patient.Ībout half of ACL injuries occur in combination with damage to the meniscus, articular cartilage or other ligaments. There are some rare individuals who can participate in sports without any symptoms of instability. After a complete ACL tear, some patients are unable to participate in cutting or pivoting-type sports, while others have instability during even normal activities, such as walking. Close clinical follow-up and a complete course of physical therapy helps identify those patients with unstable knees due to partial ACL tears.Ĭomplete ACL ruptures have a much less favorable outcome without surgical intervention. However, some patients with partial ACL tears may still have instability symptoms. The prognosis for a partially torn ACL is often favorable, with the recovery and rehabilitation period usually at least 3 months.
What happens naturally with an ACL injury without surgical intervention varies from patient to patient and depends on the patient's activity level, degree of injury and instability symptoms. The information is intended to assist the patient in making the best-informed decision possible regarding the management of ACL injury. The information that follows includes the details of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) anatomy and the pathophysiology of an ACL tear, treatment options for ACL injuries along with a description of ACL surgical techniques and rehabilitation, potential complications, and outcomes. The general article, Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injuries, provides a good introduction to the topic and is recommended reading prior to this article. The following article provides in-depth information about treatment for anterior cruciate ligament injuries. For patients whose procedures have not yet been rescheduled: What to Do If Your Orthopaedic Surgery Is Postponed. For information: Questions and Answers for Patients Regarding Elective Surgery and COVID-19. In many areas, nonessential orthopaedic procedures that were postponed due to COVID-19 have resumed.