ACL Repair Surgery Is Not the Only Option

All athletes around the world will surely agree that an ACL injury is one of their scariest injuries. This is basically because a healthy knee is a very important part of an athlete's physical condition. ACL injuries are very common among skiers, football players, and whatever sports involve so much physical motions and contacts. What makes this injury so serious is the fact that it can mean the end of an athlete's career. Fortunately, there are a couple of options in terms of ACL repair surgery.

The very first symptom of an ACL tear is the popping sound inside the knee joint that is surprisingly audible, which is commonly followed by severe pain and too much swelling in the knee area. There are worse symptoms that may appear, depending on the severity of the damages done to the ligaments. Many tests are also available these days that can assess the stability of the knees at first. The results will then be examined by a doctor, and the extent of the injury will be eventually figured out. It should be noted that too much swelling may impede the visibility of the exact damage, so usually, a couple of weeks would be needed to let the swelling subside.

An ACL injury can be very critical and devastating, so it is necessary that the right ACL repair surgery be done to allow the patient to gain back his or her physical form and also to be able to play the sports again. The technology has led the way for a patient's better chances of recovery. The initial stages of the surgery will be focused on minimizing the swelling. So after the injury is sustained, ice packs should be placed on the affected knee every two hours.

There is no way that the torn ligament can be repaired, so the treatment is called reconstructed through the use of a different tendon or ligament. Most of the time, what is used is either the hamstring tendon or the patella tendon. Surgeries are actually not the only option of people with torn ACL. If the patient does not need to have a physically active lifestyle in the future, then there is no need to undergo an invasive ACL surgery.

Rehabilitation is the other way to treat an injury in the ACL. The rehabilitation program would first need to focus on the reduction of the swelling of the knee. The joints will also need to be able to have various movements again. The next part of the program is the strengthening of the knee and the muscles around the knee joints. If the damage to the ACL is not so extreme, physicians would often recommend only the rehabilitation instead of an ACL repair surgery.