ROAD TO RECOVERY

ACL INJURY BACKGROUND:

There are four major ligaments located in the knee. The most important being the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). An injury to the ACL is essentially over-stretching or a partial/complete tearing of the ligament. The ACL is a very important ligament located beneath the patella. The ligament is actually a fibrous tissue connecting the femur to the tibia and fibula portion of the leg. An injury to the ACL can sideline athletes for a certain period of time depending on their rehabilitation process. The ligament gives the lower part of the leg mobility.
Lindsey Vonn is a professional skier who tore her ACL in an event this past winter. She came down awkwardly after a jump in the course and the knee collapsed. She is currently recovering and hopes to return to the sport for next season.

AC L Importance of the ACL:

The ACL is a ligament that mainly functions to provide knee stability... (Lin). The ACL is most commonly injured in a sport that requires an extended amount of planting and pivoting of the leg such as soccer or basketball. This ligament is a key contributor for the knee to function properly and very few people can get up and walk away immediately following the injury. Many studies have concluded that females are far more prone to injure the ACL than males simply because women have a different body structure than men. Athletes worldwide are more commonly injuring the ACL because just a simple or sudden movement to the knee can cause one to collapse and grasp their knee in pain. I know many athletes, both young and old, who are experiencing or have experienced an ACL injury. It is becoming one of the most severe and more well known sports injuries of todays time.

Rehabilitation:
There is no quick recovery after an injury as severe as the tearing of the ACL. Although it is very painful to tear a ligament, this pain is just the beginning of a long and strenuous rehabilitation process. The majority of athletes planning on returning to their respective sport will have surgery almost immediately after tearing the ACL instead of waiting to see if rehabilitation will heal the tear on its own (Ritter). The doctor or physician will give insight on how the recovery process should be performed for that certain athlete, so each person may have a completely different agenda. Surgery helps to reconstruct the ligament much faster than letting it heal over time on its

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own. Surgery repairs the knee, but physical rehabilitation is still a vital key to full recovery. Successful anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction requires physical rehabilitation to help patients return without pain hindering the physical activity on to an active lifestyle (Kruse). Several of the sources agreed on the physical aspects of rebuilding and strengthening the knee. Incorporating RICE (resting, icing, compressing, and elevating the knee) everyday will also help with swelling and even recovering faster. Aside from physical activity in rehabilitation, a couple of my sources talk a lot about evidence based medicine. Evidence based medicine could be a key contributor to the physical therapy field. However, many physical therapists have not yet integrated this idea into their work due to it being a new emerging ideal (Manske and Lahecka). It seems that medicine does not really shorten the knee. There is really no better way to recover from an injury than to enter actual physical rehabilitation. During the first couple of weeks after surgery, stretching the knee is the most vital key for rehab. The next couple of weeks the athlete will start into very mild workout exercises such as lunges or squatting and then work into building the strength up by continuing these exercises with a little weight. After about ten weeks walking and jogging is recommended in order to maintain the strength and flexibility. rehabilitation, but it can certainly alleviate the pain during the process. Parker Tate, a physical therapist I interviewed, says medicine is used mostly during the acute phase of recovery for pain so the athlete can enter the initial rehab

AC L Professional Athletes Sustaining an ACL Injury:

Derrick Rose and Adrian Peterson are two star professional athletes, in two completely different sports, both of which tore their ACL while competing. Peterson recovered from his injury much faster than Rose. The injuries were nearly the same, but I think recovery depends on the therapy and how the person feels during rehab. Peterson was very quick to get up and come back which could be a bad thing if he re-injured the ligament. Rose has taken a very cautious approach and is in the midst of returning after approximately a year and says he is not coming back until he feels 100% jumping and moving laterally. Derrick Rose has been quoted as saying Its all about being ready in a sports article. The comparison between the two athletes are tremendous because they are completely different guys in completely different sports with the exact same injury. These are just two examples among many whom have torn this certain ligament. It really just depends on the athlete as to when they feel comfortable to return.
Adrian Peterson is a star NFL running back that tore his ACL in a game against the Washington Redskins a couple of seasons ago. Peterson was quick to recover and won M VP his first season back from the injury. Derrick Rose tore his ACL during the 2012 NBA season after attempting a lay-up. He is steadily recovering from his injury and looks to return to the Bulls lineup as soon as possible.

AC L Future Recovery:
Doctors will always plan the rehabilitation process for the athlete considering the degree of the injury. Physical Therapy will always be incorporated in recovering from any type of injury. The types of machines used by physical therapist contribute a large amount to the recovery process. The continuous passive motion (CPM) machine can be used to move the knee at a slow rate to help increase mobility. There is no better cure than to physically reconstruct the ligament after the surgery. Flexibility and Strengthening Exercises will always be most important throughout recovery time, but I feel that some kind of medicine will take over and heal the ligament much faster. Medicine will be incorporated into the therapy field in the future because of the major advancements in the medical field. Recovery today typically lasts on average around four to six months, but most athletes are not fully to recovered after this amount of time. Some athletes like Derrick Rose can take up to a year to recover. In the future athletes will most likely recover much quicker than today if technology keeps advancing at the rate it is now.
The Anterior cruciate ligament and Posterior cruciate ligament and the two main ligaments within the joint of the knee. The M edial collateral ligam ent and Lateral collateral ligament are located on the edge of the two bones and are not as important as the ACL and PCL.