Injury
The ACL is quite commonly injured in athletes of varying sports. These situations are often remedied by surgery followed by several months of physical therapy.
A 2010 Los Angeles Times review of two seemingly conflicting medical studies discussed whether ACL reconstruction was advisable. One study found that children under 14 who had ACL reconstruction fared better after early surgery than those who underwent a delayed surgery. For adults under 35, though, patients who underwent early surgery followed by rehabilitation fared no better than those who had rehabilitative therapy and a later surgery.
The first report focused on children and the timing of an ACL reconstruction. ACL injuries in children are a challenge because children have open growth plates in the bottom of the femur or thigh bone and on the top of the tibia or shin. An ACL reconstruction will typically cross the growth plates, posing a theoretical risk of injury to the growth plate, stunting leg growth or causing the leg to grow at an unusual angle.
The second study noted in the L.A. Times piece focused on adults and questioned whether an ACL reconstruction was necessary when an MRI-is not merely an existing tear; many patients without instability, buckling or giving way after a course of rehabilitation can be managed non-operatively. Patients involved in sports requiring significant cutting, pivoting, twisting, or rapid acceleration or deceleration may not be able to participate in these activities without ACL reconstruction. The randomized control study was originally published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Read more about this topic: Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Famous quotes containing the word injury:
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—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)